Rensselaer Democrat, Volume 1, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 July 1898 — WASHINGTON GOSSIP [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WASHINGTON GOSSIP

Hundreds of volunteers from Camp Alger, where there are about 25.000 sefldiera, <1 come to Washington every day. Many of • them have never seen the capital before and up to this time the saloons and disreputable houses have been reaping a rich 58 harvest from their patronage. The police | have been instructed not to arrest or otherwise interfere with men in uniform unless it is absolutely necessary for their welfare or the protection of others, and notwithstanding this order the station 1 houses are filled with drunken soldier* nearly every night. It has been the rule to send them back to camp as soon as they | are sober without placing their names upon the docket of arrests or bringing them before the police court. Exceptions have been made only in cases of assault and other misdemeanors which could not be overlooked. It has come to be the practice also for the provost marshal of the comp to send an officer and squad of men Into the city every morning for the purpose of picking up the boys who have fallen victims to temptations or are otherwise detained. * • • The object of the Secretary of War in ordering that the recruits under the second call for troops shall be used in strengthening the regiments mustered in under the first call, so that each company shall have 100 and each regiment I,2(X> men, is not only to promote the efficiency of the army, but is a measure of economy worth several millions of dollars to the Government. It cuts down the number of regiments and the number of companies, and consequently the number of officers, one-third, and as the pay of the officers of a regiment under the old plan aggregates almost as much as the pay of the men the expense will be reduced onethird also. • • • People in Washington who go to market < or shopping these days are pretty sure to receive gold coin as change, and it is the first time we have had that experience ■ since greenbacks were adopted by Secretary Chase in 1862. During the last six weeks the disbursing officers of the different departments have been paying the salaries of the clerks in the yellow meta), and all drafts and warrants upon the treasury have been paid in mixed money at the proportion of $5 in paper to sls in coin. v4The result has been a scarcity of greenbacks and silver certificates and a. large amount of gold coin in common circulation.

• • • It seems to be settled that Gen. Miles | himself instead of Gen. Coppinger will lead the army to Porto Rico, and it is the i President’s intention to allow him full sway in making the preparations for the expedition and selecting ths officers and troops that will accompany him. Miles has upset the plans that v»ere made in the War Department while he was at work at Tampa, and, having done so, will be held J responsible for making and carrying out , a new plan of campaign. • ♦ * The superintendent of Washington police has been instructed to notify all liquor •; sellers of the intention strictly to enforce 1 a law which was passed by Congress in 18G1 forbidding the sale of liquor in any form to soldiers in the service of the United States, or to any person wearing the uniform of such a soldier, under the penalty of S2O fine for each offense and the forfeiture *of both the municipal and the United States license for the sale of liquor. • • • The boys at Camp Alger are very eager to get away and are agitated by every rumor that refers to their departure. They are rapidly becoming hardened soldiers and will soon be ready for serious business. The regiments are all short in numbers. Recruits are coming in rapidly, several hundred every day, but they are mostly green men who have never served with the militia and have to be drilled in the simplest rudiments of military duty.

• « • It has been decided that there will be no general Invasion of Cuba until fall. Th&t has been the President’s determination from the beginning. Even before the declaration of war he made up his mind that if hostilities should occur he would sot be responsible for the sacrifice of the lives he knew must be lost from yellow fever and other climatic diseases if an attempt were to be made to invade Cuba during the rainy season. • • • There is intense indignation beth in army ami navy circles and in Congress because of the general understanding that Hobson has been kept in Castle Morro exposed to tfie Are of our guns. If the usual practices of warfare were followed Hobson and the Americans would be removed to a place of safety, instead of danger. The putting forward of prisoners as a shield is u relic of barbarism. There is a vacancy in the postoffice at Strode’s Mills, Pa., for the first tipae in fifty-three years. It is caused by the death of Joseph Strode at the age of 84, who was appointed postmaster by President James K. Polk Oct. 21, 1845, and held the office continuously ever since. There are two older men in the postal service. One of them is in Maine and the other in Maryland. • • • Secretary Gage’s 3 per cent bonds are ? already at a premium of 2 per cent. Bankers and brokers in different parts of the country are publishing circulars and advertisements offering to pay that bonus for subscriptions that are acknowledged by the treasury. • • • It will be the middle of July before an \ attack can be made upon Porto Rico. ThO number of troops and the selection of the- . regiments ; will be determined later. Gen. Miles thinks he should havs Bet less thaw 20,000 men, and the regiments which are in the best condition when the expedition Is ready to start will be selected. ' • • • Under the new revenue law the clerical force in the internal revenue bureau to to be considerably increased and the new ap> pointers are exempt the usual civil- - service examination. ' 1