10
WASHINGTON GOSSIP
TIMELY TATTLINGS FROM THE
NATIONAL CAPITAL.
PRESIDENTS LITTLE JOKE
"Has Elevated the Bench"—Supreme
Court Justices May Retire—
Some Possible Changes in
Senate Committees.
Irtnip-T WASHINGTON .
\1 17/ President Roose-
JIIiY'hV/ veJt j t > <Mllarl >'
I A claims tbut he ha».
1 / \ done much to ele
-1 1/1 vilte *he hencb.
Pi He does not claim
V /jyfW / that this is tlue s0
j much to his ap
\Cj pointments as to
at*/ / the fact that his
candidacy at vari
ous times has re
sulted in taking m«n off the bench. The
other day he met Judge Richards, whom
he appointed some time ago as a federal
circuit judge, and after receiving the
latter's congratulations on his victory,
lie laughingly said:
"Well, judge, I have certainly been
the means of elevating the bench in my
career."
"Why. how is that?" asked the Judge.
"Well, you see I have been the means
»112 taking several men off it, and then
< have placed you upon it."
The men who left the bench on ac
count of Mr. Roosevelt, were Judge
Parker, Judge Van Wyck and Judpe
Herrick, all of New York, and all mem
bers of the New York judiciary. Judge
Parker resigned to accept the demo
cratic nomination for the presidency
and run against Mr. Roosevelt. Judge
Herrick resigned to become candidate
for governor of New York against the
republican candidate, Lieut. Gov. Htg
gins, and it is well known that he was
selected because it appeared that Mr.
Roosevelt's popularity would increase
the vote of the republican candidate.
Judge Van Wyck resigned to run against
Mr. Roosevelt for governor of New York
in 1898. So that the president in his po
litical career caused three vacancies on
the bench.
Mr. Roosevelt will have further op
portunity probably of placing men on
the bench before his next term is con
cluded. as there will doubtless be several
changes in the federal judiciary from
members of the district court up to the
supreme bench.
Justices to Retire.
—7p». n M HERE is consider
/ I i able talk of retire
/ ' Ij \ ments from the su
/ |g|J !\ preme bench at an
I Kl Justice Fuller bar;
v rea ched the ape
fKjt; ~L' when, under the
' aw ' ran r(,, ' rf '
from active serv
ice and enjoy full
salary the rest of
his life. The law
permits a supreme justice to retire when
he reaches the age of 70 or when he has
served 20 years. Chief Justice Fuller
will be 72 years of age next February.
He was appointed chief justice in April,
1888, and although he has not served
20 years, he is still eligible for retire
ment on account of age. It is under
stood that the chief justice has not been
in the most robust health and is think
ing of giving up the arduous work of his
position.
Associate Justice John Marshall Har
lan is another member of the supreme
bench who is eligible for retirement,
both for age and for length of service.
He was 71 years of age last June, and
took his seat on the supreme bench in
December, 1877. He will have com
pleted 27 years as a supreme court
justice on the 10th of December. He
lias been one of the strongest men phys
ically of all the justices, but is now be
ginning to show his age. He has been
an exceptionally hard-working member
of the bench, and is still insistent on do
ing his full share of the duties of the
court. He has led an active outdoor life,
which accounts for his fine physical con
dition. and still at his advanced age is
one of the most enthusiastic golf play
ers at the national capital. There has
been considerable talk of his retiring,
but unless advancing years should tell
on him more rapidly than they have, he
may remain to complete 30 years of
service.
The next one of the associate justices
who can retire for age in the near fu
ture is Justice Brown, who will be 70
years of age on March 2, 1906. He has
been on the supreme bench for 14 years.
Then comes Justice Brewer, who will
reach the age of 70 in June, 1907. He was
commissioned an associate justice in De
cember. 1889. and has 15 years to his
credit. Associate Justice Peckham was
appointed in 1895, and will reach the age
of 70 in November, 1908. The
members of the court are comparative!*-
young men. Justice McKenna is 61,
Justice White 59, Justice Holmes 63 and
Justice Day 55.
Senate Committee Changes.
