Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1895-12-23
WASHJNTTON LETTER.
rspE uAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE MONITOR.
Washington, Dec. IS, 1895.

Washington, Dec. IS, 1895.
Speaker Reed will probably not an
nounce the House committees until
just before the Adjournment for the
Christmas recess, which is expected
to take place on Friday or Saturday
of this week. There is still much un-
certainty as to the chairmen of such
important committees as ways and
means and appropriations, although
the contest is believed to have mar
rowed down to Payne of New York,
and Dingeley, of Maine, for the first,
and Cannon, of ILL.,, and Henderson of
Iowa, for the last.
The members of the Utah commits
sion arrived in Washington several
days ago and will remain until they
can get an opportunity to present a
handsomely engrossed copy of the
constitution, ratified by the election
held last month, to MI. Cleveland with
the request that his proclamation for
mally declaring Utah state be issued
at an early day. Had Mr.. Cleveland
been in Washington, where it is GER
tainly his duty to be during the SEES
sion of the congress, if at no other
time, the members of the commission
might have saved on their hotel bills,
but whether Utah would have become
state any sooner is doubtful, as Mr..
Cleveland will not issue the procIama-
ton until he gets good and ready.
1t is not yet certain whether the re-
publicans will reorganize the senate
before the Christmas recess or wait
until January, but the latter is regard
ed as most probable. The caucus
committee has completed the work of
assigning the chairmen of committees
and the republican membership Of
the committees, and the job is proba-
bly, as satisfactory as it could have
been made, although lots of senators
are not as we'll provided for as they
wished to be. The reorganization is
not now a matter of doubt. The pop
ulist senators after voting once for a
slate of their own, are going to retire
from the senate chamber. That will
leave the republicans in the majority
and reorganization will be quickly ac-
complished.
The democratic party isn't going to
wait until the holding of its national
convention to split into gold and sill
yer factions. The split has already
come. Within stones throw of the
U. S. capitol, the headquarters OF sill
yer faction, which is being led by |
Senator Harris of Tenu., has been es-
tablished, and flag bearing the mot
to, "no quarter to gold democrats
flung to the breeze. One of the silver
democrats speaking of the split said,
''The democrats have no possible |
chance to elect a president next year,
but we are determined to settle for
good and all whether it is to be gold |
party or silver party; whether Grow
er Cleveland is to make its platform,
or a majority Of the delegates elected
to its national convention. The fight
will be to the death, and the surviv-
ors can then proceed to build new
democratic party on what is left, which
may get into fair fighting condition
for the campaign of 1900"
Senator Sherman proposes making
a set speech at an early day to show
how ridiculous that portion Of the I
presidents message which treats of
finance really is Speaking on the
subject, Senator Sherman said: "From
Jan. 1, 1880, when we resumed specie
payments, until Mr.. Cleveland assum
ed the office of president there was no
difficulty in maintaining the gold re-
serve. During that period it never
cost one dollar to get all the gold nee
essary for the res erVe fund. Gold
naturally comes into the treasury in
exchange for United States notes or
other forms of money. At one peri
cd when I was secretary of the treas
ury, I bought sixty millions of gold
for sixty millions of silver certificates.
No difficulty could have arisen at this
time except for the fact that by the
Wilson German tariff bill duties were
SO reduced as to be insufficient to pay
the current expenses of the govern
ment."
THE PRESIDENT IS RIGHT.