Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 January 1901 — WASHINGTON LETTER. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON LETTER.

From Our Regular Correspondent: Shakespear held up for the suspicion of all future ages the man who protests- too i>uch and too often. Just now Senator Hanna is the man. He ifronce more protesting that the Ship Subsidy bill will put no money in his pocket, and that stories of his being interested in Steamship lines that will profit by the mensuie, if it can be jamed through, are wicked calumnies. The Senate is still hammering away at the Army Reorganization bill, but it is probable that it will be passed this week. By the aid of a few republicans, the democrats succeeded in getting an amendment adopted making volunteer eligible to appointment to the grade of captain in the regular army as well as lieutenant. Why the bosses of the House have allowed the debate on the River and Harbor bill, which everybody expected to pass several days ago, to drag on until Monday afternoon, when it closed, is one of the legislative puzzles of the week. Inasmuch as it was as well known from the first that the bill was to pass. It is quite certain theilelay (has been for a purpose, although the purpose is not yet apparent. Hon. Bird S. Coler, the Comp--1 trailer of New York City, spent a day or two in Washington in the interest of Hon. Davd B. Hill, as the democratic candidate for President in 1904. Contrary to custom. Mr. Coler publicly announced that the object of his visit to Washington was to get Senators and Representatives to promise their support to Mr. Hill. He heard many kind words for Mr. Hill, who has i many friends in both pranches of Congress, but few, if any, democrats in Congress care to commit ■ themselves to any candidate so I far in advance. Senator Bacon said of the dangerous’power vested in the President by the Army Reorganization bill, which is still before [the Senate: ‘‘The passage of this bill will mark an epoch in the I .S. Senators may scoff, but it is nevertheless true that the passage of a bill by which the President shall control the size Of the [army, is a march toward empire. It is a great revolution that will be effected when the bill is put upon the statute books. It is tho evid nt purpose of the bill to eliminate for all time the volunteer system from the military establishI ment of the country, and create [for all time a great standing army. The issue is not to be evaded. Shall it be in the future the province of •the President to raise armies, or I shall it be the province of Confgress? I should rather see the [ party I belonged to condemned |to universal and never-eiding [banishment from political power, I than to see such an authorization of power placed upon the statute : books.”

Many of those who voted for j the committee bill are glad of the throw down given tha majority of the House Census Committee, when its bill was knocked out, and the Bureligh substitute Reapportionment bill, which has since passed the Senate and is now in Mr. McKinley's was passed by the House by the large majority of 63. While partisan politics were not introduced during the discussion/the fact that the committee bill was supported by practically all of the republican bosses in the House, made its defeat a black eye for them. Just before the House passed the usual resolution appropriating SIO,IW for the employment of exi tra policemen, etc. for Mr. McKinley's second inauguration, Representative Bell of Colo . took occasion to put himself on record as 1 opposing the appropriation of one cent of public money topay for anything connected with inauguration show. He pointed out facts, well known to most of his hearers, such as the usual profit made by the local committee having charge of the inauguration, from the sale of tickets to stands erected on government reservations, and tickets to the inaugural ball, held in the V. S. Pension Building. He also called attention very emphatically to the payment of $70,000 in salaries to employes of the pension office for inforced holidays, made necessary by the decoration of the building for the last inaugural ball, an expense which he pointed out will be incurred again at the coming inauguration. Mr. Bell expressed the opinion that, those who profited, and not the genera) government, should pay the expenses of Presidential inaugurations. Dr. Robert M.Coltman, a native of Washington, who ha* been h Surgeon in the Chinese Customs Service for fifteen years, is visiting his old home. That he hasn’t a high opinion of Minister Conger may bt judged from the following remarks made by h'in: "Conger

is about as capable as any couutry farmer would have been had he been placed in that important position. If it had not been for Conger and Sir Claude Macdonald, the British Minister, we would never have had the trouble we did. They listened to the Chinese Foreign Office, instead of heeding information from there own trustworthy officials. Congor does not understand his business. The government here made itself the laughing stock of the other powers by trying to have negotiations removedfrom Pekin on Conger’s recommendation.”