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The Commoner.
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iVOLUMB 3, NO. 50,
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THE WEEK AT WASHINGTON
On December 19 Edwin Softon,. as
sistant secretary of the democratic
national committee, was named as a
member of the committee of the Dis
trict of Columbia to All a vacancy.
.On December 19 both the seuato and
the house of representatives, after a
short session, adjourned for the holi
day recess, which will conclude Jan
uary 3, 1904. The session of the sen
ate on December 19 was largely do
, voted to the Panama question with
speeches on both sides. In the house
a resolution was agreed to by which
the postmaster gonoral was requested
to forward to the house papers in the
postofllco matter.
The American naval commanders in
isthmian waters r6cently received in
structions from Secretary of the Navy
Moody, the keynote of which was:
"Let Colombians take the initiative."
The navy department is busy prepar
ing for activity on the isthmus, how
ever, and on December 20 it was an
nounced that the Colombian govern
ment had sent two battalions of
troops to the isthmus. Ten United
States warships are now in isthmian
watersready-foiv any Colombian at
tack. It has also been made known
that Panama will assume payment of
a portion of Colombia's debt, although
disclaiming any obligation to such a
course.
A letter written by Secretary Root
to Senator Proctor, acting chairman
of the committee on military affairs,
which letter was dated November 18
last, was made public on December 20.
This letter points out all the good
words said of 'General Leonard "Wood
and his administration and urges in
the strongest terms General Wood's
promotion. ,
According to a report made.' by the
commission on internal exchange in
r.egard .. ti-the monetary . system for
China, it has been recommended.-that
- the ratio tfor, China should be 32 1 to i
between. gpjd and, silver coiusf .and
that the same ratio should bo adopted
ifor other sliver-using .countries? that
may hereafter adopt the gojd stand
ard. . '. .. - . : . " .
agreed to the demands of the United
States government and has ordered
the governor of Alexandretta to make
ample apology to Consul Davis for
the insults and assaults to vhich he
was subjected by the police of Alex
andretta while he was escorting to a
departing steamer a naturalized
American citizen named Attarin, who
had been liberated from prison
through the intervention of Mr. Davis.
IIMI I III
On December 21 it was announced
that several European powers will
bring diplomacy to bear upon Colom
bia in order to prevent war between
that country and the United States,
and that several foreign powers have
already taken the" first stop In that di
rection by informing General Reyes,
through their representatives at
Washington, of the futility of any at
tempt by Colombia to retake Panama.
It has been made clear that Colom
bia cannot expect sympathy from the
European powers in any movement
she may make in Panama which
would tend to involve her in war
with the United States.
On December 21 Secretary Shaw
transmitted to congress his estimates
for the deficiency appropriation bill to
be passed at the present session. The
estimates aggregate $8,025,801.22, in
cluding the following items: State
department, $199,483; treasury depart
ment, $3,QG7,305; navy department,
$3,019,201; interior department, $592,
,978; department of justice, $171,340;
postal service, payable from postal
revenues, $732,727.
Speaker Cannon, . Representatives
Hopburn and Richardson, comprising
the commission having in charge the
construction of an office building for
the house of representatives, have
beon informed by Attorney General
Knox that arrangements are being
pushed to secure the title to various
"iiio(!ts of property preliminary to the
erection of the building. The struc
ture is to cost between $3,000 000 and
$i,U0u,000, and its construction will
tako several years.
mian affair
called for.
and an explanation is
On December 19 General John C.
Black of Chicago accepted the civil
service commissionershipr recently
made vacant by the death of John R.
Proctor.
It was announced from Washington
on December 23 in a special dispatch
to the Omaha World-Herald that
President Roosevelt is exerting his ef
forts to have Secretary of War Root,
who will resign the duties of his pres
ent position on February 1 next, to
become the chairman of the republican
national committee, and thus succeed
Senator Hanna who, it is conceded,
will retire from the committee after
the meeting of the national conven
tion in June next. It is also regarded
as certain that Secretary Perry S.
Heath of the national committee will
also retire from his post.
Conferences are being held, in Wash
ington in regard to the issue of bonds
for the raising of money with" which
to, pay for the friar lands in thoPhilip
pines. It has been determined to au
thorize the issue of $7,000,000 of 4 per
cent, redeemable after ten and within
thirty " years, Philippina bonds, and
these bonds are to be offered forsale
early in January.
On December 23 it was announced
that C. M. Watson will succeed George
W. Beavers, one of the officials, con-
corned in the frauds in the postoffice
department, and who hadthe position
of superintendent of salaries and al
lowance of the postoffice department.
Mr. Watson's appointment will take
effect on January 1.,
The annual report of the commis
sion on Indian Territory was made
public recently, and treats the Indian born in New York irt 1832 was
question in all its bearings. - -The imtted to the bar in 1853, and
commission declares it has adminis
tered" on 20,000,000. acres' of land be
longing to the five tribes, and no less
than 200,000 applications for citizen
ship enrollment have been passed
upon. According to a Washington
dispatch, to check the speculation in !
pine timber on the Choctaw and
Chickasaw lands, the commission rec
ommends the sale of the standing pine
under sealed bids. 'Recommendations
also are made that railroad compa
nies bo required to file with the com
mission plats of all lands sought to
be acquired; that the coal and as
phalt lands and deposits of the Choc
taws and Chickasaws be sold under
sealed bids; that congress authorize
" the" establishment ot public .highways
in the Choctaw and- Chickasaw na-
tions and that all leases, contracts
or instruments of conveyance exe
cuted by citizens of the Cherokee and
Crek nations, affecting the title of
their lands, to become valid, shall,
within thirty days from their date, lie
recorded in "the recording office of the
respective districts.
