Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1891-01-15
THE F|FTY-F|RST CONGRESS.
The News From the Nationais Capital as il
Effects the interests of the West
ern Farmer.
The Farmers Alliance Shows Its Influence
in the Senate-The New Finance
Scheme.

Scheme.
THE ALLIANCE FOOTPRINTS.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10-Special Cor.
respondence: The senate could scarcely
have done more this week to shake things
up if majority had been Farmers Alli-
ance men. It shelved the elections bill
which is opposed to the bitter end by the
alliance, but whether permanently or not
remains to be seen. After shelving this
measure it took up the financial ques-
tion in which the alliance is very deeply
interested. 1t was certainly a revolution
very quietly accomplished, and it is only
natural that it should have brought on
charges of political bargaining, made
against the republican members who
voted with the democrats; but it did not
require the denial of those gentlemen to
to convince close observers of the falsity
of the charges.
THE SILVER MEN BUSY.
Ever since the opening of the present
session the silver men in both parties,
have been growing more restless and more
determined that they would make a fight
for free coinage. They waited a month
for the disposal of the. elections bill and
seeing that measure still in the way,
they decided to wait no longer.
They knew, as did everybody else that
the democrats would vote solidly to take
up the ten commandments, if thereby the
elections bill could be displaced, and they
made the attempt to have Senator Ste
wart move to take up the financial bill
and it worked admirably. That is prac-
tically the whole story in a nut she'll,
| ~ WHAT WILL BE THE REsULT?
But the important question now is,
what will be the result? Senators Ste
wart and Teller, republicans, and Daniel
and Reagan, democrats, say that the bill
is sure to pass tn senate with free coin
age amendment, and they think a vote
will be reached early next week. 1T GER
tainly looks now as if these gen
tlemen were correct about the passage
Of the bill with q free coinage amendent,
but that vote can be reached as soon as
they expect is GENERALLY considered lit
tie doubtful. While the democrats. even
those who oppose free coinage, would
doubtless gladly aid in passing bill
with free coinage amendment, in the
/ hov>o hot 1vo,, IN bo x,ofoo<3 I1, %Io D,oc
ident, should 1t get through the house,
they will not wish to be in hurry about
it unless they are given some assurances
that the elections bill will not again be
taken up as soon as the financial bill is
disposed of. Besides this there is an
ominous reticence, on the part of the
anti-silver republicans, as to their inten-
tions, fact which may mean great
deal or nothing. In the hope of again
getting up the elections bill these republi-
cans might be willing to see this bill &C
through, trusting to defeat it in the
house, or as last resort by a presidential
veto, but nothing is certain about it and
whatever the outcome is, the senate fol
the rest Of the session promises to be a
much more interesting body than usual
| BLAINE'S INDIFFERENCE.
Mr. Blaine is the one member of the ad.
minstration who does not seem to be
bothering his head about either the elec.
tions bill or the financial bill. Perhaps
it may be that his attention is entirely
taken up with the Behring sea matter,
the correspondence relating to which is
now under consideration in congress, and
his Pan-American schemes, which are be.
ginning to assume some semblence OF
reality; the international monetary con.
ference, recommended by his Pan-Amer-
ican congress- met here this week, and
the railroad commission has been here for
sometime, to say nothing of the head
quarter that has been established here
for the purpose of furnishing commercial
information about South and Central
| America
BIT OF ANCIENT HISTORY.
The senate, in executive session the
other day, dug up bit of ancient his
tory relating to the Nicaragua Canal and
the treaty negotiated by President Arthur,
Which, as has been discovered, has never
been ratified by the senate. That treaty
bound the United States and Nicaragua
to build the canal. The senate commit
tee on foreign relations has been instruct
ed to inquire into the status of the cor
poration now engaged in building the
canal and to ascertain what is required
to fully protect our interests therein.
CLEVELAND STILL IN THE DARK.
The oft-repeated statement that Sena-
tor Vest, of Missouri, had received let
ter from Ex-presidentC Cleveland, in which
that gentleman formally surrenders
his opposition to the free coinage of sill
yer, has at last been proved lie too.
Senator Vest stated on the floor