The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1896-12-18
Washington Letter.

From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14.-There Is a great deal
more in the announcement that the Republi
can members of the House Committee on
Ways and Means have begun work on the tar
iii 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
reasons to believe that this announcement was
hurried up as part of the plan to elect Re-
publican senators enough this winter to make
majority for that party. The Republican
steering committee of the Senate succeeded
in getting Mr.. Hanna to undertake this job
of eIecting senators in Kentucky, North Car
DINA, South Curoina, Dakota and Washing
ton and everybody knows that the only lever
Mr. Hanna relies upon for success is money.
By giving the men who expect to get big
profits through the protection" of Repub-
lican tariff hearings before the committee
they can be shown that they are to get what
they want and thus be put into the humor
to furnish what Mr.. Hanna wants-more
cash.
The same talk about u moderate tariff "
which is now being given to newspaper men
Mckinley bill. The result will be a bill that
will probably be more radical than the Nc
Kiney 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 Republican success posi-
| BILE this year are determined that the duties
shall be high. President Cleveland has gone
! to South Carolina on fishing trip, and con-
L ,hor 1ritb
having run away to escape the eX-Queen OF
| Hawaii, who is coming to Washington to pre-
| sent him with bill of damages for failure
a restored throne,
The populists in Congress are little Shy
| about expressing for publication any opinion
| about the rumpus between Senator Marion
! Butler and Tom Watson, but it is plain thai
some of them, especially those from the South
| believe that Butler will have to do something
| to show his resentment or lose his influence
| with the populists of that section. A Georg
/ ian, who is not populist; said about the re
+ cent phase of it: There were fighting word:
I in that signed article of Watson's, and wheI
| l was young man it wouldn't have been 6
question of publishing a similar attack upoI
! the other party. To have said that mar
| tells an untr nth merely for the casual pleas
| ure of having deceived would have meant
| duelling pistols and an early morning meet
| ing in the vicinity of Bladensburg in the goot
| old days" There is no idea that Butler viii
I do anything more than to call Watson an
l other.
| II Mckinley Is half as wise as his admirer:
| think him to be he will quickly let it bt
| known among the Republican senators thai
| Proctor, OF Vermont, is not to be the admins
l tration leader In the Senate of the next Con
| gress, a position now assigned him by rumor
| Senator Proctor Is a nice enough man in hi:
\ 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 leader
I ship, and there is o reason to believe that ht
| possesses them. There are already number
I of Republican senators who do not feel ovel
| cordial towards Mckinley, and If he isn't very
careful, he will be in hot water almost a:
| soon as he is in the White House.
| The House made a fairly good showing fol
| the first week of the session, having passed
| the Pension Appropriation bill. 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 ses
sions some commotion was caused by mo
ton made by Senator Allen to take up the
Dngley bill. The motion carried, but the
| only result was the killing of few minutes
| time, at the expiration of which the bill wen
| back to the calendar under the rules.
Senator Teller has been quite a busy mar
/ since his arrival in Washington. One of thu
| first men he had an extended conference will
was Senator Jones, of Arkansas, and the sub
| ject of the conference was the future policy
of the silver men in Congresa. Both senators
| declined to be interviewed on the subjec
and no public announcement is expected untl
after the conference of silver leaders, shortl!
to be held, and it may not be deemed polite
| then to announce any formal programme.