The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1891-07-17
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent,


A great big scandal. involving,
through more than one of its members,
the administration, may be the out
come of the Itata business. 1t is
whispered in inside circles here that
the opinions Of certain people-the
matter is entirely too serious to use
names upon no better basis than rum
or-have been influenced both for
and against the Chilian insurgents by
the receipt Of large sums of money,
which has, according to the story, been
furnished by certain parties in New
York who are heavily interested in
Chilian commerce, and whose business
rivalry is thought by many to be at the
bottom of all the trouble in that unfor-
tunate country. Certain it is that
Balmaceda and the insurgents are both
represented in Washington by shrewd
agents and lawyers, the latter Ameri-
cans, and the appearances indicate
that both sides are well supplied with
money and that at least one side has
paid big money for the right to use
the news columns Of certain newspa.
pers. The administration officially rec
ognizes only the Balmsceda govern
ment but Senor Montt, the represen-
tative here of the Chilian insurgents,
or, as he says, ''the only constitutional
government of Chilli appears to be
confident that the Itata will be released
by the courts and that the insurgents
will soon be recognized by this Gov
ernment.
1t is rather an odd coincidence that
Secretary Foster, the defender of the
extravaganza of the billion-dollar Con
gress, and man who has been pre-
eminent in his party as a spokesman,
should have reached the same conclu-
sion that the late Hon. Samuel ]. Ran
dali, who as chairman Of the Commit
tee on Appropriations Of the House of
Representatives made reputation for
honesty and economy in public expen-
ditures never surpassed, did as to the
advlsabllity of abolishing five out OF
the six Auditors Offices of the Treasury
department, because of the uselessness
of the work done in those Offices, which
consists almost entirely of duplicating
the work done in the Offices Of the
Comptroller Of the Treasury. Mr..
Randall once drew up bill to abolish
these and some other useless bureaux
of the Treasury department, but he
found it impossible to secure support
tor it in Congress, because it meant a
large reduction in the number of clerks
employed, which meant that much less
patronage for the Congressman. 1t
would be an easy matter, were Con-
gress SO disposed, to save nearly So,
100000 per year in this one depart
ment, by taking up and carrying out
Mr.. Randall's original idea, which for
some reason Mr.. Foster has seen fit
to endorse. There has been hitch
in making public the schedule for the
subsidized lines of steamships, which
was promised for last week by Mr..
Wanamaker. 1t is still in the hands
Of MIR. Harrison, who took it for re.
vision before leaving Washington, and
those who ought to know say that the
trouble has been that all the conferen-
ces between Mr.. Harrison and Mr..
Wanamaker have been taken up by
the latter's trying to make plain to the
former just what his connection had
been with the wrecked Keystone Bank
of Philadelphia and they say that Mr..
Harrison has subjected Mr.. Wanamak.
er to much more rigid cross exami-
nation than the committee in Phila-
delphia did. The republicans claim in
public that Mr.. Wansmaker's several
explanations have completely exoner-
ated him but among themselves they
are not quite so sure about it, and
many of them predict that it is going
to give the party lots Of trouble, par
ticu arly in Pennsylvania. 1t is Ger
tainly an affair to be deeply regretted,
not only by Mr.. Wanamaker's person
al and political friends, but by the pub
lie at large.
Prof. Dyrenforth of the Agricultural
Department is on his way to the most
arid section of western Kansas, carry
ing with him the balloons, kites, dyna-
mite bombs, etc, with which he ex.
poets to obtain by explosions in the
air copious fall Of rain in that region,
where rain is unknown. He has an
appropriation of $4,000 to spend in
experimenting.
Fourth Auditor Lynch, the negro
who with Ex-senator Bruce was given
office in exchange for Harrison dele
CATION from Mississippi, has just re-
turned from that State and reports that
the contract has been complied with,
and that not only Mississippi but the
entire South will send solid Harrison
delegation to the republican conven-
ton, which cannot be broken. He