The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1893-01-06
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 1893.

| tor the purpose OF conferrlng with
President.elect Cleveland, which was
first authoritively announced in this
correspondence, was a success from
every point of view, and while the
Speaker will not, of course, talk about
what Mr.. Cleveland said to him his
face indicates to certainty satiseact
ion, and indeed, he does not hesitate
to say that the conferences were en-
tirely satisfactory to both participants
and that he found himself in perfec,
accord with Mr. Cleveland's idea:
about what should be done by the
party in Congress. The importance
to the democratic party at large OF
this complete understanding between
Speaker Crisp and Mr.. Cleveland can
hardly be overestimated. In the
first place, it removes all danger Of a
bitter fight over the Speakership ri
the next House, and consequently
means that perfect harmony will exist
between those who will control the
legislation of the House and the demo.
cratic President, and that means
everything for the future success of
the party.
Your correspondent regrets that he
cannot give as good news of the pros
poets in the next Senate. In the
first place, the control of the Senate
of the next Congress is still very
much in doubt, with the probabilities
of its being in the hands of the
popuhsts, who have, through Senator
PETER, announced their intentions to
put their votes where they will do the
most good--to themselves. Demo
Gratis here take no stock in the stories
which republicans and mugwump
newspapers have been circulating
about the intentions of Senator Hill
The Senator himself has long ago
given up the attempt to put a stop to
silly stories by dignifying them with
denial, but gentleman who enjoys
confidential relations with him. and
who is probably as well acquainted
with his intentions as anyone, except !
said TO me: "Senator Hill is
first democrat, and you will make
no mistake by asserting i'll the most
positive terms that he will do nothing |
in the Senate that will be inconsistent |
with Simon pure democracy He
will support Mr.. Clevelands admins
tration as Loyalty as any man in the
Senate, except in the matter of APP
pointing mugwumps or newly con-
verted democrats, of the Wayne Mac
Weigh stripe, to Office. If Mr.. Cleve-
land nominates any of those men to
Offices predict that
Senator Hill will endeavor to prevent
their confirmation by the Senate, but
he will cast no vote against the con
frmatlon of any man whose demo
cracy is unquestioned. Remember
this prediction, and see if time does
not prove its truthfulness."
Here is a specimen of extravagant |
and useless legislation, brought to
light by members of the House COM
.Nittee on Appropriations: In the
Inmates submitted for appropriations
the next fiscal year by the War
Department was one item of $3.50
o6o for artificial limbs for soldiers.
'rhe large amount for this purpose
an investigation which
brought out the fact that up to the !
Fifty-first (billion dollar Congress
soldiers entitled to artificial limbs
we've authorized every five years to re-
ceive new legs or arms, or to take in
commutation SIS for a leg and $50
for an arm. During that Congress
without any recommendation or re-
quest from the war Department a
bill was lobbied through by the claim
agents ring which at that time collect
ed about nine-tenths of the COM
money-upon big per-
centage of course-reducing the
period to three years (since then a rule
OF the department shuts the claims
agents out of this money! 1t was al. |
so discovered that the original law |
was more than liberal, as an
artificial arm will under ordinary
usage last life time and that a leg
lasts from six to eight years; also that
9S per cent of those entitled to
artificial arms andl IS per cent of
those entitled to legs regularly take
the money instead Of the limb.
Further investigation showed that if
this claim agents law had not been
enacted the item would have been
$4,000 instead of $65o,ooo. Quite
a difference eh ? This is only one in
are hundreds OF them
showing how this Congress is COM
PEELED by the vicious legislation of the
last republican Congress to increase
appropriations. 1t will take several
years of democratic rule and vigilant
investigations to get the expenditures
of this government down to an
economical business basis, but it is