The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1896-12-17
Washington Letter.
(From our regular correspondent

There is q great deal more in the an
nouncement that the republican mem
bers of the house committee on ways
and means have begun work ON the
tariff bill which they are to attempt to
pass at the extra session of the next
congress to be held early in the spring,
and that the committee are to grant
hearings to manufacturers at once than
appears upon the surface. There are
reasons to believe that this announce
ment was hurried up as part of the
plan to elect republican senator's
enough this winter to make majority
for that party. The republican steer
ing committee of the senate succeeded
in getting Mr.. Hanna to undertake this
job of electing senators in Kentucky.
North Carolina, South Dakota and
everybody knows that the only lever
Mr.. Hanna relies upon for success is
money. By giving the men who expect
to get big profits through the ''protec-
ton" of q republican tariff bill hearings
before the committee they can be shown
that they are to get what they want and
thus be put into the humor to furnish
what Mr., Hanna wants more cash.
The same talk about moderate
tariff which is now being given to
newspaper men was prevalent when
work was begun on the Mckinley bill
The result will be a bill that will
probably be more radical than the Nc
Kinley bill was. 1t is true that many
of the republicans would really like to
see the bill made moderate, but it is
equally true that the men who made re-
publican success possible this year are
determined that the duties shall be
high. President Cleveland has gone to
South Carolina on a fishing trip and
congressman are jocularly charging
him with having run away to escape
the ex-Queen of Hawaii, who is coming
to Washington to present him with 6
bill Of damages for failure to fulfil his
promise, not of marriage, but of re.
stored throne.
The populists in congress are little
shy about expressing for publication
any opinion about the rumpus between
Senator Marion Butler and Tom Wat
son, but it is plain that some of them,
especially those from the south, believe
that Butler will have to do something
to show his resentment or lose his in
fluence with the populists of that sec.
ton. A Georgian, who is not popu-
list, said about the recent phase of it
'There were fighting words in that
signed article of Watson's and when
was young man it wouldn't have been
a question Of publishing a similar at
tack upon the other party. To have
said that man tells an untruth merely
for the casual pleasure of having de-
ceived, would have meant duelling pis-
tolls and an early morning meeting in
the vicinity Of Bladensburg in the good
old days" There is no idea that But
Ter will do anything more than to call
Watson another.
If Mckinley is half as wise as his adj
mirers think him to be he will qickly
let it be known among the republican
senators that Proctor, of Vermont, is
not to be the administration leader in
the senate of the next congress, posi-
ton now assigned him by rumor. Sena-
tor Proctor is nice enough man in
his way, but he has not, either as q
member of Harrison's cabinet, or as q
senator, shown any of the qualities
needed for successful leadership, and
there is no reason to believe that he
possesses them. There are already 9
number Of republican senators who dc
not feel over cordial towards McKin.
ley, and if he isn't very careful he will
be in hot water almost as soon as he il
in the white house.
The house made fairly good show
ing for the first week Of the session.
having passed the pension appropria
ton bill, number of postal bills, bill
against the sale Of liquor in the capita
building, and whole batch of private
pension bills. The senators held only
four sessions during the week. and i
has very little to show for them. Al
one of these sessions some commotior
was caused by motion made by Sena