The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-05-20
our WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON MAY IL Is

1t includes protecting them from the
starvation that is staring so many Of
them in the face, as q result OF tie
policy Of Gen. Weyler in cooping them
up in the cities and towns of Cuba
where there is no opportunity for
those who are dependent upon their
labor for living for themselves and
families to obtain employment,
President Mckinley has asked Com
gress to appropriate money to furnish
food. clothes and medicine for these
suffering Americans, and Congress
will promptly do it, and the relief will
be distributed by the United States
officials The Spanish minister
wanted to have the distribution made
by Spanish officials, but he was
promptly informed that it could not
be done; that as long as Spain had by
its policy caused these people, Ameri-
can citizens and non-cOmbatants,t to be
deprived Of the work by which they
| lived, it should have seen that they
were i'll some other way provided for
that having failed to do it's duty the
United States would relieve it's own
citizens, either by birth or naturaliza-
ton, without help or hindrance from
Spain. That is as far as the matter
has gone, but there is little doubt that
the sending of relief to Cuba for suf-
fering Americans by this government
is the first step towards intervention,
either peaceably or by force, to put
an end to the barbarOus condition to
as a natural sequence. If present
conditions were allowed to continue,
| the United States Government would
have to establish permanent relief de-
pots in every town of the island. The
first duty will be to clothe the naked
! Americans, feed the hungry and see
that the sick get proper nursing and
medicine; then the conditions that
brought about the suffering will have
to be changed There will be no oc-
casion for trouble, unless Spain makes
it. If she does, so much the worse for
| Spain.
Mr.. Frank Vanderlip, who has been
acting as private secretary to Secre-
| tary Gage, since he entered the cabi-
net, and who has been nominated to
| no aCCictoD} Cocrn+ nv of tho TraoCury-
! is one of the youngest men who ever
filed this important position, but his
ability to properly perform its duties
! is UnquestiOned. Although Mr.. Van
| derlip is only go years old, he has had
an extended financial experience, hav
ing been for eight years financial edi
tor Of the Chicago Iribune and ever
since his school boy days a close stu
dent of finance and political economy.
From a Republican point Of view,
Florida neither gains nor loses to any
marked extent by sending ex-Repre-
sentative Stephen r. Mallory to the
| Senate in place of Mr.. Call, whose
term expired with the last Congress.
Although Mr. Call served three terms
| in the Senate, he was more widely
| known because of the little episode
connected with his wearing fancy
socks and taking off his shoes while
| the Senate was in session, than for
craftsmanship displayed during his
| eighteen years service.
The tariff debate will not begin I'M
til next week, although Senator Aid
rich Will, on Thursday Of this week,
call the bill up for the purpose of
making q statement covering the
views of the Republicans of the
| Finance Committee the amendments.
| No agreement has been reached as to
| the length Of time the bin will be de-
Dated by the Senate, but the talk of
individual Senators of all parties in
dicateS that the debate is likely to be
much shorter than it was several
| weeks ago supposed that it would be.
| Republicans of the House take no
stock in the story that the tactics by
which the Senate compelled the
House to accept it's amendments to
the Wilson bill, are to be again
brought to bear, and many of them
! DO not hesitate to say that if the at
tempt is made, it will fail. Ny own
impression is that the House would
remain in session until the opening
of the regular session, next December,
before it would accept all of the SEN
ate amendments.
Even as staunch an advocate of the
civil service law as Senator Lodge
said at the last meeting of the Senate
Committee that is investigating that
subject that he considered it absurd
to have placed stable-men, char
women, form-carriers, watchmen and
other unskilled laborers in the Gov
eminent Printing Office in the CLASH
fled service Public Printer Palmer
appeared in person before the Com
mittee and emphasized his previously
written opinion that the civil service
rules as they stand at this time, are