Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-04-18
WASHINGTON LETTER.


II has been difficult to collect mon
ey from the government ever since thu
Cleveland administration came into
power. and II IL going to be more din
cult than ever. 1t has been the poll
cy Of the Treasury to raise al sorts Of
obstacles to defer pawn emit on govern
msnt vouchers Of all kinds. 1t was
this policy that caused Senator Cor
man to say on the floor of the Senate
that If all proper demands were paid.
there would be q deficit of not less
than 800. 900 900. At q Cabinet meet
ing held after the decision of the Su-
preme Court, In the income tax cases,
was fully digested it was decided that
the calling of an extra session of Con-
gress should be avoided, If possible; ;
and the possibility of keeping money
in the Treasury by delaying payments
upon appropriations made by Con
gress was considered. tits not certain
even then that Congress will not have
to be called together.
That the exemption of incomes from
rents and state and municipal bonds
will cut off at least one half of the
amount that would have been receiv-
ed from the income tax is admitted by
everybody who knows anything about
the subject. And not few believe
that the advice of eminent lawyers.
based upon the failure of the Supreme
Court to declare the law either consti-
tutional or unconstitutional, will re-
snlt in the failure of thousands to pay
the tax. Men who were loud in their
praises of the tax are now bitterly OPP
posed to 1t, because Of the exemptions
made by the court. They say that
these exemptions will defeat the prn.
cipal object OF those who advocated
an income tax-ths compelling of al
len landlords 20 bear a fair share in
supporting the government and throw
the principal burden of the tax upon
business men, manufacturers aud 9th.
err large employers of labor. and their
argument appears to be a good one.
The charge, openly made in Wash
ington. that two of the four Justices
of the Supreme Court who voted to
sustain the constitutionality of the in
come tax did so on legal tecbnicality
and that in the absence of that techni-
cality the vote would have stood to
2 against the constitutionality of the
entire law, instead of the clauses ex-
empted, is not calculated to add to
the popularity of the law, nor to the
Willingness of anybody to pay the tax.
Friends Of Senator Blackburn. in
Washington, say that Mr.. Cleveland's
action, in appointing u man named
Joplin to succeed Mrs. Helm as post
master at Elizabethtown, KY, after
the Senate had refused to act upon the
nomination of Joplin to that Office,
will greatly aid Senator Blackburn in
his campaign for reelection to the
Senate. Mrs. Helm is the Youngest
sister of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln and
the widow of a Confederate brigad;er
who died in battle, and 1t was at the |
request Of ex-Confederate soldiers in
Kentucky that Senator Blackburn es-
poused her cause and succeeded in |
preventing action upon Joplin's nomi-
nation. Mr.. Cleveland is opposed to
the reelection of Mr.. Blackburn. on
account of his views on the silver
question.
Mr.. Cleveland now regrets that his |
friends arranged to have him invited |
to Chicago to make a gold speech, in
order to counterfeit the silver element.
which seems in fair way to get con-
troll of the democratic party in that
State. The principal cause of his re-
greet is that it has been represented to
him that If he makes that gold speech
it will result in an open rupture be-
tween himself and Vice President Ste
venson, who is slated to be the benefi-
cary of the democratic silver conven-
ton which has been called to meet In
that State In June. The official rela-
tions between Mr.. Cleveland and Mr..
Stevenson have been strained for a
long time, but the former is not yet
ready for an entire break in those re-
lations. 1t is regarded as certain that
the Illinois democrats will at that con
vention declare in favor of free silver.
regardless of anything that Mr.. Cleve-
land may say; hence his regret that
anything should, might, or would
have been said about his making
gold speech In the State. He is just
human enough not to wish to put him
self ia position to get knocked down
by the Illinois democrats.
Senator Dubois, of Idaho. who is
now in Washington, has, az all the
world knows, some very positive views
on the subject of the restoration of
silver as money metal. He says: in
my judgment the outlook for silver is
bright. A great majority of the vot-
ers want It restored, and they will find
way to secure what they want. They
will not be fooled any more with
meaningless resolutions In national
-. 4