People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 February 1896 — FROM WASHINGTON. [ARTICLE]

FROM WASHINGTON.

SENATOR BLANCHARD TALKS ON MONROE DOCTRINE. Policy of the Administration Upheld by the Louisiana Statesman —Seed Distribution to Be Continued —Nothin* of Interest in the Bouse. Washington, Feb. 12. —In the senate Tuesday the long-pending resolution which has brought out much criticism of the secretary of agriculture was passed without division. The measure was amended so as to provide that the purchase aS& distribution of seeds shall proceed as (heretofore. M. Blanchard (dem., La.) was then recognized for a speech on the Monroe doctrine. He strongly commended the president for the reassertion, on an en ■ larged basis, of the Monroe doctrine, and advocated that it be given the sanction of legislative endorsement. He said the time had come for such a declaration by congress—broad, bold, comprehensive, not made in anger nor menacing, but firm. The senator’s speech, while bold and firm, was in good temper, and evinced a spirit of kindred friendship and peace toward what he termed “our cis-Atlantic cousins.” Among other things, he said: “Shut out of participation in European policies, neither asking nor being invited to take part in the same, are we, too, to be deprived of the right to prescribe and dominate an American policy? On this point the people of the United States are especially sensitive. And it is not confined to any section or class of our people. It pervades all alike; it leaps over party lines and rises above party feeling. On the Atlantic seaboard, in the northwest, the caution of conservatism of capital and the fears of business disturbance may for a moment stay this feeling; but those who count upon this for the display of extreme forbearance on our part may find themselves greatly in error. Go ask the people of the great west and those of the revivified and rapidly recuperating south, and they will tell you that the time has come for a broadening of the scope of the Monroe doctrine and for a much more enlarged application of it. “Seventy-three years ago, when this doctrine was first proclaimed, the population of the United States was a little more than 9,000,000; from 9,000,000 of people we have multiplied to 70,000,000. From meager resources, we have plowed and planted, delved, mined and commerced and manufactured, builded and constructed our way to enormous aggregate wealth. We do not have to

make a demonstration on land or sea to proclaim our power, to mark our readiness for war. “This republic is not to act the big brother to each turbulent or revolutionary republic, or island, in the western hemisphere and convulse the world about matters of far less importance than many that arise in our own country. But it does behoove us to proclaim a distinctive American policy—a broad, comprehensive policy, that includes within its scope the three Americas — North, Central and South.” Mr. Allen (Pop., Neb.) replied briefly to Mr. Vest’s criticisms on the secretary of agriculture. Mr. Allen contended that any unusual allowance of seeds made by the secretary to Nebraska was due to the drouth there. Mr. Wolcott of Colorado interrupted with the statement that the eastern belt of Colorado had suffered from this same drouth, but the secretary of agriculture had declined to give the slightest help in the way of seeds. A discussion of Secretary Carlisle’s observance of civil-service methods came up on a provision of the deficiency bijl for the appointment of twenty-five expert money counters. Mr. Chandler sarcastically pointed out that the secretary’s letter requesting the twenty-five counters asked that he be given the selection, as the civilservice commission was not able to furnish the class of counters required. It was thus discovered, said Mr. Chandler, that the civil-service commission had broken down, and was so feeble and dilapidated that it could not furnish money counters. Mr. Lodge (Rep., Mass.) said there was no decrepitude in the civil-service commission.' This request of the secretary was due to his desire to control the appointments. Mr. Allen arraigned the civil-service system. It would in time turn over our government service to a lot of “cigar-ette-smoking dudes.” The senator said the two frauds of the public service were the civil-service commission and the interstate commerce commission.

Mr. Wolcott interjected a brief but somewhat sensational speech. He said the real menace to the country was the power of patronage lodged with the executive, and which had never before been used to such an extent as under the present administration. A free-co-nage bill would have passed through the last house of representatives had not the power of patronage been brought to bear by th j administration, especially the patronage controlled by the secretary of the treasury. Colorado was today flooded with appointments, many of them unfit ones, made by the secretary of the treasury for congressmen Who had “ratted” on the silver bill. Thus constituencies had been debauched. The best service that could be performed would be to deprive the president and his cabinet officers of the entire power of patronage, so that no lox ger senators and representatives would hang around the White House and cabinet officers begging for morsels of patronage. At thia point, the debate having di-

verged considerably from the appropriation bill, Mr; Hale yielded to an executive session, after which, at 5:36 p. m., the senate adjourned until today.

TRANSMITS CUBAN LETTERS. President Cleveland Sends the Correspondence .to the Hoove. Washington, Feb. 12.—The president Tuesday transmitted to the house such correspondence relative to Cuba as he deems not incompatible to the public interest. This was in response to a house resolution. The documents begin with the president’s proclamation of neutrality of June 17, 1895, and include correspondence regarding “the right of the consulgeneral to present remonstrances,” “the progress ofthe insurrection,” “protection and destruction of American property in Cuba,” and the arrests of a number of persons. The letters of the secretary of state to Mr. De Lome, the Spanish minsiter, insisted upon the right of Mr. Williams, our consul-gen-eral at Havana, to protest against the action of General Campos in confining American citizens and otherwise transgressing on American rights. There is much correspondence also relative to each individual case of the arrest by the Spaniards of the men claiming to be American citizens. In discussing one of these cases Assistant Secretary Uhl, in a telegram to Vice-Consul Springer at Havana, says the treaty of 1795 excludes the exercise of military jurisdiction altogether and requires arrests to be made and offenses proceeded against by ordinary jurisdiction. The military arm, he said, has no judicial cognizance over our citizens at any stage.

IN THE HOUSE. Little Interest Shown In the Discussions on the Bond Kill. Washington, Feb. 1?. —Under the arrangement made Monday, yesterday in the house was devoted to the consideration of business reported from the committee on thp District of Columbia. About 4 o’clock the debate on the bond bill was resumed. Concurrence was opposed by Messrs. Hill (rep.. Conn.), Lacy (rep., Iowa), and Burton (rep., Mo.). Messrs. De Armond (dem., Mo.) and Ogden (dem., La.) spoke in its favor. A recess was taken at 5:30 to 8 o’clock, the evening session to be devoted to debate. There were only thirteen members present at the night session of the house. The speakers were: Harris (rep., Ohio), Stone (rep., Pa.), Brown (rep., Tenn.), Howe (rep., N. Y.), Fowler (rep., N. J.), in favor of non-concur-rence in the senate free coinage substitute, and Otey (dem., Va.), and Baker (pop., Kan.), in favor of concurrence. At 10 o’clock p. m., the house recessed until 10:30 a. m. today.

Waller to Be Set Free. Washington, Feb. 12. —Ambassador Enstis has been instructed to accept the offer of the French government to release ex-United States Consul Waller from further imprisonment and pardon his offense on condition that the affair be thereby terminated as between France and the United States, and that the latter make no claim in behalf of the prisoner based upon his arrest, conviction or imprisonment. Waller may, however, sue in the French courts for damages for ill-treatment. These facts, showing the amicable termination of the celebrated Waller incident, appear in the correspondence sent to both houses of congress by the President in answer to resolutions of inquiry upon the subject.