Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 June 1907 — WASHINGTONG GOSSIP [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WASHINGTONG GOSSIP

Three companies of grizzled “Johnnie Rebs,” armed with muskets and sabers which they one day used against the national government, marched up Pennsylvania avenue under a special permit from the district commissioners, stacked their antiquated arms outside the President’s office in the White house grounds, deposited their furled battle flags, planted the Stars and Stripes, which had headed their picturesque column, and marched In to be received by the President of the United States with a handshake and a smile as hearty as any he ever has given to veterans who wore’ the blue/ Tiie mission of these Southern veterans was to invite the President to Nashville. v It was said to be the first time that confederate veterans in their old gray uniforms, bearing arms and carrying the furled flags of the Confederacy, preceded by the Star Spangled Banner, ever marched up Pennsylvania avenue. Be ,that as it may, the sight was a picturesque one, and it could hardly have been witnessed in the capital of any other country on earth. Nothing could better have illustrated the obliteration of the passions of the war tiipe than this advent of white haired confederate soldiers in the capital of the nation received by the President, although they were in the uniforms which stamped them as having resisted the authority of the national government with arms.. They were enthusiastically welcomed by the Southerners in Washington, and particularly the ladies, but even these friendly greetings were as nothing to that of scores of Union soldiers who are still to be found everywhere about the capital, and who welcomed their old antagonists with a perfect fusillade of Yankee cheers, the shouts being answered with somewhat husky reminiscences of the famous “rebel yell.”

The first co-operative experiment ever tried in the nation’s capital is an attempt by the 35,000 government employes of Washington to reduce the excessive cost of*living by organizing a co-operative department store. A preliminary organization has been formed and plans are now being perfected. The co-operative societies of England and Australia are to be models. The army and navy and the civil service co-oper-ative societies of London have attained world-wide reputation for their success, and a special committee is now in communication with their managers to get details. During the past ten years the cost of living in Washington has increased from 17 to 25 per cent, while the salaries of government employes have remained stationary. The consequence fs that government employes are praying for panic times. They say if this terrible prosperity continues they will be ground into the earth. The plan for the new store Is to sell the goods at current market rates, and then to return the profit to members. Ten per cent will be set aside as a sinking fund to improve the store, An experienced man will be chosen for manager and will be paid

Increase In the price of meat, alleged to be due to the action of the big packing establishments in refusing to pay commission men and stock raisers for animals which fail to pass the government Inspection required by the new meat inspection law, will, In all probability, cause debate and may bring about legislation In the next Congress. The action of the packers is expected to arouse particularly those members of Congress who have Insisted that the packers should pay the cost of the meat Inspection, for which Congress now appropriates $3,000,000 annually. One of the arguments used against this proposal has been the allegation that the packers would at once shift the cost of the inspection to the cattle raisers. Now that the packers propose to shift the loss from condemned carcasses while, at the same time they profit by ths advertisement of the government guaranty of the wholesomeness of their products-the proponents of the plan to make them pay for the government Inspection Insist they have an argument Senators Beveridge of Indiana and Galllnger of New Hampshire have alreadypromised to renew the fight in the next Congress.

The government’s definition of whisky was settled finally by President Roosevelt, when he approved a decls lon of the Attorney General upholding the opinion of Dr. H. W. Wiley, chemist -of the Agricultural Department That Is, thgt all so-called whiskies shall be labeled just what they are, while the straight or. unmodified product Is the only one to be labeled whisky. The decision Is made undei the pure food law and will affect 90 per cent of commercial whisky. After the first of July no special delivery stamp will be required to expedite a letter through the postoffice. Ten cents’ worth of postage stamps of any denomination will make the letter “special.** It is to be hoped that when the ruling goes into effect the department will take some pains to redeem its implied promise. As managed at present, the payment of ten cents scarcely se-i cures as rapid delivery as the ordinary iaher enjoys in many foreign countries