The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-01-08
Washington Letter.

WAsuISGTos, D. c. Jan. End, 1892.
4 prominent Democratic member of the
House Committee on appropriations,
talked very interestingly of the situa-
ton to your correspondent. He SAID;
II am afraid that there is a disposition
on the part of Democrats to expect too
much from the present House. Re-
forms under our form of government
must necessarily be slow, even where
both branches of Congress and the Ex-
ecutive are in accord. We have to con-
tend against a hostile Senate and ENecu-
tive. but we hope to come about some
reforms in the tariff and in the eXpend-
ittre Of the government. There may be
a slight difference OF opinion in the par
~ about whether II would bc best for the
House To prepare and pass an entire tar
iff bill. according To Democratic ideas of
what such measure should be, or 10
pass a number of bills correcting the
INEQUALITIES Of the the present tariff law;
but there can bc none as TO which Of
these plans are the most likely to bring
practical results The first could, of
course, be passed by the House, but ii
could not possibly get through the Sen
ate while there y reason for believing
that several OF the latter can be gotten
through the Senate, thus throw
ing the responsibility for their defeat
upon Mr.. Harrison.
Now as to appropriations. ! do not
know what will be the result of the ef
fort to have all OF the appropriation bills
restored to the Appropriation committee,
hut personally | agree with Mr.. Holman
in believing that Its accomplishment
would materially aid in cutting down the
total OF appropriations | cannot say
lust where We shall make reductions. but
I Will say that every Democratic member
of the House who has carefully studied
the subject IS of my opinion-that We
can make very large reduction in the
total amount appropriated without inter
fering in the slightest with the workings
of any useful branch of the government
service, and that IS the task which we
have set for ourselves, and it is 10y no
means a light one, as We shall have to
do battle with the Republican Senate
over the many eNtravagant amendments
certain to be added To the appropriation
bills by that body, which constantly
grows more cxtravagant in its ideas
Speaker Crisp has so far recovered
from his attack of the grip as to be able
to do little talking on the new rules of
the House with his Democratic col
leagues of the committee on Rules,
MesSrs. McNillin and Catchings: but it
Is not thought that the new rules will he
reported To- the House for couple of
weeks, but that will not retard business
much, as the House will work under the
rules of the FiftIeth Congress until the
new ones are ready.
Mr.. Mills has almost entirely regained
his health, and Is daily seen on the
streets. building himself up by taking
long walks.
There are no new developments in the
ChilIan situation. The administration
having sufficiently stirred up the coun-
try Is now waiting to make up its mind
what 10 do next.
The Republicans cannot hide the anx-
iety they feel about Mr. Blaine's inten-
tons; they want to know Just what he
intends doing, in order that they may
trim their sails accordingly, and all sorts
of devices have been rcSOrtCd to in the
hope OF getting the willy Secretary of
State To declare himself At "A dinner
party this week, attended by a score Of
Senators and Representatives belonging
to the Republican party, it was decided
to send an embassy to Mr.. Blaine, in the
+ person of Col. W. W. Dudley, who, ever
since his falling out with Mr. Harrison,
has been an ardent Blaine man, with a
request for positive yes or no as TO his
becoming his party's candidate. Dud-
ley called on Mr.. Blaine and devoted al
most an hour to the most persuasive ar
guments he knew how to make. and
left aS wise as when he came Mr..
Blaine declined to commit himself.
Representative Springer SAYS he has
received many letters from all sections
Of the country, commenting his plan of
attacking the Mckinley tariff bill in sec
tions, by means of separate bills provid-
ing for the amendment or outright re-
peal of the worst sections Of that law
Mr.. Springer thinks that the committee
on ways and means will report a num-
ber of these separate tariff bills early in
the session, and that they will be put
through the House without any un-
necessary delay.
The Republicans shouted too soon
about wheat being put upon the free
list by the reciprocity treaty with the
British West India Islands. The off
cial schedule of the treaty has been
made public, and the best that wheat
corn, oats, salt or picked pork and beet
gets, is reduction or % per cent in the
existing duties. VI.