The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-12-28

senting some arguments to secure
votes for the bill that are certainly
questionable. The democrat who ex-
presses an objection to the bill, and
nearly all of them do, is told that the
bill has not the slightest chance to
become a law, but it is merely intend
ed to convince the country that the
administration and the majority of
the House are anxious to do something
and that its passage by the House will
throw the responsibility for the failure
of financial legislation upon the al
ready unpopular Senate.
1t is not necessary to have an extra
good memory to recall that similar
arguments were used to rush the Will
son tariff bill through the House in a
crude form. 1t is we'll known that
many of the Senate amendments to
the tariff bill we're begged for by dem
ocratic members of the House who
lacked the courage to either propose
them or to vote for them in an open,
manly way, but were willing to beg
for them secretly, and t ell to pose as
having been compelled, against their
will, to accept the Senate bill, amend
ments and ALL That is the sort of
business which disguised the people
and brought about the democratic de-
feat of last month. There has not
been single important piece of legis
lation before Congress since it was
controlled by the democrats, into
which this sort of tactics was not in
troduced to greater or lesser extent.
To put it plainly if not elegantly, the
democrats in Congress have played,
and in spite or their bitter experience,
are continuing to play the people for
fools.
Even the tottering, God-forsaken
government Of Turkey, which exists
merely by the sufferance of the great
powers of Europe, does not hesitate
to snub this administration. 1t has
refused to allow the U. S. Consul de-
signated for that duty by Secretary
Gresham to accompany the Commits
sion, composed of representatives of
Russia and Great Britain, which will
investigate the massacre of Christian
Armenians by Turkish troops. If
Secretary Gresham had not blundered
from the start he would not be in his
present humiliating position. He has
already been taken to task by Congress
for several of his tlunders, and this
last one will certainly be heard from.
The Senate will do nothing in the
way of political legislation at this
session, although there is still much
talk about cloture rule, but not as
much as there was when the silver re-
peal bill was pending. Bluffs will be
made at the sugar schedule of the
tariff law from time 10 time, but they
will have speculative, nota legisla-
tive object.
General Sickles, of New York, is
one of the few democrats in the
House who has brilliant Union
Army record, and almost the only
democrat who has had the courage to
openly antagonize the pension policy
of this administration. His latest re-
marks, made just previous to the pass
ing OF tina pension appropriation bill
by the House, are alike creditable to
him and to every ex-Union soldier.
He said: 81 want to say right here
today, for it may be the last opportu-
nifty I shall have to say it here, in VIM
of my comrades, that that
roll of million names, with SO few
instances of fraud, is moment of
honor to American soldiers only less
worthy, only less admirable than the
heroic services they performed in the
of this Union, for which
their pensions are awarded"
Mr.. Cleveland is still making extern
sions of the classified civil service.
The civil service reform professions of +