The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-03-02
WASHINGTON LETTER.
20 oar Ragslar correspoedeatl

|
WAsH1HaroN, Feb. %, 1895.
President Cleveland has either
fully made up his mind to call an
immediate extra session of the
Fifty-fourth Congress or he is MAX
ing big bluff to prevent the pres
ent Congress making an extra SEES
sion necessary by failure to pass
some of the appropriation bills. It
has become perfectly clear that the
republican leaders do not want an
extra session called, and the admin
istration Senators took advantage
of that knowledge to prevent action
upon the bill for the unlimited COIN
age of silver, by threatening to let
all the appropriation bills go and
devote the remainder of the session
to talking against the silver bill to
prevent q vote thereon. The threat
was good, the silver bill was aban-
doned, as under the present rules
of the Senate it would have been
impossible to have forced vote
upon it, even if there had been no
appropriation bills in the way. In
fact, the bill would not have been
brought up had there not been an
implied agreement to allow vote
to be taken. President Cleveland
and the eastern republican Senators
had an idea that the House might
take up and pass the bill in rush
if it were allowed to 60 through the
Senate, and it was decided to kill
it at all hazards.
There is reason for the belief that
the calling of an extra session Of
Congress will depend largely upon
the result of canvas of the new
members now being quietly made
by friends of the administration,
and upon whether the bankers draw
out the gold which came in from
the last sale of bonds as quickly as
they did that which came in from
the other bond Issues. The Presi-
dent is very sore over the criticism
of his part in the last bond deal ;
hence the belief that he will not
issue more bonds should the gold
again get low without first calling
an extra session of Congress and
asking for action.
After a somewhat sharp contest
in conference, the income tax law
was amended to cover the following
points: Extension of time to make
returns for 1894 to April 18th; that
money paid for fire insurance and
ordinary repairs shall be deducted ;
that money received as dividends
from corporations liable TO the tax
shall be deducted, and that en-
ployers shall not be required to
furnish names and salaries of en-
ployes, except when called for to
verify returns made by said en-
ployee. Senator Hills amendment
10 strike out a number of the ques-
tons asked by blanks prepared by
the Treasury department, which was
adopted by the Senate, was struck
out by the conference committee at
the request of the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue, who said the
questions were considered necessa-
~ aids for the collection of the tax.
That friendship is stronger than
the ties Of partisan politics is fact
we'll known in Washington, if not
in all sections of the country. An
instance was given when Senator
Voorhees,, one of the most partisan
of democrats, escorted Senator Will
son. Washington's new republican
to the Vice Presidents
desk, to be sworn in as a member
of the Senate, and it was made more
impressive to many by the knowl-
edge that it was Senator VOORHEES,
who gave Senator Wilson his first
start as politician, by getting him
receiver of government
land Office in the then territory of
Washington. Senator VOORHEES, was
about forty years ago defeated in a
election by the father
Of Senator Wilson. Senator Will
son cast his first vote in the Senate
the same way that his personal
friend and political opponent, MIR.
did-for silver.
Since Tuesday of this week the
Senate has been for the first time
in two years full. Don't put a
wrong construction on that word.
1t simply means that each of the
States now has its full
complement of Senators. 1t will
be remembered that for the last two
years three of the States have,
through failure of their legislatures
to elect, only been half represented
in the Senate.
There is one man in Washington
who is still devout worshipper at
the Cleveland shrine, notwithstand-
ing the widespread criticism of
President Cleveland's recent acts,
particularly in connection with the
of that bond contract. That
man is Hon. Sterling Morton, Sec
retarv If Apricu1tnro. who waa the