Milford chronicle., 1892-12-09
WASHINGTON LETTER
wAsHrNcroN. Dc.

WASHINGTON, Dec. s, 1904
The Presidents annual message to Coz
gress, although owing to the sad and or-
rowful conditions under which it was wkit-
ten, it lacked the polish of some the ke-
sident's other State papers, rings with pad Il
otism and true republican, sound from
beginning to its end, mailing, as it heuratiys'
ly does, the banner inscribed with Protec-
ton to Americans. at Home aud Abroad
Reciprocity, aud Honest Money" TO the
mast head Of the good old Republican ship,
which still proudly floats Notwithstanding
the severity of the storm through which she
passed last mouth The record Of this ad-
uinistration, synopsis Of which is 81 zen in
the message, has never been surpassed in
times of peace, aud is not likely to be soon.
Every Republican who reads this message,
and everyone should, will feel proud that he
voted for Benjamin Harrison, who tells him,
between the lines, that il is better to be
right than to be President ard in the same
wav repeats the command Of the famous
sailor Don. give up the ship" The mes
sage will not go to Congress until to morrow,
but I was favored with an advance copy.
The opening of Congress occurred without
any specially notable incident The Senate
took up, under resolution adopsed at the
last session, the auti-option BIZ as the "un-
6nished business" This b1i has brought
strong lobby to wszEiugtou, which is
plentifully supplied 9Th cash by the specu-
lators whose business as dealers in options
on graiu, cotton, etc, will be ended ifthe
bill becomes law. and this lobby has been
iudulgsng in a game Of brag about how easy
tl,iSbill will be defeated. Senator Washburn,
who is in charge Of the bill, is confident that
it will be passed and become law. He says
nothing but sharp parliamentary practice on
the part of those opposed to the bill eau pre-
vent its being passed
There are no present indications thas the
Democrats of the House are going to do any
better, either in point Of attendance or in
Legislation, than they did atthe last session.
Last week Mr.. Holman, chairman Of the
committee on Appropriateness stated that at
least ese of the regular appropriation bills
would be ready to be reported to the House
to day; but none of them were ready, aud
according to the stories around the Capitol
there is q regular cat aud dog fight among
the Democrats on the several committees
having charge of Appropriations as to where
the cutting that Mr.. Holman insists shall be
done is to begin Each fellow wants the
cutting to be done in all the bills except the
particular one in which he is interested. It
looks now as il the heaviest cutting, pro-
portionately, is to be done in the District ol
Columbia bill, one Of the smallest Of the ie-
gular appropriation bills, and also the one
having the smallest political 'pull."
It is difficult to get a Democratic member
ofthe House to commit himself either fol
or against anything Take the matter of i'm
migration for instance, with which politics
should have nothing whatever to do. Tn {
Senate committee on Immigration will in a
report on its investigation of the subject re-
commend that bill be passed suspendiug
all immigration for one year, and Surgeon
Gen. Wyman, of the Marine Hospital Ser
vice, who in charge Of the National quara a
tine against the cholera, will in his annual
report say that such suspension is an alb
solNtely necessary precaution to keep the
choiF Fra outof this country next year. Still
Democratic members of the House are non
comss, ittal One member jokiugly said,
when I spoke to him about it: ooh, you can
not expect me to express myself until know
what Mr.. Cleveland thinks about it; am
not going to spoil my chance for patronage
by opposing his wishes"
In that joke lies the real cause Of De mo
cratic reticenee. Even sensible Democ rats
like Representative Breckinridge, Of Ken
lucky, seem to have the idea that Mr.. Cleye.
land has been elected to be the autocradC
ruler Of all branches Of the government from
this time on This is what Breckinridge
said on the subject: HThe people of this
country have not only declared what they
wanted done, but they have also declared
that they want it done by Mr.. Cleveland
this is rough on the Democratic Congress).
think therefore that Mr.. Cleveland should
be premier as we'll as President, and that he
should prepare a tariff bill to be sent to Con
gress in. lieu Of a mere message of recon-
incubation" Was worse rot ever spoken
outside the walls Of an insane asylum
Why not abolish Congress aud make M.
Cleveland Car, at once What can be ex-
pected Of the ordinary Democrat when men
like Breckenridge, who is lawyer and pre-
sumably familiar with the Constitution Of
the United States, deliberately proposes to
override the clause in that Constitution n
which distinctly says that all revenue mea-
sures shall originate with the House Of Re-
presentatives7