Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1888 — WASHINGTON. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON.

China has refused to ratify the treaty with the United States restricting the admission of Chinese subjects to the latter country. ' President Cleveland has been on a fishing excusion to Eagle Rock, Va., meeting with his usual good luck. His boat at one time was caught in the rapids and but for assistance he would have been shipwrecked. The annual report of the Commissioner shows 452,557 pensioners on the rolls, an increase of 6,035 during last year The amount of pensions paid during the year was $78,775,862, an increase over the previous year of $5,368,280. The total amount disbursed by pension agents for all purposes was $79,746,146. The cost attending such disbursements was in the- aggregate $3,262,524, it being a fraction less than 4 per cent, of the total expenditures of the bureau. The highest number of claims was for Ohio and Indiana. The President has vetoed 146 pension bills. The caucus of Republican Senators at Mr. Edmund’s house Wednesday night brought together twenttatwo of the thirty-five Republican Senators now in Washington. There was a three hours’ conference. Tariff was the only topic discussed; and a very harmonious agreement on sugar, wool and lumber schedules was finally reached. The sugar tax in the Republican bill is to be reduced 50 per cent, below existing rates; the lumber tax is to remain as at present, and the duty on the fine grades of flour is to be raised 1 cent peg pound. The bill now ip course of preparation by the Senate finance sub-committee, Mr. Allison said Wednesday night, is to be pushed to completion, and will probably be ready within ten days. The Republican Senators expect to see the President issue another political message before the end of the campaign. The one on the fisheries treaty is regarded but a foretaste of what is to come. The next one is expected to deal with the tariff and to" be highly sensational, intended to influence the voters in other sections. The message on the fisheries treaty was expected to affect the foreign born voters in New York more especially, while the message on the tariff will be directed specifically toward the doubtful States in every section. The President, up to this time, has given no appreciable attention to’three or four of the Southern States, which the Republicans regard as extremely doubtful, and the next message may have a little ginger in it for the Southern section. Estimates are being received by some of the House committees for the compilation of the appropriations bills in the next session of this Congress, beginning in December. A number of calls have been made on departments for information'to be used in the compilation of the next series of appropriation bills, indicating that the chairmen of at least some of the committees and the heads of the departments are laboring under the impression that there will be a continuous session of this Congress. When it was first suggested, three or four weeks ago, that it was propable that there would be no regular recess, and the session would continue right along, there was a protest from almosteVery man in Congress. It was a very remarkable state of affairs, such as was never encountered before, except, possibly, in one or two intances, and the statesmen could not see how they Were going to live without their usual three or four months’ vacation, especially in view of a National campaign. As the session wore on the interest in the work increased, and Senators and Representatives alike began to agree that they would as lief remain here as to go home and into the campaign, and then a few actually began to work to have the session prolonged. There are a majority of the Senators, it is believed, who prefer to have the session run right along to having a recess and being called home on the stump. If they thought that a recess was propable they would impede the way. It is the belief now that there will be a fortnight’s recess at election time, and then Congress will continue as though it was the dead of winter. It is a clear case bf “freeze out” between the administration and the Democrats in the House one side, and the Republican Senators on the other side.