Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-06-29
WASHINGTON LETTER.

the Republican press, charging that
President Cleveland and the other
Democratic leaders have abandoned all
idea of making any radical changes in
the tariff at the coming session Of con-
gress, they would better begin to prepare
themselves for a great disappointment.
There has been no change in the pro-
gramme mapped out by the Democratic
leaders before Mr.. Cleveland was inau-
gurated, except that caused by the finan-
cial stringency throughout the country,
which has given financial reform the
first place on the programme, but has by
no means displaced tariff reform. Ever
since President Cleveland's election he
has been discussing these two reforms
with every man he met who might be
supposed to haye practical and valuable
opinions upon either, and he has lost no
opportunity to obtain suggestions from
those whose practical experience or spe-
cial studies have made them tariff ex-
perts. A perfect tariff bill has never
been prepared and probably never will
be, but unless present indications are all
wrong the tariff bill to be prepared this
winter will be nearer perfection, from
the standpoint of the Chicago platform,
than any of its predecessors, and that it
will be radical change from the Nc
Kinley law is as certain as that congress
will meet. Tariff reform and financial
reform are to be the first born children
of the fifty-third congress, the first for
more than thirty years to be Democratic
in both branches while a Democrat was
president
President Cleveland has not and will
not attempt to say what the details Of
the bill for the repeal of the Sherman
silver law shall be. He is satisfied that
the law is very bad one and also that
congress will promptly repeal it at the
extra session. He is also satisfied that
it is perfectly safe to leave it to the wis.,
dom of congress as to how this shall be
done and what other financial legislation
shall be adopted in order to undo the
bad effect of the Sherman law. In con-
versation with friend last week he
stated his belief that the partial polling
of the members of the house and senate
by newspapers furnished no reliable
basis to estimate what the vote on the
question of repeating this law would be,
owing to the large number of senators
and representatives who have not de-
clared how they will vote.
Ever since Secretary Carlisle took
charge of the treasury department he
has been quietly working to put stop
to the wholesale smuggling of Chinese
and opium by way of Puget sound.
Reports from two trusted men sent to
investigate soon convinced him that a
number of the government officials
whose duty it was to prevent such
smuggling were in league with the
smugglers. He removed q number of
these men and appointed their successors,
but did not make either the removals or
the appointments public until this week,
because of his desire to secure the
necessary evidence to criminally prose-
cute the crooked ex-ofIicials. Large
fortunes are said to have been made by
the smugglers in the last ten years, but
Mr. Carlisle intends to see that no more
are made while he remains in office.
Not fou, DaprIl;oons op,opo, tbap,
some congressman, have openly COM
mended Judge Lochren for his vigorous
efforts towards carrying out President
Cleveland's idea of making the pension
roll roll of honor, and the number is
bound to increase as the good effect of
the new methods become more apparent.
The most audacious Republican congress-
man will hardly dare to go on record as
criticizing the present administration for
dropping men from the pension rolls
whose names have no right, either in
law or equity, to be there, and it is only
that kind who are being dropped.
AS was expected, Col. Ainsworth, the
contractor, the superintendent, and the
engineer have been pronounced guilty
of criminal negligence by the coroner's s
jury for having failed to take necessary
precautions to prevent the accident
which killed twenty-three men and
wounded number of others in Ford s
old theatre. They all gave bail to await
the action of the grand jury. An army
court of inquiry will, as soon.as the grand
jury acts, begin taking evidence upon
which it will decide WHETHER COL Aims
, worth shall be court-martialed or exon
Grated. He can only be deprived of his
rank in the army by court-martial
Mrs. Cleveland and Baby Ruth have
gone to Gray Gables, on Buzzard Bay
Ruths birthplace, while the president
remains here, Notwithstanding the dane
ing among the nineties of the thermo