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The Commoner
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VOL. 13, NO. 28
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tho Whlto IIoubg. Tho capitol build
ing, sot high above tho city, caught
tho brunt of tho wind, rain, hail and
lightning. Tho sonato was in bgb--Blon
at tho tlmo and when tho hall
ewopt down on tho glass roof of tho
chamber with a roar that made tho
transaction of business impossible, a
hurriod rocoss was taken. Tho storm
created a noar panic all over tho city
during its short duration. .
Physical valuation of tho railroads
of tho United States by tho Inter
state commorco commission, will take
from flvo to t-ovon years by a spe
cially organized corps of men and
will cost tho government from ten
to ilfteon million dollars or more, ac
cording to plans of tho commission
submitted to the houso appropria
tions commission. Tho commission
has also asked for an immediate ap
propriation of $1,500,000 for tho or
iginal corps of ongineors necessary
to undertake tho work. Tho plan
contemplated the division of tho
country into five districts, containing
approximately 50,000 milos of rail
road each.
William Donman, of San Francis
co, was appointed a spocial assistant
to Attorney General McReynolds to
prosocuto ponding and proposod suits
to recovor tho government's title to
millions of dollars worth of oil lands
In California, Wyoming and other
wostorn states. The question in
volves the legality of ox-President
Taft's swooping oil lands withdraw
als of 1!)00 to conserve the country's
oil resources and especially to af
ford tho government a supply of fuel
oil for tho United States navy.
The department of agriculture an
nounces the selection of fifteen men
prominent in tho protection of game
and other birds in various nections
of tho country to advise tho secre
tary in framing regulations to make
tho now federal protection of migra
tory birds effective. The act of
March 4 gives the federal govern
ment jurisdiction over the migra
tory birds of the United States.
Professor Charles F. Marvin has
boon selocted for chief of the weath
er bureau to succeed Willis L. Moora,
recently removed. Professor Marvin
was chief of tho instrument divi
sion, and was appointed to tho old
signal service in 1884 from Ohio.
Under tho now chief more attention
will bo paid to weather reports and
forecasts as they affect or are likely
to affoct agriculture and general
farming conditions throughout tho
country.
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TIII3 SHOCKING CA$I3 OF
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
From tho South Bond Ind.l Nows-Tlmcs.
than two million acres of the so
called Oregon and California rail
road lands which the United States
district court of Oregon recently
ordered forfeited to the govern
ment on the ground that tho
railroad had violated conditions
of the grant. As tho company will
appeal the issue will not be settled
until it roaches the supreme court,
and oven if the government is suc
cessful, no disposition can be made
of the lands until congress passes
spocial legislation for the purpose.
The public -was also being induced to
make applications to purchase from
tho railroad company in order to ac
quire preference rights of purchase.
The Southern Pacific railroad has is
sued a warning that no money will
be accepted by the company and no
preference granted pending tho end
or the litigation.
abolished by Postmaster General
Burleson. Hereafter all undelivered
third and fourth-class matter which
has been heretofore sent to tho di
vision of dead letters -will go to the
postofflce at the headquarters of the
railway mail service of the division
in which the matter is destined.
There the matter or manifest value
will be held for one year, subject
to reclamation and then sold at auc
tion. The postofllces which will
handle the dead lette'r mail are Bos
ton, New York, Washington, Atlan
ta, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis,
San Francisco, Cleveland, St. Paul,
Ft. Worth, New Orleans, Seattle,
Omaha and Pittsburgh.
William J.. Price of Danville, Ky.,
has been selected by President Wil
son for minister to Panama.
A monumental legend, written in
great concrete letters on the face of
Culobra cut and tolling tho history
of the building of tho Panama canal,
is tho central feature of tho plan of
the commission of ilno arts for beau
tifying tho canal. The commission's
report was sent to tho senate by tho
president. Tho recommendations by
tho committee were based on tho ad
vice of Daniel Chester French, sculp
tor, and Francis L. Olmstoad,
landscape artist, who visited tho
isthmus early this year as a commit
tee on architectural plans for the
boautification of the waterway.
Tho senate confirmed the appoint
ment of George Harold Todd of New
York to be assistant to the attorney
general of the United States.
The postmaster general has an
nounced that the "banking by mail"
feature would be introduced into the
postal-savings system. This reform,
which has been under consideration
' no.v.n wn wMl enable Tannin liv
ing In remote districts to avail them
. . . i-j oi Llio benefits of tho system.
. A constitutional amendment pro
hibiting the sale of all alcoholic, bev
erages was proposed in a resolution
introduced in tho house August 5 by
Representative Hobson of Alabama.
