People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 February 1894 — Correspondence. [ARTICLE]

Correspondence.

FROM WASHINGTON. An Interesting Cuicii of Xews From f lic Capitol. From our Regular Correspondent. Washington, Feb. 9, '94. It should not require any argument to cod vince a patriotic American that matters dealing with the foreign policy of the government should never be made partisan political questions in congress. But hot-headed men on both sides did that very thing with the Hawaiin question in the house and the result, as might have been expected, was a rigid drawing of party lines and the adoption of a resolution that can hardly be satisfactory to anybody, although some people consider it an endorsement of President Cleveland's policy. It is not probable that Mr. Cleveland feels proud of such an endorsement. It condemns Minister Stevens in unmeasured terms for his alleged interference with a friendly government, but ignores the interference of Minister Willis with another friendly government. In fact, it was the opinion of conservative people, that it would have been better for the house to have allowed the Senate to have taken the iniative step, as its foreign committee will in a lev/ days make a report on its investigation, now completed. If there were no hot-heads in congress the proceedings would not be so lively, but the legislation would be ■wiser. • o • Mr. Bland s bni for the coinare of the seigniorage in the Treasury is now before the house, and it looks as though it was going to revive some of the features of the silver contest at the pvtra session. Secretary Carlisle had been quoted as favoring the bill conditionally, bu‘ when the condition became known it was not satisfactory to the friends of the bill. He want ed to strike out that portion oi the bill making the coinage compulsory, leaving it discretionary with the Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Bland was willing to compromise to the extent of only issuing the silver certificates as fast as the silver is coined, instead of all at once; but that is as far as he will go. The antisilver men are refusing to vote to make a quorum, in order to prevent consideration of the bill. © 6 0 J7ot even the importance of the tariff and of the financial situation could prevent the contest that is now on between President Cleveland and Senator Hill, over the confirmation of the nomination of Mr. Peckham, of New York, to the vacant seat on the Supreme Court, occupying a conspiuous place in congressional gossip. One hour it is stated that Mr. Cleveland will win and the next that Hill will have a walk-over. There is one thing certain. Up to the last meeting of the committee when the matter was postponed until next Monday Mr. Hill had the best of it. He has been willing at either of the three meetings held to take a vote, but those favoring confirmation, were afraid and asked for postponement. It may be true, as charged by some, that President Cleveland is making overtures to certain senators of his party with whom he has had no intercourse for many months, but it is absolutely certain that Mr. Cleveland’s friends have been trying to bring about a reconciliation between him and those senators. There may be no connection between those efforts and the nomination of John R. Walker, a brother-in-law of Senator Cockrell, to be U. S. Attorney, and of General O. Shelby, who is a warm friend of Senator Vest, to be U. S. Marshall for the western district of Missouri, but when it is remembered that the Missouri senators had been ignored in making previous appointments and that they had been counted upon to vote against Peckkam's confirmation, as they did against Hornblower, these nominations become significant. It is not believed that the votes of either of thqse senators <saa be influenced by such methods. © 9 © □ The refusal of the senate committee on finance to grant hearings on the tariff has raised quite a rumpus among those who wished to be heard and the republicans in the senate, but inasmuch as these hearings never change any votes and that the tariff is wrongly construed to be a partisan political question, the refusal cannot be regarded as a

public misfortune, as it will shorten the time that the tariff will be before the senate by several weeks, and it cannot be made too short for those who are more interested in seeing the matter settled than in any particular duty. No matter how much a man may oppose a change when he knows that it is going to be made eventually he wants it done as soon as possible in order that he may know just what it is. From every quarter, requests for prompt action are pouring in on the senate. • © • No excitement and but little interest attended the passing of the bill for the repeal of the federal election laws, by the senate. Not a dozen senators have shown any real inteiest in the debate on the bill. It seemed to be passed more because it was a party measure of the majority than because anybody was particularly interested in seeing it done. ,•99 Moody and Sanky began a series of revival meetings here this week, and although they have the largest hall in the city, with accommodations for about 8,000 people, they are turning away thousands every night.