San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-12-13
WASHINGTON LETTER.
by our Regular Correspondent. !
WASHINGTON. Dec. 10, '94.

first weeking in Congress has beeen
the apparently concerted effort of
the Democrats and mugwu mps to
stir up jealousy and bad feeling be-
tween the friends Of those Republi-
cans who are prominently men,
toned as presidential possibi lities,
by distorting their replies to ques-
tions and in some cases by actually
putting words into their mouths
which they never thought of using.
Representative Boutelle, of Maine,
rightly calls this Gan old trick of
the Democracy to invent a phrase
or catch-word which they seek to
make odious by iteration, and then
to use 1t as a bugaboo with which
to scare timid and feather. Drained
Republicans" The trick consists in
asking some unsuspicious Repub.
lIcan whether the party will be re-
enact the Mckinley tariff law,
when it returns to power. II he
answers in substance, that changed
conditions may make some changes
necessary, as most sensible men are
apt to do, he will find his remarks
distorted and published under a
scare-head, "McKinleyism!is dead"
or something with similar mean
ing. The object Is so plain that
Republicans in Congress smile at
the attempts, but this mention is
made to put Republicans in your
vicinity on their guard against &C.
cepting as true any interview pur-
porting to have been held with any
Republican senator or representa-.
tive, in which protection is slight
ingly spoken OF. There have been
no such interviews. II there Is a
Republican in either the Senate or
the House who is not pro-
tectionist he is not known to the
leaders OF the party.
Mr.. Cleveland and Secretary
Carlisle have apparently captured
the Democratic mem bers Of the
House committee on Banking and
Currency Ten days ago Chairman
Springer, OF that committee, pub
licly declared that it would be i'm
possible for the committee to agree
upon any currency bill today, he
says the committee will before the
holidays report currency bill to
the House, and that it will be along
the line proposed by Secretary
Carlisle and endorsed by Mr..
Cleveland. This week is to be de-
voted by the committee to hear
ings, the list including Secretary
Carlisle, Comptroller Eckles and a
number of Bankers. Secretary
Carlisle has at the request of the
committee submitted a rough draft
Of the bill giving his ideas of what
IL ought to in order to carry out
his recommendations. Whether
this bill can pass the
House after it is reported will de-
pend largely upon the attitude of
Speaker Crisp who dominated the
committee on rules, which must
report an order limiting debate
thereon, if it is to have any chance
for getting through. Mr.. Catch
ings, Of Miss, is the only member
Of the committee on rules who has
publicly committee himself to the
Carlisle-Cleveland plan.
The caucus of Democratic sena-
tors included currency bill" in
its directions to the steering COM
mittee to provide an order Of bust
ness for the session, but that is
long ways from an indication that
that the Democratic Senators are
ready to accept whatever currency
bill the House may pass and send
over. Those who are disposed to be-
lieve that the Senate will pass
a House currency bill without
should turn their
memory back to the Wilson tariff
bill for few minutes. But even II
the Democrats were willing to &C
cept a House bill that would make
no difference in the result. The
decision not to change the rules of
the Senate leaves the decision as to
what bills shall pass the Senate in
the hands of the Republican sem
ators, who are not likely to favor
hurried legislature on such an i'm
portant question as the currency OF
the country. The other bills named |
by the Democratic caucus were |
those for the admission Of Arizona |
and New Mexico, Nicaragua canal,
and the Indian Terri
tory bill.
The administration is pulling all |
the wires at it's disposal to force
the free ship bill through Congress.
1t would throttle another Ameri-
can MISUNDERSTANDING. 1t is
claimed by the friends Of the bill,
who consists mostly of misguided