The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-10-26
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
tFron lur REGULAR cortespondent.l
WASHINGTON, Oct. %, 1913.

profit of certain vendors OF liquid
refreshments, has brought forth the
mouse, in the shape of compro-
mise silver bill. 1t is understood
that the birth would never have
taken place if the skill of midwives
Cleveland and Carlisle had not
been made available. The baby is
certainly not one that anybody has
any reason to be proud of. 1t is
lame, halt and blind, and can GER
tainly never grow into anything
useful or beneficial, either to its
progenitors or to the country.
The compromise bill, to get down
to straightforward English, pro-
vides that the repeal of the purchas-
ing clause OF the silver law shall
take effect October l., 1894, and that
the silver purchase and the seigni-
orage now in the Treasury and to
accrue from future purchases shall
from time to time be coined Chat
IS certainly indefinite enough to
make future trouble, aud that all
greenbacks aud treasury notes
under $40, shall be retired and sill
yer certificates or silver dollars
(more indefiniteness) shall take
their place. That is all. Not a
word about issuing bonds or any
other method of increasing the
rapidly diminishing gold reserve,
which now amounts to only $81, :
600, 200. This is the compromise
that Mr.. Cleveland has promise to
sign, if it can be passed, and which
the steering, committee are COM
polling Democratic Senators to
pledge themselves in writing to sup
port. This is the sum total of
Democratic financial ability. 1t
will require the full Democratic
support to pass this compromise, as
it is not expected that Republican
Senators will vote for it and the
Ponulist Senators are up in arms
against it. While the Republicans
will probably not vote for the COM
promise, they will not be likely to
do anything to prevent a vote being
taken. If the Democrats can stand
this measure the Republicans GER
tainly can.
The ink should at least be al
lowed to get dry upon announce
ments of Democratic retrenchment
and reform before the alleged re-
forms are discarded by the Demo-
cratic administration. The other
day notice was served upon the Re-
publican who was executive officer
of the U. S. Geological Survey that
Secretary Hoke Smith had come to
the conclusion that the Office was
sinecure aud had abolished it, and
it was duly telegraphed to all the
Democratic papers that a $4,000
sinecure had been abolished by the
administration. Now comes the
sequel, which will not be so widely
circulated by the Democratic press.
1t was the Republican who held the
sinecure, who was abolished; the
sinecure was left in order that it
might be gwen to a Texas Demo-
crat, endorsed by Senator Mills,
who now practically controls all fed
eral appointments from or in the
State. So there was neither re-
form nor retrenchment in this
move, which was just plain spoils-
mans change Democrat in place
of Republican; but it illustrates
very strikingly one of the leading
characteristics of the present ad-
ministration.
Considerable surprise has been
expressed by Republicans that ten
Republican Senators should have
voted to confirm the nomination of
Van Allen to be Am bassador to
Italy, when by casting their votes
against him they could have de-
feated the nomination, which pulled
through on a vote of 80 to %. The
Republicans who voted to confirm
the nomination were Cameron and
Quay, of Pa; Aldrich and Dixon,
of R. l.; Davis of Mimi; Frye of
Me-; Higgins of Del; Jones of
New; Mcmillan of Mich. and VOL
colt of COL, and Democrats who
voted against the confirmation were
Hill of N. Y; Martin of Kans.;
lrbv of s. c., and Vance of N. @.
The populists with the exception of
Stewart of Nev.-classed by others,
but not by himself as a popuhst-
voted against the confirmation.
The War Department furnishes
an interesting problem for the stu
dents of such things. Gen. Grant,
a staunch Minnesota Republican,
is practically in charge of the de-
partment, having remained in the
position of Assistant Secretary
which he held under the Harrison
administration, and which he seems
likely to continue to hold as long
as he is WILLING Inaomuob os