<A* \ Hoar, of Massa
\ chusetts, the elec
' ' 0 n Senator
10>P * sr-\ Fairbanks to the
I '*Vi)V vii _L !| vlce I )res >dpncy and
I, i SP's! a fiw changes
\ ' in the se!ia,e 'hat
\ ' / have resulted from
\la W / 'he recent election
\nq \JJ will bring about a
\\\/ reorganization of
that body. It la
probable that the full rearrangement of
committees will be postponed until
next congress, but the vacancy at the
head of the Judiciary committee caused
by the death of Senator Hoar will be
filled by the designation of Senator Or
ville H. Piatt, of Connecticut. Mr.
Piatt has for many years been the rank
ing member next to the chairman on
this committee, and his preeminent
qualifications for the chairmanship is
recognized by everyone. He is one of
the solid, conservative and able states
men whose record is absolutely clear and
of the highest grade. He is not on* of
the orators of the senate, and does not
trouble that body with many lengthy
speeches. When he does make an ad
dress. it is full of meat and not a lawyer
in the body leaves the chamber during
its delivery.
Mr. Piatt is known Internationally as
the author of the "Piatt amendment"
which has been incorporated in the or
ganic law of the republic of Cuba and
which virtually gives the United States
a protectorate over the island. It per
mits the I'nited States to prevent Cuba
from swamping herself in debt, and pre
vents her forming an alliance with any
other foreign power. The Connecticut
senator has been chairman of the com
mittee on Cuban relations, but as most
of the important legislation concerning
the relations between this country and
Cuba has been accomplished, the posi
tion of chairman of the committee on
the judiciary w ill be more commensurate
with his ability and experience.
Senator Piatt is a typical New Eng
lander, tall, angular and cold on the ex
terior. He is a warm-hearted gentle
man. howeve., to those who have pene
trated his Nev England reserve. He
is a fisherman and a hunter of note, and
has a lodge in the Adirondacks to which
he retires every year to indulge in his
favorite recreation and rest from the
grind of senatorial duties.
Corteiy ou in Demand.
y —„ ATI ON A L Chair
/. ' \\ " man Cort el you
/ Jr: \ is now paying the
' /fla.'tk./ \\ ! penalty of great
rVjflkrVh 1 ness. After several
C months of close ap
plication and ardu
" U8 work he bt-
Ueved himself en
\Stiitled to a vaca
tion. He laid his
plans for an imme
diate trip abroad,
but found that there were demands upon
his time that compelled h'm lo indefi
nitely postpone the rest !>.<• contem
plated. He then arranged \ < take a
hunting trip as a diversion at* dream
of a few weeks' quail and deer Mlooting
in Virginia. The republican loaders,
however, had other plans such as jubilee
dinners and meetings at which he wa?
expected to be present. As national
chairman he could not decline these en
tertainments, and again his programme
of rest was interfered with.
Mr, Cortelyou takes everything philo
sophically, and lives on the hope of some
time getting away from political wor
ries and really enjoying a period of rest.
Such an experience will be rather odd
for him. as since 1897, when he became
assistant secretary to President McKin
ley. and a year later secretary, he has
had very little opportunity of enjoying
the recreation and rest which ordinary
mortals account as necessary. He has
been in the habit of devoting from 16
to 18 hours every day to his work. That
application did not seem to have any
effect upon him, for he would show up
at the white house at nine o'clock in the
morning as fresh and energetic as
though he had retired at nine in the
evening, instead of two hours after mid
night. The long strain, however, is tell
ing even on Mr. Cortelyou. and the tre
mendous work he performed during the
late campaign has added five or ten
years to his age.
If Chairman Cortelyou can get away
he will either goto the West Indies or
Europe, and remain there until the 4th
of March. He will then enter Presi
dent Roosevelt's cabinet as postmaster
general. If be tlesires to indulge bis ap
petite for work, he will not be disap
pointed in that position. Of all the
heads of departments in Washington
the postmaster general is the busiest
and. if so inclined, can putin more hour.i
of work than any of his colleagues.
The Jefferson Bible.
