Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1895-01-17
WASHINGTON LETTER.


Washington, January IA, 1895.
Senator Lodge having announced his
intention to offer an amendment to the
appropriation bill, providing the con-
sular service shall pass under the jurs-
diction of the civil service commission,
Senator Cockrell, chairman of the APP
preparation committee, was asked If he
thought the amendment would be adopt
ed. NO" was his positive reply. Il
am not in favor of extending the civil
service law over any more offices. be-
lieve that the intention of congress and
the spirit of the law have already been
exceeded 1t was never contemplated
that so many branches of the govern
ment as are now included in the classi-
fled service should be so. | believe both
President Cleveland and President Har-
rison have exceeded their duty and au
thority in this respect, and if they are
going any further and take any more
officials under this humbug system, |
propose they include the heads of bu-
reauX, members of cabinet, and the
president himself. | do not see why we
should except them, if we are going
to include all the rest of the executive
officers of the government"
President Cleveland and Secretary
Carlisle were far from being pleased at
the success of the combination of Re-
pubicans, Populists and anti-adminis-
tration Democrats, which resulted in
the house refusing by a vote of 129 to
124 to adopt the order reported from the
committee on rules, fixing a day to vote
upon the currency reform bill; but they
still believe that bill can be passed
Steps are being taken which it is hoped
will result in getting the support of
enough Democrats who voted against
the rule to make the ultimate passage
of a currency bill by the house a certain
ty. Representative Bland, of Missouri,
who was one of those Democrats says it
will be an easy matter to get the sup
port of nearly all of them by amending
the bill so as to recognize silver. One
thing now seems certain--if no financial
bill is passed at this session an extra
session of congress will have to be called.
1t will be interesting to note how
many Republican newspapers will be
honest enough to give the administra-
tion proper credit for having compelled
the government of Spain to remove the
discrimination of rs cents barrel
against flour shipped from the United
States to Cuba. The diplomatic victory
was not easily won, but President Cleve
land and Secretary Gresham decided
that won it must be, and Minister Tay
pr was instructed to inform the Spanish
government that it must choose between
removing the discrimination against our
flour and having Cuban sugar shut out
of the United States, and that the choice
must be made quick. The Spanish gov
ernment is notorously slow in reaching
conclusion upon anything, but in this
case it ''got move on" and quickly
chose to abolish that discrimination.
Senator Voorhees,, chairman of the
senate finance committee, refused to
grant a hearing to CoXey on his good
roads and non-interest bearing bond
an absolute waste of time, as the com
mttee would not attempt to consider the
matter. CoXey was granted hearing
before a subcommittee of the house
committee on ways and means, consist
ing of Bryan, of Nebraska; Dalzel of
Pennsylvania; Whiting of Michigan, and
McMillin of Tennessee, but there is no
probability that any recommendation
will be made by the subcommittee.
Secretary Carlisles Interpretation of
that clause of the new tariff law which
repealed the Mckinley sugar bounty
that it put an immediate stop to the
paying of bounties-has been unanimous
ly sustained by the court of appeals of
the District of Columbia, in a test case
And the court also decides that the
sugar bounty was unconstitutional, two
out of its three judges asserting and the
third neither asserting nor dissenting
because of his belief that if was un-
necessary to pass on the constitutional
ity of the bounty at this time.
Representative Sibley, of Pennsylva-
mia, who was elected to the house by
Democratic votes, but who long ago pro-
claimed himself to be Republican on
the tariff and Populist on the finance
question, disgraced himself and his con-
stituents by making "A personal attack
upon President Cleveland, in u speech in
tie house, which was one Of the coarsest
and most ungeqtlemanly ever made ip
congress, Opinion is divided as TO
whether he is half crazy or merely seek