The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-02-16
NO. 8.
Washington Letter.
From our regular Correspondent

+ lfrom our regular Correspondent
# WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 1894
4 Republican Senators are met with 8
!, piece OF democratic duplicity at the
: heglnnlng of the consideration of the
t Cleveland tariff bill by the Senate
!, Finance committee that is far from
, encouraging. Previous to the passing
of the bill by the House Senator
r VOORHEES,, chairman of the Finance
, committee, promised to republican
! Senators that the committee would
grant full hearings to industries affect
ed by the bill. Now, those promises
are ignored and Mr.. VOORHEES, says the
committee will grant few, if any hear
lngs, alleging as an excuse for break
ing his work that the information
which will be received from the circu-
lar letters sent out by the committee
will be all that is needed This is q
mere subterfuge and no one knows it
any better than Mr.. Voorhees,. Tt is
perfectly true that the answers to the
questions In that circular letter would
furnish all the information necessary:
but it is also true that this informa-
tion never will be put in shape to be
used by the committee, and that also
is known to Mr.. Voorhees, If ans
wers are received from only one half
of the one million circular letters sent
out it would require the continual
services of fifty clerks for at least six
months to tabulate the answers and
put them in an understandable shane.
The committee hasn't the clerks nor
the disposition to wait for the work to
he done if it had them. The plain
unvarnished truth is that Mr.. Voor-
hees. has received the orders of his
master in the White House and he
will break his word to his colleagues
who have nothing to give him in pre-
ference to- disobeying his master who
has offices at his disposal. 1t begins
to look as though Mr. Cleveland has
Sufficient control of the democrats on
the Finance committee to compel
them to report the bill to the Senate
practically as it was passed by the
House, leaving the fight to be made on
the floor of the Senate. The Republi-
can Senators propose making il
|
tariff history of the country.
The most notable feature of the
democratic side of the Hawaiian dis
cussion in the House was the unblush
ing affrontry of Representative Nc
Creary, of KY, in standing up gravely
Informing the House and the country
that Mr.. Cleveland had never decided
upon the restoration of the queen.
This is one of the results of cuckoo
ism upon man who has always been
considered in spite of his intense par
tisanship fair minded and patriotic.
When man becomes the defender of
Mr.. Cleveland's policy he necessarily
has to drop the role of patriotic states
and assume that of pettifogging
special pleader who endeavors to make
a good case for his clients. regardless
of law or facts. Such men are COM
mon enough in every community, but
it is little short of national calamity
that so many of them should occupy
seats in Congress. The only consola-
tion is that the people have fully ac-
quainted themselves with the facts in
this case and cannot be bamboozled
by missstatements or cuckoo resolu-
tions
Mr. Cleveland is doing more in his
effort to beat Senator Hill and secure
the confirmation of Mr.. Peckham to
the Supreme Court vacancy to lower
the dignity attached to the office of
President of the U. S. than any other
man has ever done, and the result an
pears to be contrary to his expecta-
tions. Some Senators who were at
first disposed to vote for Peckham's
confirmation will vote against it as q
rebuke to Mr.. Cleveland for his pecu-
I liar and undignified tactics and it
may be that enough of them will so
vote to reject the nomination. There
is another feature that is not censid-
cred creditable to Mr.. c.. The finan-
cial condition of the government is
such that it would seem to demand
the entire attention and the best abili-
ties of the President, but instead he is
giving his entire time to conducting a
personal fight, leaving the finances to
get along as they may.
The patriotism of the republicans
in Congress has never been more
strikingly exemplified than by their
conduct concerning the sale of $780,
100000 of bonds by Secretary Car
Isle. They preferred maintaining the
credit of the government to taking
advantage of the numerous opportuni-
ties given them by the administration
and its indiscreet friends in Congress
to make party capital. The only men
who tried and who are still trying to
injure the credit of the government
are democrats and populists. The
bonds will be forwarded to their pur
chasers this week and if the payments
are all made in gold $58, 100000 will
be added to the $65, 100000 of gold
now in the Treasury.
The hardest fight made upon anv
one section of the tariff bill will be that
against the income tax. According
to the latest poll Al Senators-two
less than majority-are against it,
81 for it and six in doubt, three are
republicans and three democrats. Mr..
Cleveland who was for long time
opposed to this tax has now assumed
a non-committal position towards it.