-j HERE is a tre
-3 T mendous demand
/ \ upon congressmen
/ • tk\ j (ls| now for copies
/y\ 'he "Jefferson
■M-Mi "ft * W'le." as it is
: iPrM/; - called, or to be
more accurate
"The Life and Mor
'/-'J/ a ' s J es " s °f Naz
\rf Iv \ areth." This is a
work of Thomas
Jefferson, and is
now the property of the I'nited States
national museum in this city. At the
last session of congress a resolution was
adopted to print a tacsimile of this In
terest ing book for the use of congress.
The photolithographic process was
used, and 9.000 copies of the book, as
prepared by Mr. Jefferson, were printed,
3,000 for the use of the senate and 6,000
for the use of the house.
The volume is an exact facsimile of
the one found in Jefferson's library and
is bound in full red leather. It contains
two manuscript leaves in the handwrit
ing of Jefferson, and the title page in
that stateman's own handwriting which
reads: "The Life and Morals of Jesus
of Nazareth, extracted textually from
the Gospel in Greek, Latin, French and
English." The compilation consists of
parallel columns of extracts from the
Gospels in the origins,' Greek, the Latin,
the French and English. There are no
comments, and the book is of use only to
those versed in these languages. It is
generally valued, however, as a remark
able curiosity, and the demand for it is
something unprecedented in the hisiory
of Kove/nment documents.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1904.
BIG FLOATING FAIR.
WESTERN TOWN IS GOING AFTEB
THE ORIENTAL. TRADE.
Seattle, Wash., Proposes to Show the
Asiatics What We Have to Sell
■—•"The Fair" to Sail
Next Year.
Seattle, Wash.—This place comes to
the lront with a twentieth century
development of the exposition idea
that promises to have an important
bearing on the oriental trade that
everyone has heard so much about in
the last few years. Instead of waiting
for people to come to a lair the Soa'-
tle people, or, rather the Northwestern
Commercial company of Seattle, pro
poses to send the lair t- the people —
exclusively to people who have money
to buy goods. The exposition was to
have been started out this month, in
stalled on the steamship Victoria, but
the Kusso-Japanese war upset the
scheme and the sailing date of the
floating fair as been postponed to
November 15, 1905.
The idea is to offer American com
mercial houses an opportunity to send
representatives to establish permanent
agencies and also to make immediate
sales to the countries bordering 011 the
Pacific ocean, which contain the larger
portion of ihe world's population, and
which are in direct water communica
tion with the I'nited States. The
floating industrial exhibition will visit
the cities of Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki
(Port Arthur and Vladivostok if war
conditions permit), Shanghai. Hong
kong. Manila, Singapore, Colombo,
Mauritius, Delagoa Bay (or Valparaiso
and Callao, South America), Cape
Town, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney
and Honolulu. The steamship will
remain from two to ten days in each
of the places named, according to
their importance, thus giving ample
opportunities to all interested to visit
ST 10 A M SHIP "VICTORIA."
(It Will Carry Seattle's Floating Fair
to Asiatic l'orts.j
the exhibits. The American consul at
all of the cities to be visited will be
informed in advance of the exhibition
and its purpose and announcements
will be made in the public press of the
names of the firms whose representa
tives are 011 board the vessel, their
line of business, etc., and the consuls
will be requested to see that importing
and exporting merchants in the inte
rior and adjacent cities will be fully
advised of this exhibition.
The itinerary of the vessel is ar
ranged with a view of taking advan
tage of the time of year that is most
seasonable, with reference to weather
and climatic conditions, to afford,
apart from the exhibition purpose of
the tour, a health-invigorating cruise.
Exhibitors will be awarded 100 to 500
cubic feet of space and will be permit
ted to carry five tons of cargo if de
sired. The lower decks, where the ex
hibits are to be arranged, will be gor
geously decorated, brilliantly lighted
and supplied with power. While in
port the exhibition will be open from
eight a. m.to eleven p. m. The crew
will be at the disposal of the exhibitors
in arranging and caring for the exhib
its. All exhibits will be set up be
fore leaving Seattle and will remain
in place until the voyage is ended.
