Show PENSION HUNTERS BUNTERS MAKE GRAND RUSH UPON W WASHINGTON Congress Is Overwhelmed Hill Still stin in Presidential Race E or Lewis for Second Place Other Gossip of the National Capital 4 i Special Correspondence c I W eb 7 is over overwhelmed 0 whelmed with pension bills I For Fr the first ft time since the civil wr r the pension list t 49 4 stationary at I about ab ut a 1 year If It coo once u ts down the barn bar aril and becomes the tool I of certain eer pension attorneys the te increase i is i 1 likely to be from to 1 a year Senator chairman of the com eom committee I mittet on en pensions II startled d his associates a 8 by sounding a warning note recently by I predicting increases mrea in al an amounting to toV V yearl yearly if it all the present demands I Iare are granted grunted This latest latent move of Qt the pen pension penion ion sion attorneys is the direct result re of their j t lailure to secure ur the dismissal l of Pension J f I O Evans Erans s Thus far flir In the present congress there have been introduced in the senate alone and nd referred to tnt the committee committe tn en pen pensions ions 3 0 bills bUls and the t they twy are tre a re coming in at II t such H it rat rate that Senator Sf Gallinger pre predicts diets that before lh end 4 rd of th the session eMlon on nn March 4 the total will ill reach 3 00 Tie lie predicts tM that this number will 1111 be doubled in the next congress nd will wUl be trebled I in th the congress that will succeed it un unless less Iesi te 1 something be done to check cheek the evil evill In hi n the house of ot representatives there have l IKen ken een about l J i pension pe bills bUls Introduced 1 during the congress Chairman er and nd other member of tn house and senate committees teat feat I ea that hat such a tremendous tt volume of pension pen may become dammed up that final 1 ly all ai a resistance wilt will be he swept aside ald and an anit it will be b impossible to any tern hm of rules for separating the mentor meritorious ious ions fron fr Jr the claims laim laimIt It t W that led Senator to M a resolution r lut n le re recently e providing for the U l of or 0 a joint committee e to consist t of the chair chairmen chairmen men mn of the senate and house hOlle committees on lona to consider the whole sub subject subject b of special pension legislation with WithY a yew Y ew to the adoption of rules which will guard congress against being heing overrun by claims of no mont merit J Hill Em is Still in Race Bo BoThe The from Albany that former Senator David Bennett Hill will not accept the leadership of the Demo Demot t ratie party In 1904 U Is taken with a grain of salt t by v Democratic D politicians from Ms hIs own state and from froin other states who 1 know the hermit of moat I intimately While it i Is IC probably tru true that th t former lormer Senator Hill i Is anxious to build I M 1 a fortune for himself In his old are age i believe beliE that tb t if he hels Is offered tn the presidential nomination by the th Demo Democratic Democratic cratic delegate delegat HI at t th the next national nation eon con x he hp would not decline to accept it It has been b en th ambition of David Bennett Hill Hills life Ute to become the president president dent of the United States SUites Financially he heis heis heis is well enough off of to sacrifice his law practice in order to make th the race lor for forthe the presidency IH in 1 1004 04 If alive and In good health It k is believed to M be A fact here not only by Nw York politicians but by those tho from front southern and western stated stute who have recently talked with him that he be would accept aid ad make the tort sort of campaign that hat he Is considered eon A capable of or doing doin In any an event the Dem Dam Democratic Damte i ir te r presidential nomination in 1904 Is Ia I pretty sure to go to some som eastern man mananti and anti the one most often spoken of as the most available candidate is Senator hal Dubois for Vice President It is I not likely that William Jennings Bryan will win h have une v his name presented or have it considered at the th nominating con eon convention of hH his in This will eave the west vest w t coast states tates in tn a position to capture second place on the ticket The mot most likely candidate te for the vice pre Mep ial nomination at this titis time dis i used though the time for tor selecting can cn candidates Hd it te s i Is luse v ao hence is Senator 1 7 Fred J red T Dubois of 0 Idaho or James Janies J mes Hamil Hamilton ton Lewis of Washington Wa ln ton state M 11 Mr 1 Hill is nominated for first place on the next national ticket and accepts as he be is almost certain to do either Senator Du of James Himilton Lewis tam stand an excellent chance di to become come b his running r mate Cabinet Makers Busy The customary stories stones are accumulating a mulat lug ing t ng regarding the changes that President Pr McKinley is apt to make malt in his cabinet after March 4 next Some of them have hae in n fact but a good many arc are mere rumors It is well known knon that At Attorney Attorney torney General GrIgs G s is to retire next nex spring pring but the cabinet propJets prophets seem to tobe tobe tobe be unable to locate ideate his biB possible successor