San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-04-24
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent
WASHING ToN, April, 20, 1891.

OcudtOI SucILudu is Ill lOWu, duU
| many are the ruses that have been
tried for the purpose of getting an
authoritative statement from him as to
his future political inten zion, but no
one has yet succeeded in drawing him
out. A gentleman close to him per-
sonally and politically, and who
probably knows, if anybody does,
said to me: "Mr. Sherman isn't
ready to talk yet, and those ac-
quainted with him know how
useless it is for anybody to try to
pursuade him to do so until he is.
But you may be certain that when
the proper time comes the people of
Ohio will be told whether he wishes
to be reelected to the Senate; john
Sherman never travels under false
pretences, and never hesitates to ask
in manly and open manner for the
political support of his constituents
when he desires it," 1t is the opinion
of all the prominent republicans with
whom / have talked, among them
several Ohio men, that Mr.. Sherman
will be q candidate for reelection to
the Senate, and that also is my own
impression.
The success Of our special envoy ,ex-
Minister Foster, in negotiating with
Spain q reciprocity treaty between
Cuba and the United States, along the
lines of the Mckinley tariff act, gives
great satisfaction in official circles,
and most effectually disposes of all
the democratic fairy tales about there
being hitch on account of the de-
mand of Spain that we should place
Cuban tobacco on the free list. The
Spanish government was very anx-
ious that we should admit Cuba's to-
bacco free of duty, but 1t was far too
sensible to demand 1t, and when
informed that it was impossible there
was no more said aboutit.
The subject Of counterfeiting United
States currency is assuming grave
proportions and the officials of the
treasury department are just at pres
emit giving considerable time to study
ing 1t, In the hope OF discovering a
remedy or preventative. The chief en-
graver of the bureau of en- graviDg and
printing, who is away up as an ex-
pert, spent an hour in examining two
81 silver certificates, one genuine and
the other counterfeit, with powerful
magnifying glass, and his verdict was
that there was not the slightest
difference between the two notes.
New inventions in photo-mechanical
processes have made il easy and
cheap for the counterfeiters to repro
duce on a metal plate every line of q,
note and after little etching it is an
exact duplicate of the steel plate from,
which the note was originally printed
and which 1t had taken months to.
engrave.
The color In the red seals and the
green backs was once q protection,
but late discoveries in photochromy
makes 1t easy to reproduce the pre-
else shades. The chief OF the Secret
Service in his last annual report says
on this subject. 1.-THE genuine gov
ernments notes now adays, especially
the series of 1890, are marvels of the
engraving art aided by the wonderful
geometri lathe. One would think it
impossible to successfully coun ter
felt such work upon looking over the
complex AIRED of lines and patterns;
and yet at this moment counterfeit
ers are reproducing it 80 perfectly
that the elaborate beauty of this
paper money may be said to offer no
protection to the public or defense
against fraud"
The only way the expert has of de-
tecting this skillfully executed count
erfeits is by the paper and that has
been so well initiated that no one but
an expert can tell ittrom the genuine.
So that real Y about the only protec-
ton the public has against counter
feiting Is the vigilance of the Treas
ury Secret Service.
Representative Springer, of Illinois,
is now jocularly referred to as the
talking candidate" for speaker of
the house, because of the number of
his recent newspaper interviews. In
his last, after painting his own pros
poets q deep roseate hue, which, by
the way, is not visible to anyone else,
he sails into New York politics, NOM
mates for governor, and elects Repre-
sentative Roswell p. Flower, whose
"bsrrep' has SO often been on tap to
the "boys" of the democratic ma
chine, and makes him the democratic
presidential nominee, just as If those
other two northumberland and
Hill-were not in existence.
Really this speakershIp business
is getting decidedly interesting, and
each OF the would be democratic Pres
| idential candidates will soon have q
candidate for speaker. Mr.: Mills Is
the Cleveland candidate, Mr.. Crisp
the Hill candidate, and 1t looks rs If
Mr.. Springer was the Flower candi-
date, with q number of others yet to
be heard from.
The Italian business has again
simmered down, and everybody here
thinks that Rudini will find IL ex-
tremely difficult to answer Mr..
Blaine's last dispatch, which meets
with commendation on all sides and
from ayarybOdV r