Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 February 1905 — WASHINGTON LETTER. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON LETTER.

Political and General Gossip of the National Capitol. speciul Correspondence to The Democrat: "Hoisted with its own petard” is the inscription which should be emblHZoned on .the doors of the United Stales Senate. For three wet ks the Senate debated the arbitration treaties submitted by Hie President for ratification and finally determined that the treaties as worded, implied a violation of the constitution and amended them in accordance with the ideas of the constitutional lawyers of the upper chamber, despite the urgent insistence of the President that the treaties be approved without change. Opinions differ as to i lie merits of the controversey which involved a question of constitutional law too abstruse, perhaps for the average citizen to decide, but while the Senate was engaged in removing the mole from the Presidential eye it failed to see the beam in its own.

Inadvertently, no doubt, but not the less certainly, the Senate itself perpetrated aa unquestionable violation of the constitution when it adopted the llansbrough amendment to the Agricultural appropriation bill, instructing the Secretary of the Treasury not to apply the drawback provision of the Dingley Act to flour made in whole or in part of imported wheat. The House was quick to pereieve the invasion of its constitutional prerogative of initiating revenue legislation, a violation of the constitution far more obvious than that alleged to be involved in the arbitration treaties, and the result was that the Senate has been obliged to recede from its position and strike from the Agricultural bill the offending amendment before the House would consent to consider it, at all. t t t

When the Agricultural bill reached the House the unconstitutionality of the Hansbrough amendment was immediately perceived and without bringing the bill np for consideration a resolution was proposed respectfully calling the attention of the Senate to its violation of the prerogative of the House. When this resolution reached the Senate its equity was immediately appreciated and Senator Hansbrough himself moved to strike from the bill the offending amendment. This done, the bill was again passed and returned to the House, all of which goes to show that the best constitutional lawyers may differ regarding the exact meaning of the constititutiou and that the best intentioned may unwittingly violate even the clearest provisions of that venerable embodiment known as the constitution of the United States.

The President has sen t to the Senate a remarkable message on affairs in San Domingo and a protocol which, at first glance, meet with the approval of a large of the members of the upper chamber. It is almost too early to make predictions regarding the ultimate fate of the treaty but it is obvious already that there will be no division on party lines. The President in his message points out the advantages which must accure to the Southern, and especially the Gulf States from stability and prosperity in the Domincan Republic and his argument appeals ta Southern Democrats with quite as much force as to Northern Republicans. The protocol, or treaty, provides that the United States shall take charge of the financial affairs of San Domingo; collect, at the expense of that Republic, all of her customs duties and turn over to the San Domingan government 45 per cent of the gross receipts for current expenses; out of the remaining 55 percent shall be paid the expenses of collection, and the remainder shall be devoted to the payment of San Domingo’s outstanding indebtedness. The United States will also adjudicate all unliquidated indebtedness and will exercise reasonable control over the tariff schedules of the Republic until its debts shall be paid. ft t

In his message the President reviews the long history of San Domingo’s “frenzied finance” which has produced a condition of absolute insolvency and declares that this country cannot logically maintain the Monroe Doctrine in its entirety without taking tha proposed step. He points out that this country would regard as unfriendly any interference with San Domingo’s destiny by a nation not of this hemisphere and yet there are European creditors who have exhausted every diplomatic expedient in their efforts to collect the just dues and which

now appeals to the United States to enforce the payment of these dues or, to permit forcible control of San Domingan affairs by her European creditors. The protocol makes manifest San Domingo’s willingness to have the United States act as her receiver and sentiment seems to be tending toward the belief that such receivership constitutes the only satisfactory solution of the problem presented by the insolvent Republic.

The Swayne impeachment trial drags wearily on in the Senate with little apparent sign of reaching a conclusion, although the attorneys for the defendent assert their belief that they will be able to bring the case to a close by the last of this week. The end is still in doubt although that seems to be largely the result of a popular misconception of the character of an impeachment. It is probable that the divisers of impeachment proceedings intended to provide a means of removing a judge or other official, otherwise irremovable when such offieihl had demonstrated his unfitness for the office he held, but did not int end that such removal, or impeachment, should constitute a punishment or disgrace even more excessive than cii uint.l prosecution and a short term of imprisonment. But whatever may have been the intention of those who provided the machinery for impeachment, it is manifest now that a man impeached would be more seriously punished than the man convicted of a minor offense and imprisoned therefor. For this reason it seems doubtful if the Senate will impeach in this instance, although were the Senate merely called upon to declare the defendant unfit further to act as judge there is little doubt as to what its decisiou would be.