Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-02-18
Washington Letter.

WASHINGTON, ID. c., Feb s, 1892
Postmaster General wanamaker has
| issued an order that will be hailed with
| pleasure by thousands of people in every
section of the country. 1t makes every
| post-office where the postmasters salary
exceeds $500 per annum a money order
office. This will within the next eighteen
months more than double the number Of
| money order offices in the country, and
while giving so many people this conven-
lent and absolutely safe way Of sending
money through the mails ii will add very
little to the current expenses of the
postal service, and in the end it will prob
ably add quite largely to its earnings
That Is the republican idea of a business
like administration of the affairs of the
government.
There are more democrats from the
North, (includiug in that term all of the
States except those In the SOUTH than
from the South, iu the House, but it Is
now very evident that the Southern men
have outgeneraled the other fellows and
captured everything that will count In the
legislation of the House, and the express
Ion, ''the South is again In the saddle" is
literally true at this time, so far as the
House Of Representatives is concerned.
The South has the Speaker, and the South
has all three Of the democratic members
OF the committee on rules, which under
the new code of rules has greater con-
troll over the business of the House than
any similar committee ever had before.
In fact 1t is absolutely impossible for any
Of the other committees to either get
business before the House or to get 1t
disposed Of after 1t is taken up, without
the assistance Of that committee, except
in the rare cases where there is no active
opposition on the floor. The full signil-
canoe of the situation is just beginning to
dawn upon the .outwitted members, since
the new rules have gone into operation.
They can do nothing now but grin and
bear it,"
The representatives of the Canadian
government will always find this govern
ment ready to listen courteously to any
proposition they may desire to make con-
cerning commercial reciprocity between
the two countries, but as long as the re-
publican party is in power the Canadians
need hope for no treaty which fully opens
our market to them, while theirs are only
/ half open to US. The President and
Secretary Blaine will be pleased to see the
Canadian Commissioners, but it Is only
upon one basis that they will open nego-
tlation with them,
| The present anti-Chinese law will expire
| by limitation in May next; hence the
activity in Congress on the subject
| There have been a dozen bills intro
duced but the Senate has reported in favor
OF bill continuing the present law for
period of ten years as a substitute for
them all.
| delegation from the Western Water
Ways convention recently held at Evans
vile, Indiana, has been explaining the
necessity for liberal harbor and river ap-
propriations to the House and Senate
committees. If the Holman policy is car
red out there will be no liberal appropria-
ton for anything.
Representative Mills dagger is no long
er concealed; it is openly held aloft in his
strong right hand while ne has served
notice upon the Ways and Means COM
mttee that he intends to use it on the first
tariff bill it reports, that does not please
him. Turn down the lights and let the
band play slow music
! The House in passing a deficiency bill of
S200,00 for the current fiscal year for the
Census Bureau, had great opportunity to
carry out democratic threats of attacking
that Bureau. but because they knew they
had no case they made no attack, except
by general innuendo. Representative Say
ers, of Texas, who was in charge of the
bill said: Had the Superintendent Of
the Census been left to operate his Bureau
without outside pressure to put in Office a
large number Of incompetent persons, the
expenditures would have been very much
less" Mr.. Sayers forgot however to add
that the most of this outside pressure came
from democratic Senators and Representa-
tives. Representative Stone, OF Kentucky,
a democrat. said Of Superintendent Por-
ters work ut has been efficient, prompt
and rapid, and better than that of any
previous superintendent"
The resolution introduced In the House
by Representative Fithisn of Illinois, in.
structing the Ways and Means committee
to report bill putting all agricultural
implements on the free list is q bluff. pure
and simple, and nobody knows it any
better than its author. To put agriculture
implements on the free list without first
putting all classes Of lumber and metal on
the free list would close every manufac
tory Of any class Of agricultural imple.
ments in the United States, and the dem.
ocratic party would not dare to do that
even If 1t had both branches Of Congress
and the Presidency,