The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1894-04-07
Washington Letter.
From our Regular Correspondent.

WASHINGTON, April :, 1894.
Speaker Crisp has always been IL pop
ular man with democrats, in and out
Of Congress. at Washington, bat his
popularity is to day one hundred pei
cent greater than it ever was betoie.
His refusal of Il seat in the Senate when
all his personal inclnations were for
taking it, because it was clearly more
beneficial to the democratic party for
him to remain Speaker of the House
during the remainder of this Congress,
was of itself enough to account for
much OF the increase in his popularity,
but it was another event-the greatest
triumph of the Speakers Congressional
career-that capped the climax and
made every democrat In Washington
ready to throw his hat in the air and
give three cheers every time the name
CRISP" is called. He humbled ex-
Speaker Reed, as that legislative bully
was never before humbled on the floor
Of the House. They have had many
parliamentary contests, in which the
Speaker got the best of the ex Gar,
but never until this time has the Speak
er succeeded in humblng Reed so COM
pletely that he sat, after having been
made to do so by the Speaker, like
whipped cur. If the Georgia demo
Gratis are of the same mind as the dem
tainly be Senator after the 4th of
next March, and they are talking at
this end of the line OF something higher
yet for him in the future.
Senator Voorhees, in opening the tariff
debate in the Senate made little use of
his extraordinary oratorical power He
just made plain straightforward busi-
ness talk, largely in the nature of an
explanation of the changes made in the
bill by the Senate committee of whicl,
he is chairman, and laying special stress
upon the urgent necessity for speedy
action. According to the present pro-
gramme, very few set speeches will be
made by the other democratic members
of the Finance committee, and no at
tempt to limit the debate will be made
until the republicans have been given
ample opportunity to state their ohjec
tion to the bill.
| lam glad to be able to state positive.
|y that there is absolutely no truth in
the published statement that democrats
who are dissatisfied with President
CIeveland's veto of the Bland bill intend
to vote for free coinage amendment
to the tariff bill. Not single demo-
cratic Senator who favors silver will
say that he is in favor of such an
amendment, and Mr.. Bland, who GER
tainly has the right to speak for the
silver democrats in the House, if any
one man has-fe has been their leader,
both in this and in number of pre-
vions sses-characterized the
idea as IAN outrage and crime that
would do no good and would, if carried
ont, result in the certain defeat of both
tariff reform and free coinage.
MIR. Bland will, as soon as the House
can get and keep democratic quorum
long enough to dispose of the report of
! the election committee in the contested
| case of O'Neil VS.. JOY. of Missouri,
which has been hanging for more than
| a week for lack of voting quorum,
move that his coinage bill be passed
over the Presidents veto. 1t cannot
pass, unless the republicans who voted
against the bill should refuse to vote,
and even then it could hardly pass, as
there are a number of democrats who
voted for the bill when it was passed
who will not vote to pass it over the
Presidents veto. ~
| There is little doubt that Il free coin
age bill will soon be reported to the
| House from the Coinage committee, of
| which Mr.. Bland is chairman, but there
| is much doubt Of its being passed.
| Well. the long wait is over. A demo-
| cratic Public Printer is to succeed Mr.
| Frank w. Palmer, the republican who
has held the Office since May 1889. The
| lucky man is Mr. Thomas E. Benedict
of New York. who held the office from
| September, 1885, until Palmer's appoint
| ment