San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-13
WASHINGTON LETTER.
[From Our Regular Correspondent.
Washington, ID. c., Nov. 10, $50

The President is hard at work on
his annual message to congress, just
as he would have been had here
been no political cyclone. He listens
patiently to all the explanations
made by the returning republicans OF
the causes, and is satisfied that the
result was brought about principally
by stay.at-home republicans, and
that thew remained at home on &C
count Of democratic misrepresenta-
lions concerning the new tariff law
and the federal election bill, and that
the number of republicans that voted
for democrats is small in any one To-
cality, though 1t mounts up in the
A notable thing about the situation
is. that not q single prominent re-
publican who has been to Washing
ton since the election feels any alarm
about the result in 1892; without ex-
ceptjon they are of the opinion that
the dissatisfaction in the republican
ranks which enabled the democrats
to elect such q large number of re-
representatives. in the Northern States,
will all have disappeared before the
opening of the National campaign.
This is certainly encouraging.
"What about the election bill?' Is
a question that has been asked very
often since the election. l do not
pretend to speak by authority, but
Judging from what is said by republl-
can representatives and senators now
here, Think it will be pushed through
the senate at once. However, moth
ing will be done until a caucus of re-
publican senators has been held, and
as there are several prominent sem
at0rs who have from the start thought
it upwise to pass this bill, 1t may be
decided to let it drop. The President
will. in all probability, make some
recommendation regarding this Dill
in his message, he has been generally
supposed to be in favor oft, but there
are rumors during the last day or two
that he now thinks it would be un-
wise to attempt to pass it through h
senate at the short session; not be-
cause he does not think there is a me-
cessity for such q law, but because he
fears democratic filibustering against
it would take up so much time that 1t
would be impossible to pass the Con-
gressional apportiopment bill, which
will also be bitterly opposed by the
democrats, in both house and senate,
and the thirteen regular annual ap-
preparation bills, at the short session.
1t is perfectly natural that the presi-
dent should be averse to calling an
extra session of the newly elected
fifty-second congress in the spring,
and the failure of ven one of the reg
ular appropriation bills to pass at the
coming session will leave him no
choice in the matter-the passage of
all the appropriation bills before the
frst OF next July is necessary to keep
the wheels of government running.
Some of the s~hrewdest political OBJ
servers here think that nothing short
of q miracle can prevent the holding
of an extra session in the spring, and
the fact that the democrats have al
ready opened the campaign for the
speakership of the house in the Fifty
second Congress, shows that they
believe an extra session to be one of
the ccrtainties, OF course the repub-
licans will do their level best to pass
all necessary legislation at the COM
ing short session. The closing session
III 'uo Fllty -hlbt x OaihiJ
bids fair to be one of the most inter-
esting aud exciting short sessions
ever held,
Speaking of the campaign for the
speakership ofthe next house: 1t is
already in full blast here, and owing
to the large and unwieldly majority
that the democrats will have, it
promises 10 be unusually hot and ex-
citing. For the first time in thirty
years the northern democrats will
find themselves able to control the
house, If necessary, without the aid
of a single vote from the southern
states, and that they will attempt to
elect a northern democrat speaker is
we'll nigh certain. The southern
democrats have so long regarded the
speakership of the house as their
special perquisite, when the demo-
Gratis controlled the house, that
they are not at all disposed to give
it up, and will not without
making a most bitter fight. Already
they are arguing that among the
democratic representatives, elected
from the northern states, there is nc
man who possesses the parliament.
airy knowledge and legislative exper.
fence necessary to make a successful
speaker of the house, and up to this
time the argument has been an un'
answerable one. Neither Bynum o
Indiana nor Springer of Illinois, both
of whom are candidates, a hope Il
secure the solid support of the mem
bers from the northern states, anC
without il they cannot win. Mile, o
Texas; Crisp and Blount, of Georgia
Breckenridge, of Kentucky; Hatch