Advices to the department of jus
tice of attempts to perpetrate whole
sale land frauds upon innocent peo
ple throughout the entire west, espe
cially in Orogon, brought forth a
vigorous warning to tho public by
Assistant Attorney General Ernost
Knaobol and an announcement that
the government would spare no of
for to detect and punish the guilty
parties. According to Mr. Knaebel,
designing and unscrupulous persons
are making false representations to
tho people for tho settlement, which
is imposilblo at this tlmo, of more
Secretary McAdoo announced that
wood pulp and papor would not bo
admitted free of duty from Russia
under tho "favored nation" agree
ment, the commerce treaty between
tho United States anl Russia' having
been abrogated. Ho said countries
with favored nation treaties with tho
United States only were entitled to
free pulp and paper because that
provision was granted to Canada. The
treasury department has accepted tho
principle, but for the time boing it
applies only to Norway, Austria,
Hungary and Russia.
In order thut the farmers of tho
United States may profit by the ex
perience of the farmers of Europe
Secretary of Agriculture Houston has
decided to send abroad Dr. Thomas
N. Carver, head of the rural organi
zation service and Bradford Knapp
who .is in charge of ihe farmers' co
operative demonstration work in the
south. One of the principal objects
of the trip will be the study of suc
cessful co-operative schemes. They
will visit Ireland first., th r
mark and Saxony.
The annual "dead letter" sales,
which have been an annual feature
of Washington for years, have been
Colonel Mulhall continued his tes
timony during the past few weeks
before the senate lobby investigation
committee regarding the alleged po
litical work of the National Associa
tion of Manufacturers. Some of his
charges, implicating many prominent
public men in the past and resont
political life of the nation, are sen
sational in the extreme, but as yet
sufficient evidence has not been in
troduced to prove tho truth of his
charges. On one occasion Colonel
muui.ui i-uuajjHea unaer pressure of
the constant fire of questions aimed
at him by members of the commit
tee and pleaded for a short resnite
from the gruelling examination. -
ml hTe 1(Jbby investlSating com
mittee got under way August 5 with
Louis Seibold, who prepaid the ex
posures of Martin M. Mulhall for the
New York World, as the first tnesB
testifying as to the public state
ments and otherwise laying founda
tions for the cross examination of
Mulhall Mr. Seibold said the in
vestigation made by the New York
World as to the truth of the Ma
hal charges hud been confined to el
tabliahintr th nilii,n.ii.. . rs
.documents and did not go to the
truth nf tho nU 4.1- . lu. Ule
Seibold's UmoiV wa7intorZd
to allow James E. Emery, of coin-SJfS-
te manujacturerSj tQ
letters and legal documents Dis
cussing the list of public men classi
fied as those whom the national as
sociation of manufacturers had no
difficulty in "reaching and influenc
ing for business, political or' sympa
thetic reasons," Mr. Seibold testi
fied he had no purpose of implying
any "moral obliquity" or "legisla
tive impropriety" to the men men
tioned. "The basis for this list"
said Mr. Seibold, "was the Mulhall
letters, his personal narrative and
statements he made to me." He told
the committee that 400 or 500 new
letters had been discovered.
Examination of Martin M. Mulhill,
self-styled lobbyist for t;he national
association of manufacturers, was
postponed August 7 until Monday,
August 11, at the request of Mulhall,
who announced that in a few days
previoiib he h d discovered in his
files in Baltimore some 200 addi
tional letters bearing on national
politics, and believed that if given
a few days he would be able to find
more. He pronounced the letters
found important.
Complaints from many railroads
against alleged inadequate compen
satipn for increased weight of mail
matter under tho parcel post sys
tem has culminated in a notice to
the postofflce department from the
Toledo, -St.. Louisv & Western .rail
way company that . at the end of
sixty days it will discontinue trans
portation of mail, althoi'gh its pres
ent .contract does not expire for two
years. The department has informed
the management that discontinu
ance will not be permitted.
JOHN LIND
John Lihd, who goes to Mexico,
not as an ambassador but with even
a higher mission as a ministe" of
peaco on behalf of the president of
the United States, has a name that
a Viking might have borne. A na
tive of Sweden and iA yet sixty
years of age, ha has been governor
of his state, a representative in
three congresses and an officer of
volunteers in the war with Spain. He
is typical of that large and splendid
element of oui citizenship which
produced the lamented John A. John
son of Minnestta.
Such a man may not be familiar
with the character and habits of
Latin Americans j he may not te
gifted in diplomacy and finesse; ho
may even be ijnoiant of or inatten
tive to the fi. 3 points of violence
which distinguish political contro
versies south of the Rio Grande; hut
of his ability to present to the war
ring chieftains in Mexico' facto, prin
ciples and conditions wh'ch should
persuade them to accept American
mediation there can be no question.
In him the far north appeals to
the far south. It will be said ot
him that he does not understand tne
temperament of the people whom lie
is to address; yet through the ageiicj
of such men far no th has instructed
far south more than once in s ate
craft, in respect for law and ordei,
in true pride and honor and in cour
age, and it may do so again.
John Lind carries to Mexico a
message of peace, good will and com
mon sense which has back of it tne
determination, the patience and tne
power of many millions of ou
Linds. New York World.
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