Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1907 — WASHINGTON LETTER. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON LETTER.

Political and General Gossip of the National Capital. Special Correspondence to The Democrat. Of immense interest to the whole south are the charges that have been filed with the Post Office Department by Rep. Livingston of Georgia and Harvie Jordan of the Southern Cotton Growers Association, alleging gross fraud on the part of the New York

•” £ ■ —■ — • ', r — ... j Cotton Exchange and asking that the exchange be excludedfrom the mail like any other patebt medicine swindler or green goods man. The charges declare that the New York Cotton Exchange has degenerated from a legitimate business institution into a common gambling concern to the immense detriment of the cotton interests of the whole south, It is charged that the quotations on the ex change rule from $5 to $8 per bab lower than the actual price of cottqjjUn the southern fields .and that the quotations sent” out from New York-every day are as a rule sixteen points lower than the actual price of the corresponding grades of cotton. The charges of fraud have been turned over to Judge Goodwin of the legal department, and inspectors will be put on the case with orders to investigate it on its merits and see whether or not a fraud.order should be issued against the exchange debarring it from the use of the mail in transaction of business. t t t

A warm fight is raging in the treasury department over the proposed establishment of a new subtreasury somewhere in the south, The location of this institution lies nominally with the secretary of the treasury, but as a matter of fact he usually leaves the selection partially to business men from the section to be served by the sub-treasury and principally to the delegations in congress having an interest in the district affected. In the present case there is a hot fight on between Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis (Tenn), Jackson (Miss.,) and several less important towns. Secretary Shaw has not given any indication of what his final cho'ce will be, but Congressman Livingston has made a desperate fight in favor of Atlanta, with Birmingham as a second choice. Representatives of the Memphis interests have also been after the secretary, but it is believed if the matter is settled purely upon its geographical merits that Atlanta will be selected as best serving the interests of the country affected. t t t

Quite an important holiday contribution was made to Washington this week by Andrew Carnegie, who has announced his intention of donating $750,000 for a permanent home for the Bureau of American Republics. The south is, perhaps, more interested in the work of this bureau than any other section of the country, because owing to its location it is better fitted to benefit by any expansion erf trude between the United States and South America. Many people even in Washington do not realize exactly the scope and importance of this bureau. It is not exactly a government institution, but is international in its scope, being kept up jointly by the United States and the various republics of South America, all of which are members of the PanAmerican conference. It prints reports on trade relations and trade openings both in this country and in South America (these reports being published in Spanish, English and Portugese), answers all sorts of trade queries, and is generally useful in maintaining friendly, political and commercial relations between this country and the republics on the south. The plan for a new building was developed to the point of getting $200,000 appropriated from congress, while the other republics interested contributed $125,000, on the basis of their respective population. This was scarcely as much money as the bureau needed, but with the generous contribution of Mr. Carnegie, which was made after consultation with the president and Secretary Root, it will be possible to erect a magnificent home for the bureau with administrative offices, reading rooms and a library to house the bureau’s unique collection of books, which now amounts to over 12,000 volumes. 11 + There is every prospect uiat the Interstate Commerce commission will recommend to congress at the present session the passage of drastic railroad legislation for the protection of passengers from such collisions as have shocked the country for years past, but especially during the last few months. The commission was given authority by congress to institute a thorough inquiry into the block signal system last June. This inquiry was commenced, but was given great impetus by the recent disastrous accidents, two on the southern, two on the B. & 0., one in Nebraska and one in Michigan, all coming within the space of a few weeks. The commission has taken advantage of its nearness to Washington to make a special study of the railroad collision at Terra Ootta with a view to finding

out Whether the much vaunted block system is really aa perfect in theory as the railroads would have the public believe, and whether the carelessness of the engineersis not really as reflex result of their being over driven by the railroad companies. It has not been easy for the commission to find out much about the actual operation >f the block signal system, but enough haa been disclosed to show ihat the railroads are ciiminally lux in the way the system is managed, and it is probable that the commission will recommend to congress the adoption of the double block system with supplementary signal devices and will be empowered by congress to force the adoption of the system on the railroads as safety appliances are now made legally necessary on both freight and passenger cars. . ' tt t ' Everybody is looking forward with intense interest to the coming test of strength between the administration and its opponents in the senate over the investigation of the Brownsville race riot. Senator Foraker professes to feel certain of the adoption of his resolution designed to prove that the president went beyond his authority in dismissing three companies of the Twenty-fifth infantry. On the other hand Senator Lodge and Senator Spooner are slated to act as the president’s champions when the matter comes up for debate, and one of the liveliest legislative passages of the present generation may be confidently expected.