Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-09-01
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Written and compiled for the HERALD

written and compiled for the HERALD
WASHINGTON, Aug. %, 1893--The
House today passsd the Wilson bill for
the unconditional repeal of the purchas-
ing clause of the Sherman silver law, but
this was merely a preliminary sklrmish
to the great legislative battle that 10 to
be fought in the Senate over silver.
Some ugly talk is being INDUCED 10 BY
some of those who voted for repeal 10 the
House, on the promise that further silver
legislation should at once follow, be-
cause of the movement now under way to
prevent the House undertaking any other
financial legislation at the extra session,
and If the movement succeeds there will
be more of the talk. An examination
of the entire debate in the House will
show that large majority OF those who
voted for repeal announced themselves
as bimetalists, and many Of Thorn statad
in their speeches that they would vote
for repeal because they expected silver
legislation to follow. A bill for single
gold standard could not get forty votes in
the House.
Although there is doubt, notwithstand-
ing the positive prediction of such
Senators as German, Hill, Morrill, and
Allison, as to the outcome of the silver
battle in the Senate, there is little or none
as 10 the fate of the Wilson bill, which
has Just passed the House. 1t will be
pigeon holed by the Finance committee,
to which it will be referred as soon as IT
goes to the Senate. The fight in the
Senate will be over the voorhees, bill,
which after providing for the repeal OF
the purchasing clause of the Sherman
law declares it to be the policy of this
Government to maintain bimetallic
currency.
Inc Administration is making every
effort to secure votes for the Voorhees, bill
from the Southern Senators who have
been classed among those opposed to
unconditional repeal, and this week
President Cleveland is coming back to
Washington to help. Numerous gains
are claimed but the only names yet men,
toned are those of Senators Call and
Pasco, of Florida, who are said to have
agreed to follow the example of Senators
Voorhees, and Hill in making tree-coinage
speeches and then voting for repeal. The
work is, however, only half done when
majority of promised votes have teen
obtained for the Voorhees, bill. The bill
cannot be passed unless it be voted upon,
and it cannot be voted uron until the
consent Ct practically all Of the Senators
has been obtained. Efforts are now being
made to reach an agreement as to the
length of time the bill shall be debated
and to set day for taking the vote, but
some of the Senators will have to under
90 a great change Of mind before any
thing definite comes of them. The
Senator'S from the silver States say it will
be time enough to talk about setting a
time to vote after the subject has been
debated reasonable time. 1t is urder-
stood that the administration Senators
made an unsuccessful attempt to make
deal with the republican silver Senators
to secure the setting of a date to vote on
the Voorhees, bill, in return for their
promise to let the tariff alone during this
session of Congress
The proposition for the repeal of the
tax on State bank currency is practically
dead for awhile, as majority of the
House committee on Banking and
Currency, to which the bill providing for
the repeal was referred, is opposed to the
bill. The same committee also has be-
fore it the bill providing for the exchange
of U. S. bonds for currency whenever
their owners were willing to give up the
interest for the use of the currency, and
so many objections have been raised
against it that its favorable report to the
House is doubtful.
The new rules for the government Of
the House have been completed. While
they are not so strict as those used by
the last republican House, they are much
stricter than those used by elast House,
and any extended fillbustering will be
very difficult, if not impossible.
Senator Lodge has introduced bill
that would, If it were law, accomplish
more practical reform in the Civil Service
than all the laws now on the statute books
have been able to dc up to this time. 1t
provides tor taking the appointment Of
fourth. class postmasters entirely out of
partisan politics, which would certainly
be an improvement on the present method
of appointing them There is little
probability, however, that the bill will
ever become law. 1t might get through
the Senate, as the Senators have but
little personal interest in the matter, bat
it would stand no show in the House, for
the average Representive uses the fourth
class postmasters of his district to control
the party machine, and to maintain his
personal ascendaucy.
The last day of the silver debate IN tie
House was, by long odds, the most in
teresting, nearly every speaker being
man of national reputation. Among
them we're ex-Speaker Reed, Bourke
Cochran, Wilson, of West Virginia;
"Priyate" John Allen, of Mississippi, and
Bland, of Missouri, the silver leader of
the House.