Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 July 1895 — WASHINGTON. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON.

The union carpenters engaged on the Catholic University at Washington, D. C., have struck for an advance of wages. During the year ended June 30 the Postoffiee Department issued 2,523,000,000 stamps, valued at $50,580,418, an increase of $4,000,000 over the previous year. The value of envelopes issued was $1,905,161. Captain Henry W. Howgate, the former disbursing officer of the signal service, who, after years of wandering as a fugitive from justice, was found in New York City in business as a second-hand book dealer and brought back to Washington, was sentenced Tuesday to eight years’ imprisonment in the penitentiary for forgery and falsification of accounts in 1879. Captain Howgate was then remanded to jail to await the result of the appeal. The annual reports of the several bureau officers of the agricultural department for the fiscal year just ended will show a general pruning of expenses. The figures in Secretary Morton’s report will show that the regular expenditures for the department during the year aggregated about $1,800,000. The appropriations for the same period reached $2,500,915. There Will, therefore, be covered back into the treasury about $700,000. Last year $027,115 was covered back into the treasury. Two divisions, one of agrostology and the other of agricultural soils, have been created. Professor Lamson Scribner is chief of the former and Professor Milton Whitney of the other. The navy department has advertised for proposals for building three new torpedoboats large enough-jto go to sea and make twenty-six knots an hour. The act under which these boats are to be built permits them to be constructed on the Atlantic coast only in the event that the navy department is unable to secure reasonable offers from responsible bidders on the Pacific coast, the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Inquiries are being received from iron-workers and ship-build; ers along the Gulf and on the Mississippi which encourage the department officials to hope that ;bids will be forthcoming from these sections, and to stimulate the inauguration of new naval shipwrights the department has been at some pains to furnish the inquirers with all information that might properly be given them in the way of detailed plans of the boats nfid matters of internal construction that will assist them in submitting estimates. One purpose is to correct a very prevajent impression among embryo naval constructors that a torpedo-boat is easy to build, being nothing more than a powerful engine encased in the smallest hull that will float it, for in reality it is one of the most uncertain products of the naval architect, and only the highest degree of designing and stractdral skill and the use of the best material Will etahd the severe strains and develop the very high speed absolutely reouired by the contracts under which the

omer, claims to have discovered a notch near the south horn of Venus. Fire in the famous Godillot military outfitting establishment at Paris caused damage to the extent of 7,000,000 franes. King Humbert has bestowed the title of Prince upon Premier Crlspi as a protest against the repeated attacks made upon him by socialists and others. According to advices received Peru has made ample apology for insulting the British Vice Consul, William. Fry, in September last, when Fry was arrested add compelled to subscribe to a forced loan. The steamer Empress Of China brings the news that “Billy” Waters, of Victoria and San Francisco, pugilist and bar-room bouncer, is now Minister of War and Vice President of the Republic of Formosa. It is reported that a small Cuban expedition from Jamaica, while attempting to land on the xmast .west of Sauti-igo recently, was so closely pursued by Spanish warships as to be compelled to beach and burn their schooner, with the bulk of the munitions aboard, to avert capture. The Spanish Government has apppointed a commission to consider the claims of the United States regarding ihe coufiscation of the estate of Antonio Maximo Mora, an American citizen -residing on the island of Cuba. The value of the property taken from Mora was alleged to be about $2,500,000. This was done during a previous insurrection in Cuba. In December, 1886, Spain promised to pay $1,500,000 under this claim, with interest on such part of the indemnity as should be deferred. . ■