The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-07-01
WASHINGTON LETTER.
(from our regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, June 23ld. 1898.

ioNt - -c'N' AC'o'
If there are any persons who believe
the silly stories now going the round
of the republican press. charging
that President Cleveland and the other
democratic leaders have abandoned all
idea of making any radical changes in
theiariff at the coming session of Con-
gless, thev would better begin TO pre-
pare themselves for a great d.sappolnt-
ment. There has been no change in
the programme mapped ont by the
democratic leaders before Mr.. Cleve-
land was lnaugnrated. except that
caused by the financial %stringency
throughout the country, which has
given financial reform the first place
on the programme, but has by no
means displaced tariff reform. Ever
since President Cleveland's election
he has beeen discussing these two re-
forms with every man he met who
might be supposed to have practical
and valuable opinions upon either,
and he has lost no opportunity to Oh
tain suggestions from those whose
practical experience or special studies
have made them tariff experts. 4
perfect tariff has never been prepared,
and ~probahably never will be, out I'M
less present indications are all wrong
the tariff bill to be prepared this win
ter will be nearer perfection, from the
standpoint of the Chicago platform,
than any of its predecessors, aud that
it will be a radical change from the
Mckinley law is as certain as that
Congress will meet. Tariff reform and
financial leform are to be the first
born children of the Fifty-third Con-
gress, the first for more than thirty
years to be democratic in both bran
ches while a democrat was President.
President Cleveland has not and
will not attempt to say what the de-
tails of the bill for the repeal of the
Sherman silver law shall be. He is
satisfied thai the law is a very bad
Il and also that Congress will
promptly repeal it at the extra session.
He is also satisfied that it is perfectly
safe to leave it to the wisdom OF Con-
gress as to how this shall be done and
what other financial legislation shall
be adopted in order to undo the bad
effect of the Sherman law. In CONVEX
satlon with a friend this week he stat
ed his belief that the partial polling Of
the members of the House aud Senate
by newspapers furnished no reliable
basis to estimate what The vote on the
question of repeating this law would
be. owing to the large number of Sen
ators and Representatives who have
nor declared how they will vcte.
Ever since Secretary Carlisle took
change of the Treasury department he
has been quietly working to put a
stop to the wholesale smuggling of
Chinese and opium by the way of Pu-
get sound. Reports from two trusted
men sent to investigate soor convinc-
ed him that a number of the Govern
ment officials whose duty it was to
prevent such smuggling were in league
with the smugglers. He removed a
number of these men and appointed
their successors, but did not make
either the removals or the appoint
ments public until this week, because
OF his desire to ecure the necessary
evidence to criminally prosecute the
W CA- olAS!nlS IAuISt 4OEtUDeS
are said to have been made by the
smugLlers in the last ten years, but
MI. Carlisle intends to see that no
more are made while he remains in of
flee.
Not ii few republicans, among them
some congressman. have openly com
mended Judge Lochren for his vigor-
Gus efforts towards carrying ont Pres,
ident Cleveland's idea of making the
pension roll a roll of honor, and the
number is bound to increase as the
good effect ofthe new methods become
more apparent. The most audacious
republican Congressman will hardly
dare to go OF record as criticizing the
present administration for dropping
men from the pension rolls whose
names have no right. either in law or
equity, to be there, and it is only that
kind who are being dropped.
AS was expected, Col. Ainsworth.
the contractor, the superintendent,
and the engineer have been pronounce
ed guilty of criminal negligence by
the %coroner's jury for having failed to
take necessary precautions to prevent
the accident which killed 90 men and
wounded a number of others in Ford's
old Theatre. They all gave bail to
await the action of the grand jury.
An army court of inquiry will, as soon
as the grand jury acts, begin taking
evidence upon which it will decide
whether Col. Ainsworth shall be court
martialed or~exonerated. He can only
be deprived of his rank in the army
by a court-martial.
Mrs. Cleveland and Baby Ruth have
gone to Gray Gables. on Buzzard Bay.
Ruth's birthplace, while the President
iCHaninc lnro ArnAln4n.l.A L. IL