The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1894-02-21


From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 1894.
A very ugly rumor is being whispered
around Washington in connection with
the contradictory reports which have
been given out by friends of democratic
senators as to what the democrats on
the senate finance committee propose
doing with. the sugar clause of the
Cleveland tariff bill. One day it ia
stated that sugar is to be allowed to re-
main on the free list and the next that
it is to have a duty of anywhere from
one-half cent to one and one-half cents
pound put upon it. This rumor says
that these contradictory statements are
made solely for the purpose of giving
certain men an opportunity to speculate
in the New York stock exchange. 1t is
now stated by the democratic members
of the subcommittee which has charge
of the tariff bill that it will certainly be
reported to the full committee early
next week, but they said the same thing
week ago. There are some democratic
senators who have not yet been satisfied
and the bill will not be reported until
they are.
The house had lively time this week
discussing the Bland bill for the coinage
of the seigniorage in the treasury. A
controversy between Mr.. Bland and ex-
Speaker Reed grew so warm that the
acting speaker had to call on the SER
geant-at-arms before quiet was restored.
As parliamentarian Mr.. Bland isn't in
the same class with the ex-speaker.
Few men in the house are, for that
matter.
Let the mugwumps and the whang
horns. Another great democratic reform
in the civil service has been consum-
mated. This week 160 0republican clerks
in the pension bureau, many of them
veterans of the war, were reduced, re-
gardless of their efficiency, and 200 dem
ocratic clerks in the same establishment
were promoted for no other reason than
that they were democrats. How is that
for reform with big R?
Representative Meiklejohn, of Neb-
raska, is after the administration with
little pension resolution that will come
very close to convicting Mr.. Cleveland of
Misrepresentation, either intentional or
through lack of proper information, in
his annual message to congress. In
preamble to the resolution Mr.. Meikle-
john recalls the language used in the
presidents message of Dec. 4, 1898, and
copies the order of the commander-in--
chief of the 6. A. R., quoting Mr..
Cleveland's statement that thousands
of neighborhoods have their we'll
known fraudulent pensioners, and
recent developments by the bureau
establish appalling conspiracies to
accomplish pension Frauds" and urg-
ing all comrades to report at once
to the commissioner of pensions the
name of any person known to be draw
ing pension to which he was not justly
entitled. Then follows: Resolved,
That the commissioner of pansions is
hereby respectfully requested to furnish
the house with copies of all reports re-
ceived by him under this order of the
commander-in-chie of the G. A R. of
persons who are in receipt of a pension
who are not entitled to the same under
the law.'' The commissioner will have
hard time complying with this order
because there have been no such re-
ports, for the very good and sufficient.
reason that there are no such individu-
ais as "well known fraudulent pension
ers." No one doubts that among the
large number OF pensioners there are
some frauds, but it is an insult to every
American citizen to say that they are
well known to their neighbors as frauds.
Some men are caught by one thing
and some by another, but the theory of
Mr.. Cleveland seems to be that all dem
ocrats can be caught by something. He
has this week added two democratic
senators to the cuckoo band. Senator
George of Missippi was caught by being
made dispenser-in-chief of the federal
patronage in his state. This was q
double play on the part of Mr.. Cleve-
land: It turned one opponent into a
supporter and gave new opponent
Senator McLaurin of Mississippi-a
knockdown at the very. beginning of his
official life. Senator Faulkner of W.
Va, the other new cuckoo, was caught
through the social ambition of his
young and beautiful bride, Mrs. Cleve-
land aiding her husband.