Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 June 1895 — WASHINGTON. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON.

President Cleveland Friday afternoon announced the appointment of Richard Olney, of Massachusetts, to be Secretary of State and Judson Harmon, of Ohio, to be Attorney General. The announcement of Mr. Olney’s promotion caused no surprise, as it had been expected, but the nomination of Harmon caused a sensation, as his name had not been mentioned in connection with the vacancy; Mr.Harmon i,s about 50 years old, has been a judge of the Common Pleas in Clncinrnati and at present is one of the counsel of the “Big Four” and other roads. It is said at the Agricultural Department that there is no truth in the published reports that pork examined microscopically for export to Germany and France and found to contain trichinae is stamped by the inspectors as free from disease and r so transported and sold in interstate commeree trade. Early in February Secretary Mortem ordered all pork found to be affected with trichinosis tanked, but later it was decided that the present law did not give the Secretary this authority. The enforcement of the order was therefore postponed until July 1, when the new law goes into effect. It is doubtful if the law will give the Secretary the necessary powder audit is probable the only- relief-must come through the local authorities unless the Secretary secures from the shippers of pork to Germany and France (the countries requiring the inspection for trichinae) voluntary agreements, such as have been made with shippers of beef, mutton, etc.,, by which the latter agree to tank such carcasses as do not pass the Federal inspection. If such a regulation is put in force, however, it is feared that the pork exportation to Germany and France will cease. “The percentage of pork affected with trichinosis is so large,” said Mr. Salmon, “that if all the carcasses found to be affected went to the rendering vats the shippers’ profits would all disappear.” The amount of pork exported to Germany and France averages from 5,000,000 to 7,000,000 pounds monthly. It is becoming each day a more serious problem for the Navy Department to man the new ships with the small number of sailors allowed by law. In recent years there have been constant additions to the new navy, but Congress has not seen fit to increase in like proportion the -number of sailors allowed to man the ships. The modern ship, with its complex machinery and great size, requires more men than the small sailing steamers of the war period, yet with all the liberality which Congress has shown in appropriating money for the construction of new vessels it has failed to grasp the Importance of giving them effective crews. Last year Secretary Herbert appealed to the legislative branch of the Government to authorize the enlargement of the number of-enlisted men by 2,000, pointing to the number of new ships that will be completed and turned over to the navy in the course of a year or two as the basis of his application. The Appropriation Committee, llowever, saw fit to cut this number down to 1,000 additional men. The battleships Maine and Texas will be ready this summer to go into commission. To man these two ships about n 7OO men will be-re-quired, and as the Lancaster is also to go into service as a practice ship 300 men must be assigned to her. Thus the entire additional 1,000 men allowed by Congress will be absorbed. Meanwhile the big battleships Indiana. Oregon. lowa and Massachusetts are rapidly approaching completion, and there wifi be no sailors to place on them unless the department shall put out of commission some other ships and transfer their crews to the new vessels.