The Coconino weekly sun., 1892-01-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.
tFrom our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON. Ian. |. 1899.

WASHINGTON, Jan. /, 1892.
There is decided lull of war talk,
the rumor-mongers having about ex-
hausted all their ingenious theories on
the Gillian situation, and now every
body is doing what the administration
has been doing-waiting to hear what
the new CHILEAN administration will
have to say for itself. Gen. Nelson A.
Miles, who came here to attend the
wedding of Miss Rachel Sherman,
daughter of the late General Sherman,
to DR.. Thorndike, of Boston, quickly
disposed of the rumor that he had been
ordered here by the Presiden' to dis
cuss the feasibility of invading Chill
with an army, by stating that he was
not ordered here, but came to bring his
wife to the marriage of Miss Sherman,
who is her cousin.
That there is a probability of war
with Chill no one denies, and what adds
danger to the situation is the senti-
menr which exists largely among our
public men in favor of foreign war
with somebody. Senator Morgan, of
Alabama, Il prominent Democratic
member of the Senate committee on
Foreign Affairs, is one of the few who
does not hesitate to openly express
such sentiments. 1t is easy to see that
in the face of this sentiment nothing
short of acceding to the demands of
the administration for an apology for
the attack upon the sailors of the Balti-
more and the payment of indemnity to
the families of the sailors killed will be
accepted as satisfactory from Chill. 1t
idle to talk about submitting the mat
ter to arbitration. There is nothing to
! arbitrate. This Government has plainly
stated its demands, and the answer
must be yes or no. If yes, everything
will he all right; if no, there will be
war. 1t is now only question of how
much longer the answer will be waited
! for.
To talk economy in Government ex-
penditure and to bring about a reduc-
tion in Congressional appropriations
are two very different things. The
first is so easy that any one can take
hand in it, while the last is very diff
cult, as the Democratic leaders are
already finding out. The average Con-
gresham is perfectly willing that a
radical reduction shall be made in all
of the appropriation bills which do not
affect any interest in his district, but
he regards it as little short of national
misfortune for his colleagues to even
talk of sweeping reductions in any APP
preparation of which even a small por-
ton goes to his constituents. IT'S folly
to waste time criticising this feeling;
it's only human nature, as the average
Congressman may always be depended
upon to do precisely what the average
follower of any other occupation would
do under the same circumstances.
Representative Holman, chairman of
the committee on Appropriations, and
other ultra economy advocates, are
trying to get the House committee on
Rules to put all the appropriation bills
back into the hands of that committee,
from which they were taken and di-
yided amoss y separate committees
. few years ago. A table which has
been prepared shows that the division
Of responsibility has been followed by
great increase in the totals of the
several appropriation bills, but whether
this has been the result of the change,
or of the increasing necessities of a
rapidly growing country, is question.
The return to the old order of things
will be warmly opposed by every men,
Der of each of the seven committees
that would be shorn of the prestige
which the preparation of an appropria-
ton bill gives them, to say nothing Of
the influential lobbyists interested in
some item in this or that appropriation
bill, who would much prefer having
the bills scattered among number of
committees than to see them all con-
troiled by one.
The New Year reception at the White