The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-05-31
WASHINGTON LETTER.
POSTS Regular correspondent.l
WASHINGTON. MAY 2S. 1894

Instead of going ahead with the
examination of those who are charg
ed with having been implicated II
the sugar trust scandal the Senate
investigating committee is following
long line of presidents and buttiny
it's head against the same old we'll
an attempt to compel newspaper cor
respondents to tell the names of those
who give them information in conf
dence, and the farce may be carrird
to the extent Of locking mp the cor
respondents. Meanwhile men whose
testimony might have been taken are
going to Europe and other places to
keep from testifying and the chances
for getting at the truth, which is all
the public wants, are growing beau
tifully less and less. If newspaper
men could be compelled to dirulga
their sources of information there
would he few or no exposures of cor
rupt practices in public life, for the
very simple reason that in ninety
nine out of every one hundred OF
such exposures made by the newspa-
pers the first information is given in
confidence by public men, and if they
did not know that their confidence
would be respected they would not
give the information. The public
isn't interested in the object the in
former has in view-often not a cred
liable one to him personally-bnt in
the exposure of wrong doing wher-
ever it exists. The Senate has be-
fore this locked up correspondents
for refusing to betray confidence, but
it has never succeeded in making a
correspondent 10 it, and it isn't likely
that it ever will.
The end of the tariff fight seems to
be in sight, and no one will be sur
prised if day for taking the final
vote be agreed upon before the close
Of the present week. The reason for
the charge may be found in the test
votes, which have shown that every
Democratic vote, with the possible
exception Of that Of Hill, and every
Populist vote, with the possible ex-
ception of Stewart, will be cast for
the bill, unless something now uncx-
pccted snail occur to bring about a
change. The Developments in the
investigation may affect the SUI
gar schedule, which will be taken up
this week.
Treasury department officials put
on brave front when talking fol
publication about the recent deple-
ton of the gold in the treasury, now
down to $40, 500, 900. and say they
have no fears Of its getting danger
ously low in the near future, but it is
no secret here that they are very
much disturbed about it. When it
reached 65,Ooo,OOo the admiuistra-
ton considered the situation danger
Gus enough to issue $4,000, 900 o
bonds in spite of it's knowledge that
the sentiment ofCongress was against
bond,issue, land many believe that it
will issue more bonds if the gold
drops to the same amount again, al
though there has been no indication
of any change of sentiment in Con
gress. There is reason to believe
that the administration would like t.
have Congress out of the way before
it resorts to another bond issue. In
this connection the views of a gentle
man in close sympathy with the adj
ministration, given privately to
personal friend. are both interesting
and significant. Said he: "The al
ministration is very much opposed t.
many of the proposed Senate amend
ments to the tariff bill, but it is using
all the influence at its command t.
get the Democrats of the House t.
agree to the bill as it will be passe'
by the Senate, because it wants t.
see Congress adjourn before the gol'
reserve gets SO low that another issu
of bonds will have to be resorteo to
| it having become apparent that Con
gress will not authorize an issue 0
bonds, and that if issued at all
must be under the old law"
Representative Bryan, of Nebraska
is working hard to persuade tn
the House committee to report favor
ably his Nicaragua Canal bill, and
he says, he is confident of succeeding
others doubt it. His bill differ
from that of Senator Morgan, whic
provides for government guarante
of the canal bonds, in that itprovide
for the outright purchase Of $4,000
900 of stock in the canal company b
the government, the payments there
for to be made in cash, the issue
that sum in greenbacks being pro
vidcd for in the bill. The bill ais
provides that the stock purchased b
the government shall constitute
controlling intersst in tn
canal company, and that Of tn
eleven directors OF I'll
company eight shall be named by TT
United States government.
Coxey requested that no efforts |
made to secure pardon for himscl
Browne and Jones, say they will ser'
out their time in Jail, the first tw
devoting their time in writing a hi
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