Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1895-12-30
WASH NtTTON LETTER.
PEo1AL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE MONITOR
Wnshinnton. Dec. %. 1895.


to let we'll enough alone. He made
the hit of his life when he sent that
message in favor of the Monroe doc
trine to Congress. But he mistook
the applause for the sentiments in
the message for applause for himself
and in his egotism thought that be-
cause Congress promptly adopted his
recommendation for the appointment
boundary between British Guiana and
Venezuela that it was ready to do
anything else he wanted done. So he
Joined the British who we're trying to
punish the United States for daring
to stand up for the Monroe doctrine
by forcing us into a financial panic,
and sent a special message to Con-
gress urging immediate financial
legislation and asking that no Christ
mas recess be taken until some such
legislation as retiring the greenbacks
or authorizing an issue of gold bonds
should have been put through.
In saying that it was Mr.. Cleve-
lands egotism that caused him to
write that financial message, it is put
ting very charitable construction
upon his act. Others do not hesitate
to say that he did it because he was
ratified by the British attacks upon
our finances and by call which was
issued by the New York Chamber OF
Commerce for meeting to condemn
the Monroe doctrine message. He is
said 10 have sent a member of the
cabinet to New York to prevent that
meeting and his messenger is report
ed to have made a deal whereby the
meeting was declared off and Mr..
Cleveland's message was sent to Con-
gress.
So far as Congress and the Amer1-
can people are concerned, the mes
sage will do neither good nor harm
Congress will provide for the deficit
with tariff egislation-but it will I'M
ouestionably do much harm to our
interests in England. 1t will cause
the British to think that Mr.. Cleve-
land has become frightened and al
ready regrets his belligerent message;
and it will also encourage them to
keep up their scheming to throw US
into a financial panic. No possible
good can be accomplished by Con-
gress remaining in session during
Christmas week, because even if the
House had already passed the meas
ure which will be reported from the
WAYS and Means Committee, the
Senate would not be prepared to act
on it until its reorganization had been
accomplished. The silver men IN the
Senate, who have an unquestloned
majority, say nothing can pass that
doesn't provide in some way for a
more extended use of silver.
Speaker Reeds committee assign
ments contain some personal dlsap-
but that was under the
circumstances unavoidable; there
were more leading republicans than
there were leading places. But it is
creditable to those who were disap-
pointed that they have accepted the
situation philosophically. Represen-
tative Payne, of N. Y, merely keeps
his old place on the Ways and Means
Committee, the craftsmanship going
to Representative Dingley, of Maine,
but Mr.. Payne is given in addition the
craftsmanship Of the sCommittee on
Merchant Marine and Fisheries, which
is an unusual honor, as members of
the Ways and Means Committee are
seldom given chairmanships. Can
non, of ILL.,, got the craftsmanship Of
the Committee on Appropriations, but
of Iowa, his rival for that
honor, got much coveted place on
the Committee on Rules, as did Dali
zell, of Pa, who was at one time
to be in line for the head of
the Ways and Z Means Committee.
Walker, Of Mass, got the Banking
and Currency craftsmanship, and Hit,
of ILL.,, that of Foreign Affairs, as it
had been understood all along they
would, but there were lots of sur
prises among the minor chairman
ships.
Admiral Mead, y. S. N, in lecture
on ''The Caribbean Sea-" took occa-
sion to say that he considered the
of the individual vessels
of our navy an offset for the excess of
vessels in the British navy, which
was sufficient to prevent any fear on
our part of contest. He also said:
ST am no prophet nor son of proph-
ct, but predict that should war be-
tween the United States and Great
Britain come, the first shot fired in
anger will sound the death knell of
the British EmDire''