Only ihe exhibitors and their exhibits
will be carried. While there are ac
commodations for 216 first-class pas
sengers the number will be limited to
100 actual exhibitors, but 25 of these
may have the opportunity to take their
wives.
Anchoring to Icbergs.
It has been found that the currents
round the coast of Newfoundland make
at times a wide difference in the direc
tion of the drift of icebergs and thatol
the flat or pan ice. which, having no
great depth, ia governed in its motions
by the surface currents and the winds.
The icebergs, the larger part of which
are submerged to a great depth, follow
only the movement of the ocean water
as a whole and are uninfluenced by the
winds, i hus a huge iceberg may often
be seen majestically maintaining its
slow advance in opposition to the wind
and across the general motion of the
fields of flat ice surrounding it. The
sealers often take advantage of this fact
by mooring their vessels to an iceberg
to prevent their ship drilting to lee
ward. The movement of these great
mountains of ice is practically irre
sistible.
Dilution Extraordinary.
A member of the French Academy re
ported that 25 experiments 011 animals
showed each time that poisoned blood
is active even after dilution one trillion
one million times. The strength of the
average homeopathic dose is from about
the third to the sixth decimal. This
demonstrates that those who say that
there is no medicine in a homoeopathic
dose betray ignorance.
The Doukhobors Improving.
A Canadian government agent whc
has just returned to England says the
Doukhobors in Canada are making
progress. "They no longer work their
women instead of their cattle in tue
fields."
Big Investment.
The capital invested in the mineral
water industry in Great Britain is near
ly 176,000,000.
A NEW UNSINKABLE BOAT.
Many Requirements Have Been Met
by the Invention of a Danish
Engineer.
Washington.—Unsinkable life boats
are numerous, yet when the test comes
these unsinkable boats do not fulfill their
requirements. The navy department
and the life saving service are just now
interested in experiments which are be
ing made with the Englehardt unsink
able life boat, the invention of ("apt.
Englehardt. a Danish marine engineer.
The Englehardt boat is said not only
to be unsinkable. but is collapsible and
can be stowed in small space 011 the
decks. Few of the great passenger
A NOVELTY IN LIFE BOATS.
(It Is Saiil to He Not Only Unsinkable,
But Is Collapsible.;
carrying steamships are able to carry
sufficient boats for lack of room.
The ordinary boats in caseof accidents
are liable to be stove when being low
ered. or when lowered to be overcrowd
ed and swamped. The Englehardt col
lapsible boats, it is claimed, combine
the requirements of economy in space
with the utmost carrying capacity.
Should emergencies arise the Engle
hardt boats need not be launched. Only
the lashings have to be cut, and when
the ship has sunk the boats will be
found floating on the water like rafts.
Two men or boys can. in a few seconds,
extend t.he sides of the boats simply by
lifting in the cross beams and thus con
verting the ral't-shaped boat into a life
boat that will hold bread, water tanks,
oars and supplies enough to support the
passengers a considerable number of
days.
The invention is a pontoon-shaped
boat of wood or iron ar.d filled with
kapok, in water-tight cushions, which
are placed in water-tight compartments.
Kapok combines the greatest floating
capacity with the best weight and will
sustain from 30 to 35 times its own
weight in water.
The boat has a superstructuie which
ran be folded up or erected, the whole
surrounded by a fender also filled with
kapok, in water-tight cushions. In ex
tending the boat, the oars are released,
an oval-shaped thwart supplied with
cross-thwarts will slide into position and
stanchions and other parts drop into
their places automatically. The mech
anism is simple and not easily put out
of order.
The boat, according to advices re
ceived at the department of commerce
and labor, from Ernest L. Harris, com
mercial agent at Eibenstock, Germany
has been subjected to exhaustive test?
and has successfully withstood r.ll oi
them.
THE SPIRAL PUTTEE.
Latest Ingenious Invention of Eng
lish Tailors to Make Outdoor
Life Comfortable.
London. —Among the latest inven
tions by English tailors calculated tc
make outdoor life more comfortable is
the spiral puttee. This is shaped to
THE PUTTEE IN POSITION.
