Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-12-16
SOMETHING WRONG.
Ways and Means Committee not
a Happy Family.
INCOME TAX AND STATE BANKS.
A Snap for Southern War Claimants
Reported.
From our regular correspondent


WASHINGTON, Dec. II, IS93.-"Un-
less | am very much mistaken that
man has all the symptoms of soften
ing of the brain" The man who spoke
these words was one of the few admin
istration Senators, and he was refer
ring to Mr.. Cleveland whom he had
just seen. Whether the Senator was
right in his diagnosis your correspond
ent does not pretend to say, but it is
becoming evident that Mr.. Cleveland
friends think there is something the
matter with him. His actions have of
late certainly been queer. He is inn
patient, cross, and almost insulting to
the few Senators and Representatives
he condescends to see at all, and when
they afterwards get together and COM
pare notes they find that he is change
able and inconsistent as well. Every
discriminating person who has taken
the trouble to compare the style of the
literary work upon his annual message
with that of his messages during his
first administration must have discov-
ored a great difference in them. This
may, of course, belargely owing to the
fact that Dan Lamont finds the duties
of Deputy President SO exacting that
he has no time left to assist in the
preparation of executive documents.
Be that as it may, Mr.. Cleyeland's
friends-he sees no one else, except in
public way-are certainly showing
among themselves uneasiness about
his mental condition.
The Democrats in the House are
acting more like lot of badly demon
allied schoolboys than statesmen.
They promised that the new tariff
bill should be reported to the House
on the first day of the session, and the
bill has not yet been reported, although
Mr. Wilson promises that it shall be
this week. The Democrats of the
Ways and Means Committee have al
ready made dozens of minor changes
in the tariff bill, thus acknowledging
that it was not properly considered
before it was made public They are
now squabbling among themselves
about submitting the bill to caucus
before it is reported, and Democrats
are openly saying that they will not
vote for the bill unless certain indus
tries in their districts are protected.
The House committee on Banking and
Currency, which has been wrestling
with that plank of the Chicago plat
form, which promised the repeal of the
tax on State bank currency, a plank
by the way, that Mr.. Cleveland abso-
lutely ignored in his message, has ar
rived at no conclusion, although its
chairman the much sat upon Spring
er, of Illinois-has made. public a
hodge podge of absurdities that could
not possibly be carried into effect, even
if they were enacted, showing what
alleged progress the committee has
made.
The Democratic members of the
Ways and Means Committee are at
daggers' points concerning the items
that are to be included in the internal
revenue bill, which ought to have been
ready simultaneously with the Cleve-
land tariff bill. A majority of them
favor a personal income tax, but they
hesitate about Incorporating it in the
bill because of Mr. Cleveland's prema-
ture announcement, in his message,
that the committee had agreed to tax
the profits of corporations only.
Meanwhile the holiday recess is in
sight and nothing has been accom-
plished.
In obedience to the demand of the
Senate resolution passed last week all
of the Hawaiian documents will this
week be sent to the Senate.
Like master, like man" Secre-
tary Carlisle has refused the request
made by officials of the G. A. R. that
they be allowed to solicit contributions
in the Treasury for Christmas din
ner to the INDECENT soldiers of this
department.
The Southern war claimants will
have snap if the bill which has been
favorably reported from the Judiciary
Committee of the House becomes a
law. The bill provides for the repeal
of all laws making personal disloyalty
a bar to claims against the Government
for property destroyed during the re-
bellion, and gives all claimants whose
cases were by reason of their disloyal-
ty thrown out of the Court of Claims
the right to revive their claims and
to have the same rights and privileges
in prosecuting them that would beck
tended to the man who was always
loyal to the Government. Any per-
son could recognize the jobbery i'll this
bill, even if the Southern lobby, head
ed by ex-Congressman Hemphill, Of
South Carolina, were less conspicuous
in its advocacy. That there are mil
lions in it" if itcan be made law, is
apparent to all. Democratic reform
will come high, but it will not last
long.
The Democrats from the South vot-
ed almost solidly against the bank
ruptcy bill which was last week defeat
ed in the House. 1t remains to be seen
how they will treat the voluntary
bankruptcy bill fathered by Represen-
tative Bailey, of Texas. which that
gentleman will endeavor to push to
the front this week.
Hon. John d. Sweeney, principal
of the State Normal School, at Con-
cord, Mercer County, is to be married
on the 25th, to Miss Maud Reid, of
Concord. Mr. Sweeney is brilliant
man, formerly represented the
Fourth District in the State Senate,