The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-06-11
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, June sth, 1896.

A bombshell has been exploded in
the camp of the jubilant McKinleyites
by the positive announcement that
Speaker Reed will not under any cir
cumstarces play second fiddle in the
Mckinley orchestra. Mr.. Reed is
thoroughly disgusted man. He thought
he had his party in hand as well as he
has had the republican majority of
the House, and it hurts him to be
Knocked out by the man who has less
ability than any of the prominent
candidates for the nomination; and
makes him mad to see men who had
pledged their support to him falling
over each other to announce their
allegiance to Mckinley.
President Cleveland was not sur
prised when Congress passed the
River and Harbor bill over his veto,
nor has that changed his opinion of
the merits of the bill, and predictions
are freely made that very small
portion of the money appropriated by
the bill, now law, will be paid out
by the present administration. There
are more ways to kill a dog than
hanging him.
The Butler bill prohibiting the
further issue Of bonds without the
consent of Congress was passed by
the Senate, the vote being 3a to 2s,
silver being the dividing line, but was
quickly shelved by the House, which
voted to lay it on the table, after it
had been adversely reported from the
Ways and Means committee.
Unless the difficulty of keeping a
quorum present in the House, which
is becoming greater every day, shall
delay the transaction of business
Congress will adjourn by the middle
of next week, probably little earlier.
But there are several members of the
House who stop everything by raising
the point OF mo quorum" every time
they get the opportunity There is no
expectation of doing anything else
than to finish up the regular appropria.
ton bills
Ex-Gov. Campbell, OF Ohio, who is
considered by many to stand a good
show for the democratic nomination,
is in Washington. He doesn't believe
there will be a split in the party al
the Chicago convention. Speaking
about it, he said: 81 feel quite GER
tain that when the democrats meet
in National convention at Chicago
they will exercise good enough wis
dom and moderation to frame plat
form liberal enough and broad enough
for all members of the party to stand
upon. | believe that conservatism
and good sense will prevail, and that
differences of opinion will be sub
ordinated to party welfare. The silver
men appear to be in the majority and
will doubtless exercise the rights al
ways accorded majority, but that
is no reason for imagining that the
party will split into fragments, as has
been so cheerfully predicted by good
many people who don't in the least
know what they are talking about.
The democratic party has survived
too many ordeals to dread shipwreck
now, and it will continue to exist and
to win victories as it has been doing
from the beginning"
1t would be amusing, if it were not
such really serious matter, to see
the care with which the republicans
in Congress are guarding their talk in
Cuban affairs. Such men as Senators
Sherman and Chandler, who were
talking nothing but ripsnorting
jlngoism few weeks ago are now as
mum as Quakers on the subject. The
reason is that somehow or other the
republicans have become convinced
that President Cleveland is getting
ready to beat Congress at its own
game, by an early recognition of the
outright independence of Cuba.
Whether the President has any such
intention is matter about which
those who could speak by authority
will not talk. 1t is probable that the
republican scare grew out of Presi-
dent Cleveland saying to Senator
Sherman and two other members of
the Committee on Foreign Relations,
who called at the White House to
discuss Cuban affairs, that he thought
recognition of the independence of
Cuba was preferable to recognizing
the Cubans as belligerents.
1t is now openly conceded even by
such sturdy opponents of silver as
Secretaries Smith and Morton that a
la-ge majority of the delegates to the
Chicago convention will be silver men,
but there is much less talk of bolt
by the opponents of silver than there
was when the control of the conven-
ton was in doubt In fact, a number
OF the strongest advocates of the gold