Middletown transcript., 1894-02-10
WASHINGTON LETTER.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9Th, 1884,
Republican Senators are met with
piece of Democratic duplicity at the
beginning of the consideration of the
Cleveland tariff bill by the Senate
Finance committee that is far from
encouraging. Previous to the passing
of the bill by the House Senator Voor-
hees, chairman of the Finance COM
mittee, promised Republican Senators
that the committee would grant full
hearings to industries affected by the
bill. Now, those promises are ignored
and Mr.. Voorhees, says the committee
will grant few, if any hearings, alleg-
ing as an excuse for breaking his word
that the information which will he re-
ceived from the circular letters sent
e,tt by the committee will be all that is
needed. This is mere subterfuge,
and no one knows it any better than
Mr.. VOORHEES,. 1t is perfectly true
that the answers to The questions in
that circular letter would furnish all
the information necessary; but it is
also trne that this information never
will be put in shape to be used by the
committee. and that also is known to
Mr.. Voorhees,. If answers are re-
ceived 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 shape. The COM
mittee hasn't the clerks nor the dispo-
sition to wait for the work to be done
if it had them. The plain unvarnished
truth is that Mr.. VOORHEES, has re-
ceiyed the orders of his master in the
White House and he will break his
word to his colleagues who have moth
ing to give him in preference to dis
obeying 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 Republican Senators pro-
pose making it fight that will be
memorable in the 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 Kentucky, in standing up
and 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 cuckooism upon a man who has
always been considered in spite of bis
intense partisanship fair minded and
patriotic. When a man becomes the
defender of Mr.. Cleveland's policy he
necessarily has to drop the role of
patriotic statesmen and assume that of
pettifogging special pleader who en-
deavors to make good case for his
clients regardless of law or facts.
Such men are common enough in every
community, but it is little short Of a
national calamity that so many of
them should occupy seats in Congress.
The only consolation is that the people
have fully acquainted themselves with
the facts in this case and cannot be
bamboozled by misstatements or cue
koo resolutions.
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 United States, than
any other man has ever done, and the