The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-04-06
Washington Letter.
From our regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON. March 30. 1Sg

81 would sooner be a day Lahore
than a member of Cleveland's s cabinet,
remarked democrat widely known il
commercial circles to persona
friend. "Why" he continued, "the
rarely know what he is going to d,
about anything until his act is publicl,
announced. When he invites then
to express their opinions it is onl,
that he may ascertain how many O
them agree with him, and never will
the remotest idea of accepting theil
advice when they do not" The occa
sion of these remarks was q visit he
had paid to each member of the cab;.
net, all his personal friends, to find
| out something definite about Mr.
Cleveland's intentions as to the Bland
coinage bill. He was told by each OF
them that while the matter had been
discussed at two cabinet meetings Mr..
Cleveland had not told any of them
what he intended to do, but four of them
believe that he win veto it, not much
from anything he has said since the bill
passed Congress as from his previous
utterances on the same subject. 1t is
also the general belief in Congress that
he will veto the bill If he does,
look out for the biggest democratic
row yet seen. He did.
The republican Senators are hard at
work preparing themselves for the
tariff debate, which begins week
from today. 1t is their purpose to set
out in their speeches the bad points
in the bill which are so numerous that
many of them have necessarily been
overlooked by the casual reader.
Nobody in Washington appears to
take Coxey's army seriously, except
Senator Kyle and a fellow who calls
himself Coxey's agent. The latter
goes Coxey 100000 better and says he
expects the army to number 100000
when it gets here.
The trouble with the new treaty
with China, which is being considered
by the Senate committee on foreign
relations, and which threatens to re-
open the entire "Chinese question"
in Congress, is that Secretary Gresham
failed to prove himself entitled to
stand in the same diplomatic class
with the present Chinese Minister,
who secured everything his government
wanted without conceding anything
substantial to the United States.
So plain is this that Gresham tries to
excuse himself by limiting about bene-
fetal commercial treaty which is to fol-
low. What makes the treaty all the
more disappOintingis that men close
to the administration quietly gave out a
tip many months ago that the treaty
would contain clause binding China
to purchase annually a large amount
of the American mines. It really does
grow monotonous this having to con-
denim every act of the administration,
but what can one do when there is
absolutely nothing worthy of commen-
dation.
Judging from the record of the
party, particularly in the last House,
it would seem that if there was any
one thing that would induce quorum
of democrats to remain in their seats
it would be the prospect of unseating
a republican member and giving his
seat to a democratic contestant who
has just about as much right to it as
the man in the moon, but even that
prospect did not keep the democratic
members of the House in their seats,
and, after wasting two days in ineffec-
tual attempts to get democratic
quorum. the republicans very proper
ly refused to vote, in order to carry
out the report of the democrats On
the election committee, by ousting
Representative Joy, of Mo-, and Civ
ing his seat to the democrat he defeat
ed, they were compelled to temporari-
ly abandon the scheme 1t will be
again attempted this week, and it
will. of course, in the end succeed 1t
is only question of getting demo-
cratic quorum present.
According to relative Of Secretary
Hoke Smith, now visiting Washing
ton, Sam Jones, the slang-slinging G
Georgia preacher, said lately OF the
democrats in Congress: "Of all the
box-ankled, bandy-shanked, hea-bit-
ten, bob-tailed, NANCY, courageless,
brainless jackasses that ever assembled
since God made the world, [ think
for pure downright cussedness the
present gang in Congress, headed by