Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-03-10
From our regular Correspondent.
Washington Letter.

WA>HrNGToN, d. c., Feb. 20, 1892.
Ex-Speaker Reed and other long headed
Representatives have advised their Repnb-
lican colleagues in the House not to extend
helping hand to either the democratic
majority or minority in that body. but to
whether free coinage bill shall be passed
by the House. If this advice be taken,
and 1t is believed that with a few excep.
uons II will be- the passage of the Bland
free coinage bill which Is to be called up
under resolution from the Committee
on Rules just as soon as the House puts
itself on record in favor of free trade bv
passing one of tie tariff bills reported
from the Committee on Ways and Means,
is a certainty, although it will not be
accomplished without a very bitter par
hamentary fight. The latest scheme Of
Representative iIarter nf Ohio, who has
made himself the leader of the anti-silyer
Democrats to kill the effect of free coin
age, Is to offer as an amendment thereto
a proviso that all pensions shall be paid
in goid that depositors in saving banks
shall have the right to demand payment in
gold; that all holders OF life insurance
policies shall be entitled To gold payments
and that every man, woman or child
working for wages, or who receives a
yearly salary of less than $500 Shall have
the ripht IN nsyIn.pt l., yni3
Individually seven out of ten Senators
and Representatives will agree As to the
immediate and pressing necessity for a
new building for the Government Print
ing Office, and that Senator Challenger,
in his recent speech, did not exasgerate
the danger to the health and lives of the
nearly three thousand men and women
who work in the rickety old building at
present occupied by that office; they will
acknow ledge that they share the shame
felt by Senator Challenger when lie
went through the magnificent buildings
erected in our large cities for the use OF
the big daily newspapers and contrasted
them, in his mind, with the Government
Printing Office building, and yet, collect
lively. Congress does nothing towards
erecting new building II will be much
cheaper to erect a new and first. class
building than 1t would be to paw damages
for several hundred people killed or
crippled by an. accident likely to occur at
any time in the building now in use, as
Congress may some day learn.
Every day there is different bill an.
nounced as the one that is to be first
called up in the House by the WAYS and
Means committee. To-day it is the
Springer free wool bill, and tomorrow is
the day set for it to be called up. If the
programme Is carried out there will be
about three weeks devoted to tariff
speeches before the bill is pressed to
vote.
The resolution offered in the House from
the committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds declaring it to be "unwise and
inexpedient to enter upon legislation look
ing to the construction of new public
money in the Treasury is as arrant a bit
of bunccmbe as was ever attempted in Con-
gress, being part of the Democratic
scheme to try to bamboozle the people by
cutting down the appropriations at this
session, in order to allow the Democrats
to pose as economists in the Presidential
campaign. The Democratic members rep
resenting districts in need of public build
ings are told to keep quiet until after the
Presidential election when their buildings
will be provided for; but it is difficult to
keep them quiet and row is pending over
the resolution. Even the Democrats ad-
init that the President has by the unusual
ly hard work he has done this winter
earned the weeks rest he is now taking,
with his family, in Virginia.
Secretary Noble preceded his evidence
before the Pension Office investigating
committee with statement of his having
come as willing witness, and not because
of any authority he recognized in the COM
mittee to compel his attendance, and he
closed by mailing a thousand and one
lies," with these words: Il want to say
one word which is not in response to a
question, and that is that l regard Gen.
Raum as an efficient Commissioner of Pen
sions. l believe he is conducting the Pen
sion Bureau in proper and business like
way"
Jerry Simpson appears to be souring on
the Democrats whom he has heretofore
seemed inclined to favor. On Saturday,
while the House was discussing Mr.. Bow
ers' amendment to the Indian appropria-
tion bill authorizing the President to de-
tail officers of the Army as Indian agents,
which after being amended with provisO
that officers acting as Indian agents shall
be under the orders of the Secretary of
the Interior, was passed, Mr.. Simpson
said: II cannot see how the Democrats
can vote against this amendment. unless it
be that they expect to control this politi-
cal force in the future. But in view of
the dissenslon In their ranks and their in
ability to agree on any economic policy 1t
is not clear to me that they will have
chance to control it,"