Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-04-20
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington, April -, 1896.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE NOM TO

the Cuban insurgents for peace; but
according to current gossip, he doe
not want Spain to agree and doesn'
expect it. According to stories whis
pered in inside circles, the fine han'
of ExSecretary Billy Whitney i
playing the game for Mr.. Cleveland
having succeeded in persuading hin
that the only salvation of the demo
cratic party lies in working up feeling
towards war with Spain. The Offer
to mediate is made for the purpose Of
convincing the world that the admin
istration favors a peaceable settle
ment and will only resort to other
methods when Spain refuses to enter
tain mediation, and to gain time.
War is not wanted now; it might be
all over before the meeting of the
democratic national convention, not
to mention the November election. 1t
is deep game to take advantage of
the general sympathy of this country
for Cuba to boost up the tot.ering
democratic party, and to go into it it
was necessary for Mr.. Cleveland to
90 against his real wishes, as he had
been from the first apparently on the
side of Spain.
Unless something unexpected turns
up to prevent Congress is likely to
break the long session record in the
date of adjournment. So far as the
House is concerned, it would be easy
enough to adjourn by the first of May,
as there remain only two appropria-
ton Notifications, and general
deficencies-to be disposed of, and
the first of those will be passed this
week. Unless the democratic sena-
tors become obstructionists just to de-
lay adjournment, it is regarded as
probable that adjournment will occur
somewhere in the neighborhood of
May 18th.
Senator Cullom denies very empha-
tically that he has written or intends
to write a letter Withdrawing his
name as a candidate for the Presiden-
tial nomination, and Senator Quay's
friends make the denial in his behalf.
Secretary Morton is in hot water
again, and unless the men who are
making the charges against him are
out of their reckoning he may get
badly scalded before he gets out of it.
He and his assistants in the Agricul-
tural department are charged with
having deliberately and Intentionally
facts to Senator Proc
tor and Representative Wadsworth,
who acted with Secretary Morton as
a committee to award the contract
order to get the bid of Chicago firm,
which was $4,000 below that of the
firm which secured the contract,
thrown out. They charge that Secre-
5ary Morton represented that the seed
submitted as samples blythe Chicago
firm were found poor, when as a mat
ter of fact the official records of the
tests made by the department experts
show them to be as good i'll every
respect as those sent by the firm
which secured the contract; that Sec
rotary Morton told his Congressional
associates on the committee of Award
that the Chicago firm declined to as
sumo responsibility by printing their
name upon the packages of seeds
they proposed furnishing, when that
firm had stated both orally and in
writing that it would cut it's bid S1O,
100 if allowed to print its name and ad
dress on every package. They charge
urther that Assistant Secretary
0abney worked against them because
hey refused to use certain patent
ag-filling machine advocated by him.
1t is a very serious business if these
charges can be substantiated, and the
men who make them say they can be.
Public Printer Benedict has had col
ision with the civil service commits
ZION concerning the eligibility for re-
of certain printers dis
by him after the Government
Office passed under the Civil
Service rule, and the matter has got
before the Senate Civil Service Com
nittee. According to one of the wit
1esses before that Committee, Bene-
iict said to a member of Congress
Who called ON him to secure the rein
statement of one of the dismissed
printers, on the ground of the Civil
Service Commission having declared
him eligible for reinstatement with
,ut examination: s'I don't care what
ihese d-wet nurses say" The Com
nittee will investigate and make
'eport.
Democrats are trying to persuade
senator Hill to once more become the
candidate for Governor of |