Mckinley's Wish To Become Law

MCKINLEY'S WISH TO BECOME LAW.

President McKinley, on his last tour of the South, among other notable utterances, expressed the wish and the hope that sometime the nation would appropriately mark the graves of the confederate soldiers and sailors who died in the great fratricidal strife of the civil war. The sentiment was one that appealed at once to every openminded person north and south. The patriotic impulse which prompted this utterance was entirely worthy the large hearted president who had been a soldier on the opposite side.

Now it seems that this wish of the martyred president is likely to be realized upon. Senator Foraker has introduced a bill which authorized the secretary of war to ascertain the locations of the confederates who died in the federal prisons and military hospitals in the north, and to acquire possession of the ground where such soldiers are buried. It also makes provision for white marble headstones over the graves of the men who wore the gray and that these burial grounds shall be cared for by the nation for all time. The bill carries an appropriation of $100,000 to carry its provisions into effect. This is a proposition that will meet the hearty approval of northern people generally.

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The report of the special legal commissioners appointed by President Roosevelt to examine into the frauds in the postoffice department has been made public and it confirms what had already been discovered and adds to the charges against Perry Heath, Geo. W. Beavers, Machen and others. Messrs. Bonaparte and Conrad, the commissioners, go farther than Assistant Postmaster General Bristow does, and think the names of the members of congress who were implicated in the frauds should be made public. So long as the real culprits are not named suspicion is sure to rest guilty. These members of congress no doubt had much influence with the executive officials who had a part In the frauds. Let the names of all be given to the public.

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Secretary of War Root testifies that Gen. Wood's methods of collecting evidence against Rathbone were according to instructions from the war department. He says farther that the Jai Alai company is not a gambling company and that the concessions to this company were made before the American occupation. The concession to this company charged as a misdemeanor against Gen. Wood was that of an additional building and was approved by the war department. He also declares that the weakness of the charge against Gen. Wood's integrity relative to Cuban treasury accounts would have been made manifest a year ago if the senate had published official documents furnished it. All this strikes a hard blow at the charges against Wood.

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Now comes the statement that there is likely to be another uprising of natives at Manila in the not distant future, as they like Americans no better than they did Spaniards.

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John F. Bible, former candidate for lieutenant governor on the democratic ticket, has been arrested and fined $78.67 at St. Ignace for violating the game laws. It was charged that he bought the deer which he shipped home. They were seized at Mackinaw city by the game warden.

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The fact that there is at the present time a force of United States marines roaming about within the territory of the new republic of Panama looking for any Columbian soldiers who may have gotten into that neck of woods, indicates what a farce the so called new republic of Panama is. We are not at war with Columbia, the Panama railroad which we are to protect is not in danger and yet United States marines are gunning in Panama territory for Colombians. But any kind of a fiction will answer as an excuse where there is the power to back up the desire. In the mean time the great mass of our people seem pretty well satisfied with what has been done down there and what is being done.

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The senate of the United States is in the throes of a heated controversy over the legitimacy of the birth of the new republic of Panama. Republican Senator Hoar and democratic Senator Gorman are apparently of the opinion that all the circumstances attending the birth were not according to legitimacy, and in fact they have practically charged that it was questionable. Senator Foraker and Assistant Secretary of State Loomis have taken the opposite view, Foraker from his place in the senate and Loomis at a meeting of the Quill club in New York. That an assistant secretary of state should be sent to such a meeting to divulge state department secrets which the executive has been unwilling to give to the senate which is a part of the treaty making power is rather peculiar, according to Senator Gorman, an insult to the senate. But it is a good thing to have the entire matter aired. The people need all this information to enable them to determine the right course for them to pursue in this matter.