Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-06-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, May 81, 1897

A real investigation of The sugar scandal
-one that would 90 to the bottom of things
and not get frightened eff when ON the
track of information that would iDcrimin-
ate Senators would he good and desir-
able thing to have, hut another fzzle like
the last one would be worse han useless
because it would do more harm than good.
The people recognize III of wbitewash
ing as quickly when 1t Is done by Senator's
as by humber wielders of the brush
Senator JONES' of Nevada, who was ;n-
ferentially charged by SeraloI Aldrich
rh having gwen out the sugar schedule
before the tariff bill was reported tn The
Senate, Is Chairman OF he Committee on
Contingent Expeus =, to which Senator
TIhman's Resolution for a sugar investiga-
tion by a committee of five Senators was
referred and he says the committee will
report the resolution favorabIy That
makes it reasonably certain that the resOlu-
tion will be adopted, because number of
Senators who would like to vote against it
will not dare to do so. II will all depend
upon the formation of the investigation
committee whether it will mean BUSINESS or
farce Senator Tilman will he Chairman
Of The Committee If he lie givtl ionr
ca leagurs aS fearless as himself, the suIitv
Senators, # there b- any sucb, VIII be
+ nght III hoax, aud the sugar trust, the
be 81 of which got cleared on that Their in
GiameDt will also be shown up; hut If he
tr gwen colleagues whn are AFRAID of their
sh sduws nothing will come of the investi-
cation.
The Republican Steering Committee in
the Senate is slowly but surely undoiDg
the work of the subcommittee that pre-
pared the amendment to the DiDgley tariff
bill, and by the time the bill gets through
the Senate, the rate of duties imposed there.
in will average almost or quite as high as
the Dingley bill The tax on tea and the
increased tax on beer are doomed and we
are likely TO have an internal revenue tax
on bank checks, mortgages, etc. in their
places, unless ihe Republicans get frighten-
ed out of the idea by protests.
Mr.. T. G Peyton, well-known Virginia
gold Democrat, thus sizes up the present
situation: 1t seems to me now that those
of us who contributed to the success of the
Republican ticket have been the victims of
confidence game. As | view it now, a
very great mistake was made last NOvem
her. 1t would haYe been much better for
the country to have elected Mr.. Bryan.
have not become CO vert to free silver
since the election, my belief in sound
money is as strong as ever, but l am salts
fed that if Bryan had been elected, the
country would have recovered more quickly
from the ills that have flicted it.
Speaker Reeds readiness to reverse
rulings made by him as Speaker aud opin-
ions given by him as an authority on par
liamentary law would be amusing, if the
matter was not of too serious nature to be
da1 UloAx
authority on parliamentary rules and prac-
tice Mr.. Reed had previous to the present
session of Congress, has been lost by his
decisions, which have made it plain that he
recognizes nothing higher than his own
will in making decisions. Heretofore many
people who disagreed with Mr.. Reeds
parliamentary rulings in many particulars
have been willing to give him credit for
conscientious belief in them himself, but
they are not now. After all, Mr.. Reed is
not solely to blame. A few of the Repub
lican members of the House could at any
time rebuke the methods pursued by Mr.
Reed, by voting with the Democrats, but
they have not done and are not likely to do
SO. On the contrary, if Mr.. Reed should
rule that the ChapIain's prayer was out of
order and Democrat appeal from the
ruling, the Repnbl cans would almost to
man vote to sustain the Speaker With
the Republicans in the House, it is not
question Of which is right TO do but OF
what Reed wants them to do. Senator
Morgan was doubtless out of order when he
made that stirring attack upon senator
Reed and the House on the floor of the
Senate, but the attack was certainly de-
served, and Senator MOrgan's assertion
that the present methods of the House are
not constitutional is receiving close atten-
ton, and may result in change
The selection of Whitelaw Reid and his
brother-in-iaw, Ogden Mills, to be respec-
lively Special Ambassador and Secretary to
the Ambassador to represent the United
States at the Queens Jubilee ceremonies in
London, is another indication of Mr.. Nc
Kinley's disposition to cater to the wealthy.
Whitelaw Reid, thanks to his fatber-in-
laws money and some never very clearly
explained business manipulations, acquired
q controlling interest in the paper establish
ed by Horace Greedy, and later by political
trickery got Levi P. Morton turned down
by the Republican National Convention
and himself substituted for Benjamin HaT-
rison's running mate in his last campaign.
These may be reasons why he should be
especially honored, but why Mr., Mills who
has never been anything but an idle society
man should be honored is nexplainable on
any other ground than that Of money
worship on the part of Nj. Mckinley.