The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1893-10-06
WASHINGTON LETTER.
THE SENATE DEAD LOOK.
A Compromise Soon to be Made,
FEDERAL ELECTION LAW TO DE RE.
PEALED.
tFrom our Regular correspondent
WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, ISo,

(FrOn our regular COrrcSpOnuentD
WASHINGTON, Oct. q, 1898
The key that will open the dead
lock in the Senate is being made, but
the locksmiths are not working in pub.
lie. 1t is evident that something Of
great Importance is going on under
the surface in the Senate. The talk
for and against the Voorhees, repeal
bill still takes up the regulated amount
of time each day, and will probably
continue to do SO until some time
next week, but Senators representing
all sides of the silver question are
holding consultations in private and it
is confidently expected that the result
will be a compromise between the con-
flicting demands that, while it will not
be precisely what is desired by either
President Cleveland or the Senators
who favor the free coinage of silver,
will be of such nature that it will be
accepted by the free coinage men as
the best they can get and signed by
President Cleveland as the only silver
measure that can be passed by the
Senate. The exact nature of the COM
promise cannot be given, because it
mas not yet been decided upon, but
that it will provide for the continued
coinage of silver by the government
and for the issue Of bonds to strength
en- the Treasury gold reserve is regard
ed as certain, as they are the two
thirg gs contended for by the silver men
and he unconditional repeal men re-
spec lively. President Cleveland has
taken and will take no part in this
compromise. He has made his rec
ommendation in the regular way and
will have nothing more to say until
Congress sends him the bill. While
he believes that the proper thing to do
is to pass the VOORHEES, bill without
amendment, leaving other financial
matters to follow in a separate bill, it
is thought that he will sign the pro-
posed compromise.
Should the expectation Of disposing
Of the silver question by the 18th Of
this month be realized it is probable
that Congress will take a recess of
several weeks. A recess can easily be
taken without retarding legislation, as
the House will next week pass the bill
tor the repeal of the Federal election
law and no other important bill will
be reported for while. The commit
tees will of course, continue their
work during the recess, if one be tax.
en-, and soon after Congress comes to-
gether again it is hoped that the new
tariff bill will be ready to be reported
to the House.
The republicans in the House have
up to this time shown a fear of the
bill for the repeal OF the Federal cleo
tion laws that is in some respects re-
markable. The attempts that they
have made to defend those laws have
been SO weak that they practically
amount 10 an Acknowledgement that
the laws are bad and vicious in their
tendency and ought to be repealed.
Little Billy" Chandler made one
of his usual exhibitions OF himself in
the Senate Saturday afternoon, while
speaking in favor of resolution re-
Gently offered by him, calling on the
Secretary of the Treasury for the an
thority under which he appointed the
Fairchild commission, which is inves-
tigating republican crookedness in the
Office of the Appraiser of the port of
New York. He started out with lot
of rot about the Senate being ignored
by the unconstitutional and illegal ap.
pointment of the commission and
wound up BY admitting that Congress
had given the Secretary of the Treas.
ury explicit authority to expend not
more than $Ioo, 900 a year for the de-
lection and prevention Of fraud upon
the customs revenue, precisely the du-
ty upon which the Fairclild commits.
sion is engaged.
The House committee on banking
and currency is engaged in hearing ar
guments from members of the House
in favor OF the various financial bills,
including several for the repeal of the
tax on state bank currency, which
have been referred to it, and later out
siders may be heard both for and
against these measures
Neither chairman Wilson nor any