Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-07-27

1
ucts of various kinds. Who will not
then feel proud of living in one OF the
richest States in the Union, whose
possibilities are as yet unknown,
whose future is fraught with greater
advantages than that of other
State and whose destiny is imineas-
urably higher than three fourths OF
the nations of the entire world.
A. S. G.
EXERCISING ARBITRARY POWER.
Is the Press to be r1uzzled ? Reorgan-
ization of the Senate.
From our regular correspondent.
WASHINGTON, July 22.-Casar,
Cromwell, and Napoleon were in their
day considered powerful, but the pow
er exercised by them over the expen-
ditures of their respective nations was
not greater than that now claimed for
subordinate official of the U. S.
Treasury. According to this claim,
the Comptroller has the authority to
refuse payment OF appropriations
made by Congress and approved by
| the President, whenever he believes,
or makes pretense of believing, that
said payment would be unconstitu-
tional, and the claimant has no redress
or appeal. except to enter suit for the
amount claimed in the Court of
Claims. The first notice of this re-
markable claim of authority was Civ
en- several days ago when a voucher
for about SI2, 900, in favor of the Ok
nard Company, of Nebraska, manu-
facturers of beet sugar, was held up
by the Comptroller, and the company
notified the Comptroller would hear
argument as to the constitutionality
of the Act of Congress appropriating
S23S, 900 to pay the bounty on beet
sugar manufactured before the repeal
of the bounty clause of the Mckinley
law. The Comptroller says he be-
lieves the sugar bounty law to have
been unconstitutional, which is a little
queer in view of his having allowed
| ST. 900, 900 or whereabouts, to be paid
out under that law during the fiscal
year ending June 80, without protest.
The real facts in this business are we'll
known. Comptroller Bowler is mere
ly figure head, who repeats his les
son just as it is taught to him. In
addition to the money appropriated for
the beet-sugar makers, there was S.
900, 900 appropriated by the last Con-
gress to pay deferred sugar bounties
they will be deferred sure enough,
it seems. This money the admins
tration doesn't wish to pay out until
Republican Congress shall have put
more money in the National Treasury.
Comptroller Bowler has been swelled
up by praise and made the tool of
smarter men to carry out this idea.
The same tactics are, according to
current report. to be used to defer
payment on the contract made with
the International Steamship Company
for the transportation of mails to Eu-
rope. This contract was made by
Mr.. Wanamaker, when he was Post
MASTER General, under an Act of Con-
gress, and includes the use of steam
ships owned by the company as gov
eminent cruisers in time of war.
That mysterious Cabinet meeting
has naturally been the subject of much
gossip and numberless rumors. That
the Spanish minister, who came to
Washington about the same time that
Secretary Olney did, if he did not ac-
company him, was the cause of this
Cabinet meeting is certain, and that
it discussed the Cuban revolution.
All else is conjecture, owing to the
air of mystery with which those who
attended the meeting have since sur
rounded themselves, although it is
difficult to imagine any good reason
why there should be any secrecy as
to the position this government occu-
pies towards either Spain or the re-
voting Cubans. Rumor says the
Spanish minister went so far as 10
ask that those American editors who
are disposed to sympathize with the
Cubans should be muzzled by the
Secretary of State. The admins ira
ton would seem to have about all the
muzzling it can attend to, in trying
to shut the mouths of the Silver DEM
ocrats, without tackling the editors OF
the country, although Secretary Olney
is probably fully in accord with the
idea of a press censorship.
The Populists are much chargrined
over the latest phase of the reorgan.
ization Of the Senate at the beginning
of the coming session of Congress.
They have been confidently counting
upon being asked to join the Repub-
licans in the reorganization and, of
course, receiving liberal share of the
committee chairmanships and of the
Senate patronage. 1t has lately come
out that many of the Republican Sem
ators would much rather not reorgan-
ize the Senate than to do it with the
assistance of the Populists. This
wasn't pleasing to the Democrats,
who do not wish to retain control of
the committees without the power to
control votes enough to carry any
thing through, and some of them
have intimated to the Republicans
their willingness to vote for reor-
ganization that will divide the chair
manships and the patronage between
the Republicans and the Democrats,
/ leaving the Populists out altogether.
No one has the authority to accept
this or any other proposition concern
4 ing reorganization until it shall have