The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-09-08
Washington Letter.

Washington, Sept Such hub
bub has been raised about the con
struction that should be placed upon
Section % of The Dingiey tariff law,
imposing discriminating duties. which
was amended by the conference COM
mittee in a way alleged to be more or
less mysterious. and which has been
referred to Attorney General McKen
ma for All official opinion, that Mr..
Mckinley has been asked to return
to Washington at the earliest posi-
ble date, in order that he and the en-
tire cabinent may take hand in de-
termining the opinion that shall be
given out by the Attorney General.
| $30,000.000 a year in revenue is In
yolved in this construction. and a
possible decentralization of almost our
entire foreign commerce It is un-
derstood that Mr.. Mckinley has
promised to return shortly, but has
set no date. Attorney General Nc
Henna, probably thinking it refec-
ton upon his legal ability to have
the public know that this matter is
to be discussed by Mr Mckinley and
his colleagues of the cabinet. hes
made public denial that the opinion
was. being held back to await Mr.
McKinley's return. All the same.
nobody expects the opinion to be rem
dered until Mr. Mckinley returns and
approves of it.
A Kentucky democrat-John G..
Woods, of Louisville.-has put
portion of the administration on pins
and needles by bringing a suit
against the Postmaster General to
prevent his removal, without cause,
from position in the classified civil
service. He obtained a temporary
restraining order against his removal,
and the hearing was to have taken
place Saturday, but the government
asked for continuance of one week,
and got it. The case will probably
be appealed to the y. S. Supreme
Court, no matter how it may be de-
cided.
According to advices just received,
Senator Burrows has spent the entire
summer in trying to smooth the way
for his own return to the Senate, and
in placing obstacles in the path of
Governor Pingree, who thinks he
would ell that Senatorial chair much
better than Burrows does, and he is
not yet easy in his mind. Pingree
has got Burrows where he Las all the
other Michigan republicans-afraid
of him.
The Civil Service Commission has
received such an avalance of cores
pondence from the army of would be
recruits for Uncle Sans Civil Ser
vice, concerning offers made to furn-
ish information, for fee. by private
parties, that it has issued a circular
letter containing the following point.
ed announcement "No person has
any information of Importance to ap
plicants, concerning examinations
which cannot be obtained without
cost from the commission. Ali claims
to the contrary, therefore, are mis-
representations"
The receipts of the government for
the month of August, under the
Dingley tariff law, were s6.538. .5s2
less than the receipts for August,
1896, under the Wilson tariff law.
1t may be that the claims of the re.
publicans as to the revenue-prcduc-
ing qualities of the D;ngley tariff
will be realized at some time in the
future, bus the above figures show
that they are, as yet, a long way from
being realized.
The republicans are showing how
confident they are of carrying Ohio
by colonizing voters from West Vir-
ginia and other adjacent States. The
democrats are fully aware of what is
being done in that line. and Boss
Hanna's henchmen will find it much
easier to carry men into Ohio and
give them temporary work than it
will be to register and vote them.
The Spanish minister is still keep
| ing the revenue cutters of the @. S.
Government busy hunting for Cuban
flibusters He informed Secretary
Gage that the flibusters had aban-
doned Florida as starting point and
were preparing 20 send severa! expe-
ditions from the Carolina coast, and
| Secretary Gage obediently issued an
order to the commanders of all reve-
nue. cutters in Southern waters to
keep an extra close watch on the
Carolina coast for flibusters. This
sort of work must be more or less
disgusting to the officers and men in
our revenue marine service, but they
have no choice in the matter. They