The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1895-12-26

Senator German has issued a caIl for
a caucus OF the Democratic members Of
the Senate To be held tomorrow morning
at IL O'Clock for the purpose OF acting
upon the report of the committee charged
with the duty OF filling the vacancies
| on the committees and maj King the minor
| ity assignments.
The policy OF the Democrats will be to
not impede The Reorganization OF the senate
| The Republicans have acquiesced In an
| understanding that such reorg.iniza ion shall
not be operative until January l. inasinuch
| as all employees have been paid for the
! present month and endless confusion would
result from an immediate transfer.
MAY BE NO DIVISION
| 1t is not thought that n division Will lie
called ior wien the resolution d.termin-
| ing the committees is laid before the Sen
ate, although 1t Is not improbabe that seine
one may desire TO put the senate On record.
Ii the yeas and NJ IS are cai.ed for, the
| Democrats VIII vote against the Repub-
| lean resolution, bat the R.pubiicans Will
have a quorum and carry their program
| through
| This will probably be done ii onday next.
| the Senate, under the present understanding,
not intending To lie III session saturday.
I caucus Of free silver and other Republic
| cans VINO are opposed to the bond bill which
| the Ways and ii cans Committee will report
| tomorrow. has been called to meet at the
Ebbitt House tonight. The call is now
being circu.atedby VI Hartman, OF Montana.
1t has already received thirty signatures.
Mr.. Hartman believes that il VIII be signed
by at least Z 5 members in all.
He thinks that Republicans will Join the
silver Democrats enough 10 I'M ke this nuIII-
Der in opposing the bond bill. II this belief
is well founded the bill ma in h judgment
be defeated.
DISCUSSING THE BOND BILL
AT tonights caucus the bond bin viii be
fully discussed. well as the better plan
OF presenting united front against H.
The expectation that the sound money
Democrats will unite with the Tree silver
and other Republican opponents oil the bond
bill Seems likely To be realized A TcpOr-
ter, who spoke with u number OF these gen
tleInen today, found great unanimiiy Of
sentiment among them win reference to the
bond ball.
Mr.. Patterson OF Tennessee, WHO has IL en-
conspicuous champion Of soCi:d money,
stated thit under no circumstances world
he vote for the bill in question. He CON
tends that II not only does not give relief
10 the Treasury Department, but that it
practically ties the hands OF Secretary
Carlisle, and in his opinion the existing
law is preferable.
He favors substitute on the lines OF
the Presidents message and the Secretarys
report. II is not improbable that he will,
if an opportunity be presented to amend
the bill. offer a substitute when ii comes
up tomorrow authorizing the Secretary OF
the Treasury to sell 3 per cent gold bond
for the sole purpose of replenshing the
gold reserve III he Treasury
PATTERSON'S SUBSTITUTE.
This substitute may, he says, embody q
further provision looking to The retirement
of the Treasury notes.
The objection of Mr.. Patterson and the
other sound money Democrats TO the Ways
and Means bill lies principally in tie use
OF the word coin" to distinguish the char
acter OF the bonds, and The further fact that
it prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury
from selling the bonds abroad, if il lie
advisable to do so.
What tie sOund-money Democrats
want" continued Mr.. Patterson. lis a
gold bond pure and simple, aud not one
which VIII permit the interest and princi-
pal to be paid in deprecated COIN
All OF the Republicans in the House who
at O'Clock this afternoon had sigutd the
call for the caucus are Western men, III
GLIDING Mr.. Mcclure OF Ohio.
A score or more of other Republicans who
will attend the caucus belong to the sound
money wing OF the party but oppose a bond.
Among these are Mr.. Burton, of Missouri;
Mr.. Hopkins, of Illinois, and Mr.. Hepburn, I
of Iowa. The argument advanced by these |
gentlemen is that the Republican party will |
stultify itself by meeting the deficit in the
Treasury through sale of bonds.
REPUBLICAN VIEW.
The Republican contention in the last /
Congress, they say, was that the present !
difficulties arose from Insufficient revenue |
growing out of the present tariff law. and |
that the remedy for this difficulty lay in |
an increased duty on imports.
Another objection lies in what these gen |
tlenen term the manifest purpose of the /
bill to retire the greenbacks,'' and to this |
they are unaltcrably opposed.
The support of the dissatisfied Republi- |
licaDs, other than the free silver Rcpuhli- !
cans, may be secured for the bond bill, If |
is said, IL an amendment which Mr.. Hopkins |
will offer tomorrow providing specifically |
against any retirement of the greenbacks, !
shall be adopted.
Altogether. the contest over the bond bill |
seems likely to develop a number of fac |
tional fights, not only among the Rcpuh- |
leans. but the Democrats as well. AT |
o'clock today the free silver Republicans !
are so much encouraged at the opposition
which is manifested to the bill that they are |