The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1892-05-06
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER,
ON orr Regular Correspondept

From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, May 2.-The Democratic lead
ahsenteeism or large number of Democratic
members of the House is jeopardilng the
party's control Of the next House; 1t is all
very well to blame the Republicans for
refusing to vote to make quorum so
so that the House can transact its business but
the voters will not forget that if every Demo
cratic member was in his seat the party could
east 81 votes more than II quorum of the
House, and could transact business without the
vote of IL single Republican, If they did not
choose to vote. 1t is simply folly to expect
that the Republicans will neglect any oppor-
tunity to bring to the attention of the country
the lack OF quorum, and i'll declining to vote
they are but following the example set them
by the Democrats in the last Congress.
What then is to be donel That is just what
is puZZling the gentlemen who are regarded rs
party leaders. All sorts of suggestions have
been made and many favor the plan of making
a direct appeal to the Democratic voters, ask
ing them to bring pressure enough to bear upon
their members to compel them to remain in
their seats. In view of the general desire for re-
nomination IL would not require much pressure
of this sort to control the average absentee.
Whatever is to be done must be done quickly.
Every day that there is not quorum of Dem
ocrats on the floor of the House will add to the
difficulty of clccting a Democratic majority of
the next House, and to lose the House would
be dire misfortune that even the election of
the President will not fully compensate the
party for. The trouble seems to be that the
Democratic majority is SO large that some of
the members think their presence is not neces-
Sary. This is u mistake that must be brought
home to them.
The admissions of Special Examiner Green
walt of the Pension Bureau are of themselves
sufficient cause for the summary dismissal of
Commissioner Raum. Greenwalt admitted,
under the cross-examination of Representative
Enloe, that under orders from Raum he had
gone to Indiana and given IL man S25 to send
to Representative Cooper to be paid to Mr..
Cooper's private Secretary, for information
which had been furnished concerning pension
claims, i'll the hope OF proving Mr.. Cooper
guilty of allowing his Secretary To accept mon
ey for the information which had been obtain
ed by the use of his name and official privileges
at the Pension Bureau. Nice sort of business
for the head of one of the most important bu-
wasn't it?
Ex-United States Treasurer Huston, of Indi-
| ana, who left Washington last year swearing
vengeance on Harrison because of Sights to
himself or family, must have been placated.
He is now in Washington and this Is the way he
talks: There is no other expectation out our
way than that President Harrison will be re-
nominated. There never any organized
opposition to him in Indiana"
TEDDY" Roosevelt is on the war path for
Mr.. Wanamaker, and he has announced his in
tentiOn to figuratively scalp the Postmaster
General for the delectation of the House COM
mittee on Reform in the Civil Service, which is
engaged in making an investigation of the
charges Roosevelt made against 81 employees
of the Baltimore Postoffice, last year. Mr..
Wanamaker, in his testimony before the COM
mittee, presented the report of the Postofice
inspectors, white-washing the aforesaid en-
plOyes, and intimated that Mr.. Roosevelt had
been green enough to allow himself to be I'M
posed on when lie made his investigation.
This got "Teddy's" fighting blood up and he
has sworn revenge and asked for hearing be-
fore the committee. Some lively testimony is
expected from him, as 1t is believed that he
has good case. Besides, it is known that he
has no love for Mr.. Wanamaker, whom he call
ed a careless handler of the truth during the
investigation concerning the notorious Shidy,
of Milwaukee. 1t Is also said that Mr.. Wanna
maker has in reserve a broadsde of hot shot
which he proposes pouring into Teddy" if it
becomes necessary for him to defend himself.
Although Mr. Wanamaker is a Sunday School
teacher and probably knows nothing about
the great American game of poker, there are
people who say that this is thrown out as a
"bluff'' to make Roosevelt haul in his horns.
1t makes little difference either way. Let them
fight, and may the best man win and may the
public find out some facts about how the civil
service reform law is administered.
Russell Harrison had $1,000 worth of the
stock of the Yellowstone Park Association
given to him. So said Mr.. L. c. Waters, of
Montana, once manager of the company, to
the House committee on Public Lands, which
is investigating the Yellowstone Park leases.
Just why this stock was given to Russell the
witness did not tell, but it was unnecessary.
1t was simply an exchange; stock for influence.
c. A. s.