Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1893-12-07
Washington Letter

FuoM OUR REGULAR CONFECTIONERY
wAslltNGroN. d. c.. December 4th, 1898.
The Congressional mill resumed work
to-day, but he is wise man indeed who
can tell from the raw material known
to be on hoId what its products are to
be enl how long it will run. President
Cleveland IN sssage is, IN one respect
ut least, ike the new tariff bill it de-
ponds largely upon the politics OF the
man what he thinks Of It, or at least
what he aays he thinks Of lt-some m"n
seldom or n@Y2r express their real
opinion upon snch questions US the
tariff and 'lnluce. There Is one thing
about the II eSSasa upon which al men
agree it Il tA0touraiy Cievslan lisa
from its bnslDlng to its end.
1T looks now as though the talk about
getting the tariff Bill thro ugh the
fIonsc b fore the holiday recess, wnlc h
prevailed here few days ago, was en-
TIRE " too premature. If members OF
the Ways and Means committee know
and if they don't nobody does, the bill
with the accompanying mVorlty and
minority ep,rts will not be ready to
be reported to tn, House until next
week, and if the bill Is not reported
unit. next week it may be ST down us
q certaiuy tLat it will not be past by
the House before Christmas. 1t could,
Of conrce, be put through the House III
forty eight hours after it was reported,
but !. would be proceeding so unusua!
that 1t would be generally co 1iemned,
even w friends Of the bill Chairman
Wilson says i IS no. his ieslre TO pre-
vent tue bill peing debltei to reason
able extent IN the House TO railroad
the bill through the House would give
his euemies chance 10 charge HIM
with being afraid of depate. There ls
at present considerable talking Of dem-
ocratic opposition to the bill, bnt there
isn't enough 81 it TO endangor the
passage Of the bill, SO far as the House
is concerned, although 1T IS expected to
result in a few slight amendments
thereto.
Bat the outlook IN the Senate is fnll
Of uncertainty, and unless some OF the
proposed changes are made in the rules
there is snail chance for tue Wilson
bill t, get through even thougn it lie
ever 50 iudiliouslv amended. And even
If the rules are changed there are
mum Der Of anti -Cleyeland democratic
Senator'S whose acton no one can pre-.
dict to certainty. There are only
forty four democrats in the Senate an!
it takes Jus forty thrr, OF them tc make
a majority Of hat body AZ Al n'raeut
CONSTITUTED The tAr9e rlpnl>ts -,
at,.s laye not committed thernse Ives Oh
the ". SOW h;!lairh ,lrA tneI position,
All the to i ga rally Is AuoTA. The
thirty. uerepubllcans may be counted
upon = ynte soldiv agtinst the blIi
1t is well to keep THESE things in mi"d
rs the session goes on. Should the
Alabama and LOUISIANA Senators vote
WITH the republicans the sugar and
iron ore schedules could casey be
defeqtad (eyen II the populsts voted
with the dem ocrats). and hints are not
lacking that they will do 50; als,, that
they will get assistance from Tennesor
and West Virginia. STILL it must not
be forgotten that the full strength Of
the administrators and of the party
machinery will be Dxerted to keep the
democrats in line for the bill, and the
power Of such combination must not
be unlerrated.
It's rumored that the administration
is about to conclude the negotiations Of
new treaty with China by which in
return for the sensation OF all interfer-
cHce with Cinnamon IN the U"lted
States, China binds itself to purchase
so 100000 worth of silver bullion
from US annually and to grant US com.
mercial CONCESSIONS that would result in
giving our merchants the trade Of
China which now goes to Europe.