Middletown transcript., 1896-04-04

House voting to
devote day to the consideration of
} private bills on the calendar, instead
of following the advice of Chairman
Cannon, of the Appropriation commit
tee, and going ahead with the sundry
civil appropriation bill. Speaker Reed
had no more to do with the matter than
the reader of this paragraph, and the
only reason for the vote was that many
! OF the members realizing, especially
| since the offering of Senator Platt's res
olution for adjournment on May Q,
that the session is rapidly drawing to a
close, were anxious to try to get action
upon private bills in which they are in
terested. That is all there was to it.
The Cuban business will be finished,
so far as Congress is concerned, as soon
as the House accepts the conference
report in favor of the House adopting
the Senate resolution instead of it's
own. The change was made because
it became clear that there was an in
tention on the part of a few Senators
to prevent vote being taken on the
original conference report, which was
in favor of the House resolutions being
adopted as substitute for those of the
Senate. There will probably be some
talk on the subject in the House, but
no protracted debate is expected, or
will be allowed, before the conference
report is agreed to. If those who are
assuming the right to speak fir Mr..
Cleveland know what they are talking
about, the resolution will not be of
any material benefit to the Cubans.
Secretary Hoke Smith many find
when he returns from his present
Georgia crusade against the free silver
senatorial candidacy of ex-Speaker
Crisp that he has got mixed up In an
ugly scandal. JUS before he left
Washington he issued orders reducing
Sergeant Perry and Captain Watson,
of the Pension Bureau watch, and
their friends intimate that the reduc-
tion is a punishment for not doing
what some of Secretary Smiths friends
wantt done, rather than for any neg
lect of duty. 1t is reported that Sena-
tors Voorhees, and TLrpie, of Indiana,
who although they are Democrats are
not in love with Secretary Smith ar1
his methods, particularly those relat-
ing to Pension Office matters, will take
up the cases of the reduced men and
get them Justice if they have to have
the whole business investigated by a
Congressional committee.
Ex-senator Warner Miller, Of New
York, told the House commerce COM
mittee that the Nlcaiaguan canal COM
pany, of which he is President had
never asked Congress for aid and was
not now asking for aid. He said that
all the company asked from Congress
was definite answer as to the position
this government intended to occupy in
the matter, and that if the government
didn't want to control the canal and
would say 50, the company could get
private capital to carry out its plan,
but that 1t could do nothing while the
attitude Of this government was un-
certain.
Congressman were reminded of the
adage "Go away from home to hear
the news" when telegram from
Mass. was published in local paper
saying that a Democratic member of
the House, now in that state, was au-
thority for the statement that Mr..
Cleveland had written letter an
.nouncing his desire to retire to private
life and positively stating that he
would not allow his name to 60 be-
fore the Chicago convention as can
didate. If he had stopped right there
his story might have had some be-
levers. But he killed everything by
adding that it had been Mr.. Cleveland's
intention to publish that letter some
time ago, but he had been persuaded
by members of the Democratic national
committee to hold 1t a while longer.
Now it is well known to every man
and woman and even the children who
have reached the age of discretion, and
Mr.. Cleveland las never since he be-
came President, been persuaded into
doing or not doing anything.
The all absorbing topic wherever
two or three Republicans are gathered
together is the election of delegates to
the st. Louis convention. The claims
of nomination are not being so posit-
lively made by the friends of any of the
candidates as they were short time
ago. 1t is now generally admitted that
Gov. Mckinley will have a good lead
on the first ballot but that he will not
have enough to nominate him. The
that is most discussed is,
will he gain after the f1rst baIlotP His
supporters say he will. and his oppon-
ents that he will not, and both are
ready to present argument to prove
that they are right. Speaker Reed
will be second in strength on the first
ballot.