Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-02-18
WASHINGTON LETTER.
III UuI AsO6 uII'1 UT O
WASHINGTON, Feb. Is, 1897

WASHINGTON, FEB. 10, 1891.
Another billion dollar Congress! Although
the exact figures cannot be given until the
last appropriation bill has been passed, it
is already known, and admitted by the
Republican Chairman of the Committee on
Appropriations of both House and Senate.
that the total appropriations will not only
exceed one billion dollars, but that they
will go enough beyond that amount to
break the high water record made by the
previous billion dollar Republican Congress
by an advance of thirty or forty million
dollars. This, too, in the face of the general
Republican howl about the insufficiency of
revenue provided by the present tariff bill.
There is little doubt that the Republican
leaders have allowed the appropriations to
pile up, although apparently fighting for
economy by shutting out bills even for the
smallest public building, in order to make
the deficit big enough to excuse the tariff
bill they are engaged in connecting. They
haye made success of the big appropria-
tions, but when the people get whack at
them in the next Congressional election,
they will find how their excuse has been
accepted. Representative Savers, of Texas,
who was Chairman of the Committee Oh
Appropriations in the last House, made
rafting good speech. attacking the ex-
travagance of this Congress, while the
sundry civil bill was before the House.
Notwithstanding the amendments made
to propitiate the OPP 0sitiOn, Senator Sher-
man, who was in charge of the arbitration
treaty, was compelled to bow to the inevi-
table and agree to postpone further con-
sideration of the treaty until the next
session.
In a speech made by Pension Com
missioner Murphy, in answer to resolutions
commencing his administration OF the Pen
sion Bureau, presented by Committee
from two Pennsylvania q. A. r. Posts, Mr..
Murphy told for the first time in public, the
instructions given him by President Cleye-
land when he appointed him Commissioner
of Pensions Whatever may be ones
opinion of many of ; is other policies, it is
difficult to see how any man could have
outlined in a few words more just and
p triotic pension policy than President
Cleveland uid when he said to Commissioner
Murphy Mr.. Murphy i think you know
my ideas of the Pension Bureau and the
Pension system. They are just these: In
claims coming up for the action of the
Bureau, where you find the case of worthy
soldier who served his country faithfully in
her hour of danger, you will be lenient
with him and give him the benefit of
reasonable doubt. In settling the claims
of the widows and orphans, you will act in
the same manner, but waste no sympathy
on the unw.rthy."
1t should be placed to the credit of Mr..
Cannon, Chairman of the, House Committee
on preparations, that he reported ad-
veIsely the resolution appropriating $500
for the erection of stand for the use of
Senators and Representatives and their
families on Inauguration Day, on the
ground that Senators and Representatives
should pay for seats, just as other people
do, if they W sh to sit down to view the
inaugural parade.
Senator Quay is reported to have letter
written by Mr.. Hanna, before McKinley's
nomination, demanding that the Pittsburg
Iron and Steel Ma ufactuiers put up a
lar, sum of money to be used in McKin-
ey's behalf, and to have threatened to
make it public if the Mckinley crowd at
tempt to get too gay with him. Quay is
now in Pennsylvania, whe.e he went to
help his on "Dick" out, in the libel suit,
by the publisher of the Pittsburg paper.
When a Democrat or a Populist uses
such language as Representative Calder
head, good Kansas Republican, did before
the Ho Sc Banking and Currency Com
mittee, of which he is a member, certain
Republican editors invariably call it
anarc istie raving" The text of Mr.
Calderhead's remarks was the bill naming
thirteen American millionaires, among
them Andy Carnegie and Phil Armour, as
incorporators of the Information American
Bank" with authority to establish eight
branch banks in other countries. This
bill, or a similar one, has been before this
Congress, and it was only when an attempt
was made to push 1t through the Committee
when Mr.. Calderbead spoke against it, in
part as follows: i" The whole United States
is in condition OF unrest. The underhalf
of the country believes that it is Injured,
and injured largely by the power of aggre-
gated wealth. They actually be lieve it.
They believe it tosuch al extent that large
areas of the country need nothing but a
leader of ability to give us an insurrection
That is the truth, and that is the political
storm that will follow any attempt, direct
or ind rect, to incorporate the men named
here into private bank with capital of
millions OF dollars, and the plea that it is
doue for the benefit of international COM
merce will not answer that m0b--for it is
general to lead it. If the leader should
happen to have the military instinct, it
w.uld mean civil war"