The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-12-18
FROM THE CAPITOL.
Our Corresponds t Talks in a Sage
Manner of Things in General
About Washington.
tCommunicated.l
WASHINGTON, Dec. IA, 1896.

There is a great deal more in the an
nouncement that the Republican MEM
bers of the House Committee on Ways
and Means have begun work OH 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 rea-
SONS to tielieve that this announcement
was hurried up as part of the plan to
elect Republican Senators enough this
winter to make a majority for that
party. The Republican Steering Conn
nIittee of the Senate succeeded in get
ting Mr.. Hanna to undertake this job
of electing Republican Senators in
Kentucky. North Carolina, South Da-
kota and Washington, and everybody
knows that the only lever Mr.. Hanna
relies upon for success is money. BY
giving the men who expect 10 get big
profits through the "protection" of a
Republican tariff bill hearings before
the Committee they can be shown that
they are to get what they want and
thus be put in 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 bill that will prob
ably tie more ia iical than the McKin-
ley 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
~ hi. Infp
are determined that the duties shall be
high.
President Cleveland has gone to
South Carolina an fishing trip and
Congressman are jocularly charging
him with having run away to escape
the EX-Queen of Hawaii, who is COM
ing to Washington to present him with
IA bill of damages for failure to fulfill his
promise, not of marriage, but of a re-
stored throne.
The Populists in Congress are little
shy about expressing for publication
any opioion about the rumpus between
Senator Marion Butler and Tom Wat
son, but it is plain that some of them,
especially those from the South, be-
lieve that Butler will have to do some
thing to show his resentment or lose
his inf1uen%e with the POpulists of that
section. A Georgian, who is not Pop
ulist, said about the recent phase of 1t:
"There were fighting words in that
signed article of WalsOu's and when |
was a young man it would not have
been question of publishing similar
attack upon the other party. To have
said that a man tells AN uutruth
merely for the casual pleasure of hav-
ing deceived would have meant duel
ling pistols and an early morning
meeting in the vicinity of Bladens-
burg in the good old days" There is
no idea that Butler will do anything
more than to call Watson another.
If Mckinley is half as wise as bis adj
mirers think him to be he will quickly
let it he known among the Republican
Senators that Proctor, of Vermont, is
not TO be the administration leader in
the Senate of the next Congress, IA posi-
ton now assigned him by rumor. Sen
atOr Proctor is a nice enough man in
his way, but he has not, either as a
member of Harrison's Cabinet, or as a
Senator, shown any of the Qualities
needed for successful leadership, aud
there is no reason to believe he pos
sesses them. There are a number of
Republican Senators who do not feel
over cordial towards Mckinley, and if
he is not very careful he will find him.
self in hot water almost as soon as he
gets in the White House.
The Honse made fairly good show
ing for the first week of the session,
having PASSED the Pension Appropria-
ton Bill, a number of postal bills,
bill against the sale of liquor in the
Capitol Building, and whole batch
of private pension bills. The Senators
held only four sessions during the
week, and it has very little to show for
them. AT one of these sessions some
cOmmotion was caused by a motion
made 10y Senator Allen to take up the
Dingley bill. The motion carried, but
the only result was the killing of few
minutes time, at the expiration of
which the bill went back to the calen-
dar under the rules.
Senator Teller has heen busy man
since his arrival in Washington. Que
of the first men he bad an extended
conference with was Senator Jones, of
Arkansas, and the subject of the con-
ference was the future policy of the
silver men in Congress. Both Senators
declined to be interviewed on the sub
ject and no public announcement is
expected until after the conference of
silver leaders, shortly to be held, and
it may not be deemed polite to an-
nounce any formal program then.