The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-12-05
CAPITAL CHATTER /!
What Heath Writes Is from the
National Capital.
What O'Neil Says Of the Vicious and
IniquitOus Pension Fraud.
FAIRcHILD mURMURs VERY GENTLY
Other News from the Nations Capital
Which VIII Undoubtedly BE of
Interest to All.

| tne session OF congress approaches there
are two topics in Washington which alb
| sorb to the exclusion of ali others the at
! tention OF every one interested in the
national politics These two Questions,
each of them so complicated as 10 pos
sess all the the charm Of uncertain spec
ulatiOn, are first the composition of the
cabinet to be announced next March,
and second whether there will be An ex-
ira session of the next congress called by
President Cleveland.
AS to the first of these questions, the
composition of Mr. Cleveland's Cabinet,
the political prophets found some light
to day in the apparently authoritative
announcement that the post of the secre.
tary Of the treasury will again be filled
! by Mr.. FairChild, of New York Ii il
is true that Mr.. Fairchild has really been
asked by Mr. Cleveland TO accept the
! post in which he succeeded Mr. Man
ming, the cabinet situation is cleared up
so far as the most important place in it
in both a public and a political sense is
concerned. There will be no cabinet
officer of the next administration bur
/ dened with more serious problems than
the secretary Of the treasury. The re.
suits or the possible results Of the Inter
national Monetary Conference, now in
session at Brussels, will be largely af
fected by his views; the question of the
/ free coinage Of silver, which will un
! doubtedly be injected into the proceed
| ings of the next congress, will also be in
| tluenced by his bias the varied scheme
Of the third party for the issuing Of
bonds or Of currency based upon stored
! agricultural products will also have to
be encountered by this official; and, per
! haps more important than any of these
/ problems, will be the question Of how to
again pile up a surplus in the treasury
! for political effect, while at the same
! time meeting the clamor Of the craZt
| theorists of the West and South
| The talk about Mr. Farchild's appoint
ment as secretary Of the treasury is met
/ by the usual discOunting cry that his in.
come from his private business is too
great to be sacrificed for portfolio car
rying with it salary of only $4,000
year. This is an argument that need not
be seriously considered, inasmuch as the
position Of secretary of the treasury can
I ne made to lead to more lucrative posi-
tiOns in the financial world after it's ex,
piration But it may be properly borne
! in mind by the cabinet makers that one
William F. Harrity, OF Pennsylvania
! aims to have had something to do with
the election OF Mr.. Cleveland. Mr. Uar-
: rty has been slated by the prophets for
the place Of postmaster general, seem
, ingly for no better reason than that under
. the last Cleveland administration he was
I the much criticised postmaster at Phila-
delphia. As amatter Of fact, Mr.. Harrlty
is known by his friends to have no de
sire to be postmaster general Mr.. Har
! rty is the president Of prominent trust
company IL Philadelphia, just as is Mr..
! Fairchild in New York. and in case the
/ latter has not been actually offered and
accepted the treasury seCretaryship il
! will be no surprise to see this position
offered to the chairman of the democratic
national committee Whoever may b.
! appointed secretary of the treasury by
! Mr.. Cleveland will certainly encounter
great deal of criticism from the various
branches of the democracy and its allies,
who are so seriously divided upon the
questions Of currency AMI finance. The
selection of Pennsylvania whose con
nection with Wall street Nigh: be as
sumed TO be less direct than that Of eN-
! Secretary Farchild would not therefore
b. surprising.
! Commissioner Raum's estimate that
! $l65. 600, 900 will be necessary to pay pen
Sims during the next fiscal year, ami the
estimate of the house cummi tee on aPpro
priatons that it will lake between $3.50,
/ 100000 and $500 100000 to meet the
pension requirements for the next fiscal
year, have had the effect Of renewing
talk ab6et AeVising the pension roll in
such a manner as to cut down the total
expenditures a. much a i possible, and
not do any violence 10 pensioners who
are actually in need Representative
O'NeIH, of Mas, ichu-ett~, who l. d IN n
Der of the sab committee of the apprn
prIations Comnutee charged win the
preparation OF the pension bill, says he
has been making study Of the subject,
with view to sharp revision of the pen
sion list, and colIating opinion in con-
gress, from which 70 make proposition
TO go into law, and il is his idea that the
pension list should be pruned down 80
as to
/ l. Stop the pensions Of all soldiers,
widows and orphans who do not actually
need them in order TO live. This would
take away the pensions which such men