Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-03-30
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, March 20, 1896.

A day spent with republican senators
and representatives., trying to ascer-
tain which of the presidential candi-
dates is the ranking favorite in con-
gress, has convinced me that the av-
erage man, in or out of congress, al
ways sees future political events as
he hopes they will be. The Mckinley
men will not admit that any other
candidate for the nomination is really
in the race. Many of them claim his
nomination on the first ballot, and
nearly all of them not later than the
third The Reed men are quite as
confident that the Speaker is bound
to win. The Allison men claim that
they will hold the balance of power
and that after there has been suffi-
cient number Of ballots taken to show
| that neither Mckinley nor Reed can
win that Allison will be nominated
with hurrah. The Morton men and
the Quay men are not saying much,
except that they are playing a wait
ing game and expect to win, while the
Cullom men, the Henderson men and
the friends of several other candidates
say just wait; this is going to be
dark horse campaign, and our mans
chances are as good as those of any
body else.
Those Cuban resolutions have now
been before congress for four weeks,
and while it is expected that they will
be disposed of this week, there is
nothing certain abou5 it. If Senator
Morgan's joint resolution for the rec
ognition of the belligerencY of the
Cubans had come to the senate thrO'
the committee on foreign relations, it
might be adopted, but the senate very
seldom ignores its committee reports.
Therefore it may be set down as GER
tain that the end of the matter when
ever it comes will be the adoption Of
the committee report, in favor of ac-
cepting the House resolutions as
substitute for those originally adopt
ed by the senate.
If Secretary Lamont intends to re-
main in politics for the purpose of be-
Governor of New York, as many be-
ieve, he made great mistake when
he wrote that letter attacking Gen.
Nelson A. Miles, by imputation, if not
directly, in order to prevent congress
passing the bill providing for a reviv-
al of the grade of Lieutenant General
of the Army for Gen. Miles. Already
it must have become manifest to Sec
rotary Lamont that he has stirred up
a regular hornets nest. Gen. Miles
has many friends, especially among
the old soldiers, land they have already
began to take steps towards heading
off any political aspirations Secretary
Lamont may have.
Nearly all the answers received to
the circular letter sent out by the
House Ways and Means committee to
importers and manufacturers inter-
ested in the export trade strongly ia
vor a renewal Of the reciprocity treat
les abrogated by the democratic tariff
bill passed by the last congress. This
week the committee will devote to
verbal hearings on the subject. 1t is
almost certain that the result will be
bill providing for a renewal of the
reciprocity treaties, but there is not
much probability that such bill will
become law until after republican
president takes his seat.
From London congress gets un-
doubtedly authentic information that
Secretary Olney and Lord Salisbury
tions just where they were brought up
to the Monroe doctrine communica
ton, but at the State Department in
Washington, neitherA congressmen or
newspaper men can get word about
what is being done. 1t may uave oc-
Cured before, but your correspond
ent does not remember to have heard
what our State department was doing
in important international matters for
the first time by way Of the European
cables until the Cleveland admins
tration came in with it's mysterious
policy and dark lantern methods of
conducting public business. 1t has
been the rule during the last three
years to find out what our govern
ment was doing through the publish
ed utterances of officials in foreign
capitals.
Those who have anything to say Ell
ther for or against the Nicaragua Ca
nal will be given a chance to be heard
before the House committee on inter-
state and foreign commerce decides
what sort of report shall be made.
These hearings will begin this week.