in the department of Justice The Tie story tor several times printed and ana again nin In revived r ved that t t Senator Spooner of or Wl Wisconsin eon tn will Witt succeed Mr Gnus Griggs as torney a general U Ls not ot credited by the of Ot that gentleman It U Senator Spooner sou ie le te lre he could have hare Ve without with Ul doubt d suc sue succeeded as senator from front Wiscon Wisconsin sin at t the close of his present term He tie announced more than a year ago ahO how however however ever that bat he would nd net be a candidate for reelection tc the senate and lind in H a statement issued from front Milwaukee gave Ms bra fir reasons s in substance that thal he had had enough of political life Ute and proposed to retire from office to give ve his lull full at attention Attention to the practice ot o his profession as a lawyer It seems unlikely there therefore therefore fore that the Wisconsin WI senator would what whit is 18 vO o in n incases me cases caRs a minor place In President Pre Mc cabinet The Too gossips rus lpg will wilt probably probably probably ably have bave to go further an pick out some other man for Attorney General Griggs successor There are men from Tom ot 01 the western ana ama mt le e cem states and attorneys of prominence In their own sections who are arp being lor for the vacancy that will wm occur when Attorney f Y General Griggs Grigg from of office office fice lice The present indications are that the president has not yet made up UI his mind the man he will wIH name for the head of the department of justice when Mr Griggs leaves the cabinet There he lie tender are some who think that may this thie position to Senator Wolcott of Cob Colo Colorado rado r do whose t term rm expires ex on Oil March 4 in any event f ent it Is believed that If the Colorado senator aeRator is not given this office the president will find lied some place satis sati satisfactory satisfactory factory to him in the diplomatic matIe service Mortars to be beThe Abandoned The war department declare that another important step in the t im ha improvement provement of 81 o seacoast ordnance will be betaken betaken taken by that department upon recommendation recommendation inundation of the ordnance and board The mortar probably will willbe wIllbe willbe be abandoned as part of the coast equip equipment equipment ment meat There ThE long has been a great deal of question whether the mortar is a re reliable re reliable liable piece of ordnance In this country there has been no real test tet of o its Ita value alue Some recent have shown strown that bat littie Uttie can be done with the mortar under voder er the most mOM favorable conditions and that it was wa largely accidental when a ashot ashot shot ft fired red from a fixed platform hit a target et the position o of which was definitely known The experts believe that the abandonment of the mortar is fully a a Important in a plan of increasing the efficiency ot or the const coast fortifications as aM the Ute discontinuance of the disappearing sun gun carriage It is estimated that every discharge of f a mortar battery ba tery means meant the expenditure of about 5 which is con considered extravagant in view vie of the re remote remote mote chances chanc of hitting an object even with the entire battery wl In this t connection t it is significant sf that I the tbs tb pending p fortifications bill as reported from frosi the committees contains an item foe fOI I for gun un batteries 8 In pre previous previous vou fortifications acts this appropriation lion tion has kas been credited to gun and mortar batteries All provision for mortars is left out of the fortifications bill Most Powerful Guns in World It is stated at the navy department that the most powerful batteries mounted on onan any an warships in the world have been decided upon for the five new battleships already ai contracted for r and alid t tWo pro pron Tn lit n too the naval nv l tr fa biU now before congress The main battery of each sill consist of four guns four 83 F and sixteen 6 The 68 and 12 arfe arb a superposed and there are eight irs in either broadside Twelve of these js are ar aron aron on the main deck on a le level el with tle 12 ts las s nd rid 1 of 01 these four are art on the corners of the vessel with dead and an nn arc of degrees drees e Above fh eh e of these corners iso e ot oJ ottie the e rem four fa a well protect rm or d casen teR This Tit is a battery gun guu firing three times time a It Jfe the new pattern naval navai gun the latest test improve improvement mont ment of the ordnance experts e and anA nl is t 1 as much superior to tY tJ t old weapon as a l gun is an an W with It Ith the new smokeless p its pound projectiles start fr frs frI H the muzzle with the velocity of 2000 feet teet a second Instead I of 2000 feet the best obtained by its I predecessor pred cEssor Each of these sixteen guns una ns Is capable of piercing at the rate of three tiree times tildeS a minute the armor of any ant an battle battleship battleship ship ever built except ex that of turrets and citadels ci dels In other words the new i weapon can easily perforate over six inches of the best Krupp Kruip armor at two miles DUes range rae and more than seven inches at t one mile J S SVAN VAN Al TWERP |