(Showing How It Is Worn to Secure
' Outdoor Comfort.)
wind spirally around the leg from ankle
to knee, hence its name. It. comes with
or without spats, the latter, when so
ordered, being detachable. They may
be had in America.
Our Smallest Coin.
The half-cent piece was a coin of the
smallest denomination ever made by
this country. II enjoys the distinction
also of being the first coin issued and
the first whose denomination was dis
continued.
Quantities of Material.
Two million bricks will be used In
the new Rockefeller building in Cleve
land; 40.000 square feet of glass will
be put into windows, and the steel alone
will cost? 130,000.
SWORD OF FREDERICK
EVIDENCE THAT WASHINGTON
RECEIVED SUCH A PRESENT.
"From the Oldest General to the Great
est General in the World"—
History of This Val
uable Relic.
Washington.—The story that Fred
erick the Great sent George Washing
ton a sword with the characteristic and
epigrammatic message, "From the old
est general to the greatest general in
the world," has been familiar from our
earliest childhood, it is a plain nar
rative, as given by members of the
Washington family, who alone have
auy knowledge, real or traditional, of
the fact, says a writer in the Evening
Star. The appraisers' list of the per
sonal effects of Washington, made at
Mount Vernon, May, 1800, contains thUl
item: "Swords and blades. $12,000."
Among these, which were chiefly pres
ents, was the one sent by the king of
Prussia. Tne personal effects of
Washington were divided among the
heirs, but a large proportion were left
at Mount Vernon for Mrs. Washington,
who was still living. Upon her death
Justice Bushrod Washington took pos
session of the' mansion, for he was his
uncle's chief heir and the one to whom
he intrusted his papers. Bushrod Wash
ington lived :i0 years at Mount Ver
non, and bequeathed the estate and
personal property, save an occasional
gift, to his nephew, Col. John Augus
tine Washington, who also lived there
HO years. There was an immense ac
cumulation of papers and relics—
PRESENTED BY FREDERICK
("From the Oldest to the Greatest Gen
eral of the World."}
among other souvenirs of interest was
the sword of Frederick.
Maj. Lewis Washington, of Belle
Air, Jefferson county, Va., visited his
cousin at Mount Vernon in 1858. At
this time he was the owner of two of
the five swords willed by Gen. Wash
ington to his nephews—one direct
from his grandfather, William Augus
tine Washington; the other, that one
which Justice Bushrod Washington re
ceived and had willed to his father,
George Corbin Washington. Maj.
Washington admired the elegant dress
sword sent by the king and offered in
exchange for it, being perfectly satis
fied as to its authenticity, the Bushrod
Washington sword. During his life
this beautiful rapier was seen by many
neighbors and friends at his home.
Some years atter his death his widow,
Mrs. Ella Bassett Washington, sold
it, with other valuable Washington
relics, to the state of New York.
These are now deposited in tne library
at Albany, in the catalogue will be
seen: "No. ■*, dress sword of Washing
ton," which, through tthe courtesy of
officials, I am permitted to reproduce.
The sword acquired by Col. Washing
ton in this exchange was sold a few
years since by his son. Lawrence
Washington, of Alexandria, to John
H. Havermeyer. of New York, who
presented it to Mount Vernon, being
thus happily returned to its original
abode.
When Col. John A. Washington dis
posed of the home of our first presi
dent to the Ladies' Mount Vernon
Association of the Union, he gave pos
session early in the year 1860.
He carefully packed his valuable pa
pers in barrels, of which there were
12. He left them in the care of his
friend, Mr. Upton Herbert, first super
intendent of Mount Vernon, thinking,
in the disturbed state of the country,
they would be safer than at any other
place. Col. Washington's sad death
occurred in 1861, and these papers re
mained at Mount Vernon until Mr. Her
bert left his office. In 1866 he removed
them to Alexandria and stored them in
an old bank building; this building in
1868 was burned and nearly all the pa
pers and documents were destroyed.
Of documentary proof I have not
found any. though the search is not
yet complete. The archives of Ger
many may yield all we need.
