West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-02-14
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
ID. c.,
February IL, 1889.

Mr.. thomson rs assistant Secretary
of the Treasury at present, and is Il
very warm friend of the President.
The removal of Mr.. Edgerton was
not a surprise to any N familiar
with the workings Of the Commits
sion. 1t had several times been in
timated to him that his resignation
would be accepted, but he refused
to take the hint, and finally when
the President asked him in plain
language to resign, he declined to
do so, and the removal followed.
Mr.. Edgerton is q good man, but
holding the opinions that he does,
he should have accepted the
office in the first place. The reno
val leaves only one Commissioner in
Office, and he is a Republican. For
that reason it is thought that the
Senate will probably confirm Mr..
Thomson, as the law provided for a
Democrat on the board, and there
is another vacancy into which Gen.
Harrison a put n Republican.
Representative Springer thinks
his Omnibus" bill will yet get
through in spite of the fact that the
conferees have failed to agree upon
it. He says that three, if not more,
Republican Senators will vote with
the Democratic Senators to admit
New Mexico. / shall only believe
it when they do it.
The report ofthe Treasury experts
on the tariff bill shows that outside
Of the internal revenue features the
measure will only make n reduction
of from three to five millions of dol
lars. The House Ways and Means
Committee will report the bill this
week with a recommendation that
it be rejected. Just what will fol-
low if it be rejected it is difficult to
say. The internal revenue features
OF the bill are satisfactory to quite
a number of Democrats in the
House, and unless they can be sat
isfied that the Cowles bill, repeating
the tobacco tax, now in the hands of
Mr.. Randall's committe, or a SINH
lar N will be Immediately reported
to the House, / shall not be surpris-
to see the Senate bill adopted. And
| believe hat its adoption would
create far more dissatisfaction among
Republicans than Democrats.
Senator Vest is going to have some
fun with the Republican Senators
when the Senate conferees on the
Springer Omnibus" bill make
their report to the Senate. Mr..
Vest will prove by the Record that
in 1875, when New Mexico was
thOughtto be Republican, that many
Republicans now in the Senate vo-
ted in the House for the admission
ofthat territory alongwith Colorado.
Now he wants to know why these
same men oppose the admission of
that territory. The inference is
very plain to Senator Vest and every
body else. New Mexico is now
Democratic. What care these Re-
publican Senators for consistency
when party interests are at stake.
There is a movement here which
is said to have the Presidents APP
proval, to have Senator Kenna
withdrawn from the contest in
West Virginia. The idea is that it
is impossible to have Senator Kenna
reelected, and that some other
Democrat may be elected, thus saw
ing the seat to the party. AS a
compensation it is proposed that the
President shall nominate Mr.. Ken
ma Interstate Commissioner, "Sen-
atorial courtesy making it certain
that he would be Immediately con-
frmed.
Secretary Bayard has once more
become a target for criticism. He
has demanded the recognition Of II.
Sewall, l.. S. Consul General to
Samoa. Mr.. Sewell has recently
been q witness before the foreign
committees Of the House and Senate,
and in his testimony regarding Sa-
moan matters he took occasion 10
express opinions cr%iticizing the De
partment Of State in a somewhat
severe manner. Whether Mr.. Bay
ard is human, and has punished his
subordinate officer for indiscretion
Anybody else might have done the
same thing under the same circum-