Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-07-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.

WASHINGTON LETTER.
Written and compiled for the HERALD.
WASHINGTON, July 8, 1898 Tie
proclamation of the President calling
| Congress to meet In extra session, on
August z, was the twelfth Of its KIND to
he issued since the foundation of the
government, and the third calling Con-
Gress together especially to deal with
| financial matters, the first having been
called by President Van Buren, to meet
September 4, 1887, On account OF the sus-
pension of specie payments, aud the
second by President William Henry Har-
risou. who died before it met, to meet
May 81, 1S41, to deal with the threatening
condition of the country's tiuances and
revenues Tnis being the case it is NOT
to be wondered at that extra session talk
has dwarfed everything else since the
proclamation was made public.
There is no difference 10 pn!ic opinion,
- far as it is represented at Washington,
and 1t is unusually well represented Tor
the season of the year, as to the necessity
for Congressional acton, but when II
comes to defining what particular action
| il shall be there are many differences,
not marked, however, by political bias,
but by personal opinion. No member oil
the administration claims that the I'M
conditional repeal of the Sherman Silver
law is certain, although table has been
made which shows a majority OF Il IN the
House for repeal, but that is what
the administration hopes tor, and will
work for. 1t will ask that bill repeal
ING it be rushed through as soon as the
! organization of the House is complete and
that the question of a substitute dealing
with silver be left for future action, and
if a count of noses shows that IT. cannot
be repealed it will ask thai resOlu Ion
authorizing the President to suspend the
silver purchase clause of the law be
passed. The acknOw edged obstacle to
the carrying out Of this programme is the
free coinage majority known to exist IN
the Senate but one of the free coinage
men-SenatOT YOrhees-is already an out
spoken advocate of the unconditional re-
peal of the Sherman law, and mysterious
hints are given by friends Of the admins
tration of other free coinage Senators
who will vote the same way.
The silver men are organizing for the
fight of their lives and the majority in
the Senate which IS a stumbling block to
the administration programme is regard
ed by them as an impregnable fortress
from which will be dictated the only
terms by which anv financial legislation
can get through the Senate. They say
that they have no special love for the
Sherman law, hut that if tLey should
agree to its unconditional repeal they
would never be able to get any satisfac-
| tory legislation afterwards. as the country
would then be practically ifnOt actually
upon a single standard gold basis, just
where the opponents of silver wish to
get it. For that reason they will oppose
either the repeal of the entire law or the
suspension of the silver purchase clause,
unless accompanied by silver legislation
that is satisfactory TO them, and If silver
legislation be included it will lose the
votes Of many Senators and Represen-
tatiyes who would vote for either PROPOSE
ton, standing alOre.
That is the exact situation as it is
| figured out here today. Five weeks is
sometimes as long as a life time, when
Judged by accomplishments, and it may
be that great changes will take place be-
fore Congress gets together, or that alter
its meeting personal conference will
bring those together who are now wide
apart. While these things are possible,
there are not visible at this time any in-
dications pointing to enough changes
among the Senators who are on record as
free coinage men to warrant any ST n!
belief IN them. 1t looks now as though
the House would pass bill repeating the
Sherman law and that tue Senate would
send the bill back to the House with a
flee coinage amendment, and that moth
ing but cOpIOmIse of som sort IN which
both sides will have to make concessions
can break the deadlock and secure finan-
cial legislation. After all there wOuld
be nothing strange or unusual in such an
outcome of the present situation, as
nearly all of the important legislation
ever adopted by Congress has been the
result of compromises between what was
demanded by the radicals on both sides
There is as much diversity of opinion
about the probable length of the extra
session as there is about what it viii do.
Some think that it will cOnfine itself to
financial matters and Others that it will
90 into general legislation. The Senate
is already organized and will be ready to |
get right down to business the day it
meets. The House will have to organize,
but as there will practically be no OPP
position to the reelection of Crisp as
Speaker, and as he has probably already |
selected the principal charmen of COM
mittees. it ought not to require much
time. There may be pr0tricted fight,
however, over the rev rules, as the silver
men will resist the proposed curta,lment
of the rights Of the minority. The fight
over this proposition will IN reality be the
beginning of the silver fight, and it,
length is doubtful