San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-08-31
WASHINGTON LETTER.
fFrom Our Regular Correspondent. !
WASHINGTON, Aug 81, 1898.

Senate, the House having passed
the Wilson bill for the uncondi
tional repeal of the purchasing
clause Of the silver law, as it has
been plain for a week that il
would do The Wilson bill now
goes to the Senate where it will be
referred to the Finance committee
never to be heard of again. The
reason why this bill will be
shelved by the Senate committee
is that the majority of Senators
who favor unconditional repeal
prefer the Voorhees, bill for
the same purpose, with its
tail-piece declaring it to be the
policy of the government to main
tain a bi-metalic currency. AS a
matter Of fact this declaration car
rieS no weight without additional
legislation, but it implies that
there will be future legislation and
that implication is relied upon to
gain the vote of senators who would
not otherwise vote for uncondition-
al repeal. Whether this will prove
to be true only time can tell.
There are many rumOrs of defec-
tions among the southern free
coinage Senators, and the claim is
boldly being made that number
Of them will, after making free
coinage speeches, vote for uncondi-
tional repeal. Senators Call and
Pasco, of Florida, are said to have
made positive promises to that eff
feet. So confident are the admin
istration senators that they can
get enough votes from the south to
pass the bill, if they can only get
it to a vote, that proposition has
been made to Republican sena-
tors to try to get them
to use their influence with
the Republican Senators who
favor free coinage not to vote for
unconditional repeal, but merely
to agree to allow vote to be taken.
1t was stated to them that if they
would secure that agreement the
senators would agree that the tar
if should not be disturbed at this
session af Congress. The PROPOSE
ton was declined. In making that
the administration
men showed that they realized the
d difficulty in getting the bill
the Senate. Even if they
can get the promise of the votes of
a majority of the senators under
the present rules of the
which will not be
changed, twenty Senators can, if
so disposed, stave off Indefinitely
the taking of vote on the bill, and
that more than that number are at
present so disposed there can be no
bOubt. The outcome of this matter
depends upon whether the men
who now stand for free coinage or
nothing can be persuaded or cOerced
into allowing vote to be taken.
Mr.. Cleveland will return to Wash
ington this week for the purpose of
adding his personal influence to
those already being brought to
beaL on the southern Senators to
vote for repeal.
Here is one good piece of news,
that ought to please every man
interested in the welfare of the
country. There will be no wild
cat money authorized at this ses-
sion of Congress, the House COM
mittee on banking and currency
having majority against the bill
for the repeal of the tax on State
bank currency. Whether know
ingly or not does not matter, but
Speaker Crisp certainly did the
country a great service when he
made up that committee by select
ing a majority opposed to wildcat
money.
One Of the best, as well as one of
the most conservative of the
speeches made in the House during
the silver debate, was that deliver
ed by eX Speaker Reed on Satur-
day. He was at his best and was
as warmly congratulated at the
close of his speech by democrats as
by republicans.
The new rules of the House are
much better than those used by
the last House, but are not as good
as the much-abused Reed rules,
which they follow to certain OK
tent.
The number Of Democratic Con-
gressmen who do not agree with
the administration in it's treatment
of pensioners is increasing, or, per-
haps it would be more correct to
say that the number of those who
have the courage to express their
opinion is growing larger. The
latest case is that of General Dan