One interesting item of circumstan
tial evidence came to me a few months
ago. A German artist, vigorous and
full of reminiscence, at the ripe age
of 88. resented a reflection on Wash
ington as a general and vaunted Fred
erick the Great. When told that old
story was a mytu. he replied with fine
contempt: "Oh, yes, you say so It
America, but I heard it at my moth
er's knee, and at her mother's. If
false, who gave it to the mothers ol
Germany?"
Amazon Rubber.
The rubber exported from the Amazon
river in the season of 1903-4 amounted
to 67,314.116 pounds.
BOX HELD KING'S HEART.
Vary Interesting Old Belie in the Ca
thedral Church at Rouen,
France.
Paris,—ln the splendid cathedral
church of Kouen is a suite of three or
four rooms containing what is known
as the "tresor." This is a collection;
of very valuable and interesting relics,
forming Quite a little museum, to which
admission may be obtained for the mod
est. fee of 25 centimes. To an Anglo-
Saxon quite the most interesting article
in the collection is the plain leaden,
casket in which was buried the heart of
the famous King Richard Coeur d»
Lion, who, It will be remembered, was
HISTORIC LEADEN CASKET.
(It Xleld the Heart of the Famous Rich
ard Coeur de Leon.)
siain by a bolt from the crossbow of
Bertrand De Gourdon at the siege of the
castle of Chains. His body was buried
at the feet of his father in the abbey of
Frontrevautt, near Tours, but his heart,
incased in two leaden caskets, was
placed in the Cathedral of Rouen, "the
faithful city." The exact place of the
burial seems to have been forgotten in
the passage of centuries, but It was re
discovered in 1840, placed in anew cof
fer and reburied in the choir.
The inner case is in comparatively
good condition, the inscription being
perfectly legible after the lapse of all
these centuries. The Latin is some
what peculiar, and it is curious to find,
that at a period when art-working in.
metals was at an advanced stage the
engraver of the inscription on the colter
which was to contain the heart of such
a high and mighty potentate did not
take the trouble to ascertain what space
he required for the king's name, so that
he had to carry over the terminal let
ter to the next line. It is noteworthy
too that Richard is styled "Regis An
glorum"—"King of the English," not
"of England"—while no mention at all
is made of Normandy or Aquitaine.
The box is nearly one foot long, eight,
inches wide and live inches deep.
CANDIDATE FOR A TOGA.
Congressman John J. Each May Su
ceed Quarles as Senator from
That State.
La Crosse. Wis.—Of the several men;
who are being mentioned as possible
successors to Senator Quarles, who will
retire next March as a result of the stal
wart victory in Wisconsin, none are
more favorably known throughout the
state than Hon. John J. Esch. It is said,
that Gov. La Follette favors State Chair
man Connor for the place, but many of
HON. JOHN J. ESCH.
(A Possible Successor of Senator Quarles,.
of Wisconsin.)
the governor's friends are in favor of
Congressman Esch, and he is a likely
winner in the senatorial race. He allied
himself with the La Follette forces in.
the closing days of the last campaign,
Bnd worked hard for the election of the
stalwart ticket. He residrs at. this place
and represents the Seventh Wisconsin,
district in the lower house, where he is
now serving his second term.
Easy Money for Prima Donnas.
Singing for phonographs seems to b»
as high-paid musical exercise as there
is. A phonograph company has offered
a prima donna, who sings at the Metro
politan opera house this winter, $14,000
for four songs. That is ?f>.ooo as soon
as the songs are sung and J2,000 ayear
for four years as a reward for not sing
ing into any other macnine. Great arid!
many are the means of income of a god
dess of grand opera. She could live
splendidly on what she can get for using
a pill, a perfume, a piano, or a phono
graph.
Pensioning- Railway Employes.
The Pennsylvania railroad has a sys
tem by which aged employes are retiree}
on a pension. This is a liberal method
of providing for men of advanced years
who have served the company long and
faithfully. Three employes have jusx
been retired after faithful service of 42.
45 and 48 years, respectively.
A Checking System.
In Thibet nearly every public office
has two incumbents. One is supposed
to be a check on the other. But some
times this dual authority does notworH
well —In war, for exampl®.