Frederic R. Coudert, the well-known
lawyer of New York, died in Washr
ington on December 20, where he went
to spend the winter. Mr. Coudert was
ad-for
many years has been active in demo
cratic politics. In 1877 Mr. Coudert
was a delegate to represent the in
terests of American commerce at the.
international congress on the law of
nations held at Antwerp, and five
years later he attended a meeting of
the same congress at Liverpool. He
won great praise as the American rep
resentative in the Behring sea com
mission in Paris in 1895. A year
later, when President Cleveland
sought and obtained authority from
congress to annoint a commission tn
Investigate Venezuela's boundary dis
pute with Great Britain, Mr. Coudert
was appointed commissioner.
It seems that General Reyes, the
special emissary from Colombia to
this country, realizes that the situa
tion in regard to Panama may mean
grave consequences Ho his , country,
and he is exerting . every effort to
bring the Colombian people face to
face with the situation as he sees it.
It was recently reported that he will
conclude his mission to this country
ar speedily as possible and return to
Colombia and assume personal com
mand of the "army.
It was Reported from Constantino-
pie on jjecomuor tu tnai uie pone nas
AV OLD AND VkKTIi TRtKn RKMF.tiY
Mrs. v?iNsr.ow'fl RooTHTNo Struv for. children
taetktog shouli alwty be used Tor children .while
te4hlHtr. TtSfftoM ttie irumg, nllnys Mlpnln, cures
wlad collo and fe the beat remedy ror diarrhoea.
Twenty-fire emu a battle. It U the beat.
The state of Minnesota on December
22 filed its brief in the suit of that
state against the Northern Securities
company which is being tried In the
United States supreme court at Wash
ington. In this brief it is declared
that the purpose of the merger was in
order to stifle competition.
Brigadier General G. H. Burton,
who has just completed a tour of in
spection of the various branches of
the national soldiers' homes, recently
made a report of his tour and in this
report it is shown that during last
year 33,157 old soldiers were cared for.
Of this number oyer 25,000 were draw
ing pensions aggregating $3,166,743.
Secretary of the Navy Moody has
asked congress for an immediate de
ficiency appropriation of $57,146 for
the marine service, this s"Um being
made nocessary by the recent activi
ties in Panama and also the plans in
regard to the new naval station at
Guantanamo, Cuba.
of the United States and government
property to be stored there, also to
prevent interruption of cable com
munication between San Francisco
Hawaii and Manila. This estimate
is submitted with the object of begin
ning the construction of these defenses
at once at such insular localities as
are now the property of the United
States, or may become so before the
appropriation is exhausted, and of ac
quiring additional land deeded as sites
for defenses of the territory of Hawaii."
Ex-Governor Isaac Sharp of Kansas
died in Washington on December 25
at the age of 71 years. He .was born
in Pennsylvania, but went to Kansas
in the early '50's, where he played a
prominent part in the Kansas-Missouri
struggle.
. It was anndunced from Washington
on December 25 that Minnesota mem
bers of congress declare that Joseph.
J. McCardy, formerly city comptrol
ler of St. Paul, has been practically
agreed upon as the successor of Henry
A. Castle in the office of auditor for
the postoffice department. Castle is a
Minnesota man and on the streugth of
that fact the Minnesota senators and
representatives laid claim to the place.
It is admitted at the war depart
ment that several transports ore be
ing made ready at San Francisco to bo
sent to Panama immediately in any
emergency, and" depsite the secrecy
maintained, it is. believed that troops
aro to be sent to the isthmus.
By a cablegram from the Colombian
minister of foreign affairs to General
Royes in Washington recently it was
made clear that Colombia desires -an
answer to several points submitted to
this government" in regard to the Pa
nama situation. In this cablegram
the United States is accused of acting
contrary to its precedents in the isth-
The prosecution against those per
sons who are engaged in trying to ac
quire large tracts of the public do
main in a fraudulent manner is be
ing pushed and it is reported .that the
laws that have made this absorption
of the public lands possible are to be
speedily repealed.
S bscr.ii)8rsr Advertising Department
Character of circulation, as well as
volumd of circulation, is taken into
account by the shrewd advertiser. The
Commoner offers both character and
volume. - .140,000 . people subscribe
for The Commoner, and they are peo
ple who are seekers, after bargains.
They represent the. thinking classes,
and are reached by appeals to their
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On December 25 it was reported that
Secretary Root had forwarded to the
house of representatives through the
treasury department a supplemental
estimate of $2,526,100 for the defense
of the insular possessions of the
United States. In his request the sec
retary says: "Defenses for Porto Rico,
the Hawaiian- islands, Guam and the
Philippines are urgently needed to
protect the newly-acquired territory
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