Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-12-24
WASHINGTON LETTER.
W
Is -soIAL CORR ssPoNDENCE THE MONITOR. j
Washington, Dec. II, 1894.

cratic leaders of the House are, Dy
their attitude on the currency ques-
ton, giving the country another OBJ
ject-lesson, showing the democratic
idea of craftsmanship. Notwithstand-
ing that these financiers of reputation
who were heard, either in person or
by letter, by the House, banking and
currency committee, were a unit in
condemning either part or the whole
or part of Secretary Carlisie's mis-
named plan of currency reform, the
bill drawn up by Secretary Carlisle is
to be railroaded through the House
this week, unless democratic plans
miscarry.
The democrat who expresses an OBJ
lection to the bill, and nearly all of
them do, is told that the bill has not
the slightest chance to become a law,
but that it is merely intended to con-
vince the country that the admins
tration 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 already
unpopular senate.
It is not necessary to have an extra
good memory to recall that similar ar
puments were used to rush the Wilson
tariff bill through the House in crude
form. 1t is we'll known that many of
the Senate amendments to the tariff
bill were begged for by democratic
members of the House who lacked
courage to either propose them or to
vote for them in an open, manly way,
but were willing to beg for them Sc
cretly, and then to pose as having
been compelled, against their wills, to
accept the Senate amendments and
all. That is the Esort of business
which disguised the people and bro't
about the democratic defeat of last
month. There has not been a single
important piece of legislation before
congress since it was controlled by
the democrats, into which this sort of
tactics was not introduced to a great
er Or lesser extent. To put it plainly
if not elegantly, the democrats in con-
gress have played, and in spite of
their bitter experience, are continu-
ing 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 des-
ignated 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. Ii
Secret AIRY Gresham had not blunder-
ed 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 blunders,
and this last one will certainly be
heardfrom.
The senate will do nothing in the
way of political legislation at this
session, although there is still much
talk about a cloture rule, but not as
much as there was when the silver
repeal bill was pending. Bluffs will
be made at the sugar schedule of the
tariff law from time to time, but they
viii have speculative, not legisla-
tive object.
General Sickles, of New York, is
one of the few democrats in the House
who has brilliant Union Army re-
cord, and almost the only democrat
who had had the courage to openly
antagonize the pension policy of this
administration. His latest remarks
made just previous to the passing of
the pension appropriation bill by the
House, are alike creditable to him and
to every ex-Union soldier. He said:
''I want to say right here today, for
it may be the last opportunity shall
have to say it here, in vindication of
my comrades, that that roll of mil
lion names, with so few instances of
fraud, is a monument of honor to
American soldiers only less worthy,
only less admirable than the heroic
service they performed in the pre-
servation of this Union, for which SER
vices their pensions are awarded.o
Mr. Cleveland is still making ex-
tensions of the classified civil service.
The civil service reform professions
of this administration would be en-
titled to more respect if less were
known of the methods in vogue in
the departments to get big salaries
for democrats at the expense of good
clerks, women as we'll as men, For
instance, a 81, 400 woman clerk was
compelled to exchange salaries with