Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1895-10-17
DOINGS AT WASHINGTON.
Washington. Oct. ii. 1895.

foreign policy which is to be put in
to affect-accent on the is to be-has
made bad start bv pleading the
baby act. He was asked this week
what. If anything, the administration
prope sed to do about the Cuban rev.
olutionists. The man who asked the
question occupies position which en-
Titles him to reply. otherwise Mr..
Olney would have given him the usu-
al silent bluff with which he parries
the questions of newspaper men and
other nquisitive individuals. Not
daring to do that he fell back on the
baby act, and said that the reports so
conflicting that he had up To this
time found it impossible to ascertain
the status of affairs in Cuba: that the
Spanish minister insisted that the re-
volt was mere nothing and wonld
soon be stamped out, and that the
rosy pictures of the revolutionists
successes which appear from time to
tlmein the newspapers were manu-
factured IN this country. He intimat-
ed that 1t might be necessary to send
a confidential agent to Cuba to in
vestigate before the administration
decided what position it would take.
1t IS significant that State department
officials cite two preeedents for the
idea of sendingsa confidential agent to
Cuba. In 1916, before acknowledoin0
the independence of the revolving
Spanish colonies in South America.
President Monroe sent three commits
sloners in u. S. Man-of-war to in
vestigate the situation, and in 1913.
when Daniel Webster was secretary
OF state. President TAYLOR secretly
commissioned confidential agent to
go to Hungary and ascertain the
chances the Hungarians had for sue
cess in their revolt against Austrian
rule, an act which caused strained
relations between this countrys and
Austria although the revolt was put
down before the agent got to Hungary
and gave Mr.. Webster an opportunity
to write one of his strongest state
papers. There is reasonable ground
for the suspicion that Mr., Cleveland
has already appointed a confidential
agent and the man is now in Cuba.
Some very ludierous suggestions
have been made as to who will be
given that vacancy in the Supreme
court, but the most ludicrous of them
all is that which came this week from
! some southern democrats in favor of
Representative Thomas c. Catchings
of Miss, ..Shoestring Tom one of the
originators and principal beneficiaries
of crooked election methods. In the
eyes of most people ''Shoestring Tom
has not single qualification for a
seat upon the bench of our highest
court but he has one trait which in
Mr.. Cleveland's eyes may make up
for all that he laclls-he is cuckoo
OF the most pronounced breed
Secretary Morton is the one mem
Der of the administration who is open
in his advocacy of free trade. That's
why he has been so anxious that
Mexican cattle should be admitted
free, nnder the pretense of iniuring
the beef trust. He has been loud in
claims that this was in the interests
of the farmers particularly. just
now the mail of the department of
agriculture is burdened with the
protests from farmers who raise cat
tie against the free admission of
Mexican cattle. Evidently the Amer
lean farmers think they know what
is TO their interest better than the free
trade secretary of agriculture does.
Mr.. Castle, the new Hawaiian min
lister, who has been in Washington for
ten days but who has not vet been
officially received as such bv the all
ministration. denies in the most posi-
tive terms the sensational statements
contained in Hawaiian publication
brought TO the United States on the
last steamer. to the effect that the
Hawaiian republic was on the verge
of dis solution. He saws the editor Of
the publication in question has al
ways been opposed to the republic,
and that what he prints is treated
with ridicule by the intelligent peo-
lple on the island. Mr. Castle de-
clines to discuss the reports concern
ing Japan's desire TO obtain posses
sion of the islands but from other
sources it is learned that the mem
bers OF the Hawaiian government are
uneasy concerning what they have
| A1"AhS' " Japan iubcubiOuS, anu
that their uneasiness is being con-
stantly added to by the unruly action
of the Japanese on the islands. who
appear to be trying 70 raise row of
some kind in order that the Japanese
government may have a reasonable
excuse for making demands which
could not be complied with urou
Hawaii. and in default Selling the
islands, la the English at Corinto a
few months ago. According to these
stories, the Japanese government is
counting upon the known hostility of
Mr.. Cleveland to the present Hawaiian
government to prevent any interior
ence with its plans, Notwithstanding
the resolution adopted by Congress
saying that the United States would
tolerate no interference with Hawaiian