Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-06-24
WASHINGTON LETTER
lFrom Our Regular Correspondence
WASHINGTON, June IS, 1857.
EprroR CsAwroRp AvALANcHE:

A1soSOO On EoANhRa As~s~s'~~e -
known to favor annexation, SO that a
favorable report on the treaty from
that committee Is certain, aud as fifty
I've out of the necessary sixty votes
to ratify the treaty are already as
good as pledged, the prospect for Its
ratification Is bright. However,
should the Democrats carry out the
threats that are now being made by
some OF them, to delay vote on the
treaty In the Senate, 1t will be an
easy matter to annex Hawaii by a
joint resolution OF the House and
Senate, as was done when Texas was
admitted to the Union, which will
only require majority vote. While
President Mckinley would prefer to
have the matter disposed of at the
present session, 1t Is not absolutely
necessary that it should be, as the
treaty has given notice to the world
of the intention OF the United States
to annex the islands. Should Japan
make formal protest. it will merely
result in hurrying up annexation.
Had Senator Pettigrew's so-called
antitrust tariff amendment been of
such nature that it would really
have operated against the trusts, it
would have been adopted, Instead of
being laid on the table by vote Of
35 to 80. Had the democratic Sem
ators voted their real sentiments the
vote Of laying it on the table would
have been much larger, but with the
exception of Senators Morgan and
Pettus, of Alabama, who both spoke
against the amendment, and voted
to lay it on the table, they preferred
to seem to be in favor of the amend.
ment, so that they can use its failure
to be adopted as stump argument
showing the Democrats to be against
trusts, and the Republicans to be
for them. AS a matter OF cold hard
fact, the Pettigrew amendment
would, IL IL were law, create more
trusts and cause more havoc to Amer
lean producers and manufacturers
than any law that was ever on the
statute books. Under its provisions
any three men could at any time
force any line OF manufactured ar
ticles or products on the free list by
simply forming a trust to deal in
those goods. The republican Sem
ators are just as anxious as anybody
can be to curb the power of the
trusts, bnt they do not intend to
give them more power 10 legislation
supposed to be against them, either
haste, ignorance or design.
Jerry Simpson quit making mon
key of himself by trying to play par
liamentary tactics against Speaker
Reed, and hurried to Kansas, not be-
cause he was tired playing monkey
he would rather he In the newspapers
as monkey than not be there at
all-but but because there is a pop
ulist plot being worked in his district
to keep him from being re-nominated
for Congress. According to repub-
lican advices, 1t doesn't make any
difference who gets the populist NOM
ination in the big Seventh" dis
trict of Kansas, as the district in
tends sending Republican to the
next House.
Mr.. Calhoun returned to Washing
ton this week, bringing with him a
detailed written report of his obser-
vations in Cuba, prepared to supple
nent the verbal report he made to
Mckinley when he first re-
turned from Cuba. Mr.. Calhoun has
not made and will not make any rec
as to Cuba. His mis-
sion was to investigate and report
upon existing conditions, and it has
now been completed.
The checklist thing of the session
Is the attempt of certain Democrats
TO give the Wilson tariff law the
credit for the increased receipts of
The government from importations
during the past three months, when
everybody knows that the increase is
due solely to the advance importa-
lions that are being made to escape
the increased duties Ia the repub-
lean tariff. Unfortunately no prac-
tical way of preventing the profit
being realized on these advance i'm
portations has been devised, as it
seems certain, that the House retro
active clause will not do it. These
increased importations are bad for
every body except the men who make
Them. 1t ia therefore surprising that
democrats can be found with so little
Judgment as to think, or even pre-
tend to think, them creditable.
The Senate having passed the most
disputed portions of the tariff bill
will rapidly dispose OF the rest of the
bill. az II. in now meath NO nj IL n m