The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1897-03-20
WASHINGTON LETTER.


WASHINGTON, March 8, 1897.
President Mckinley has certainly been a
very extensively congratulated man. Those
that have come by mail and by wire from |
ever section of the world would fill several
barrels, and since the morning after his
Inauguration, which was record breaker,
the President Las devoted the greater por-
ton of his waking time, Sunday excepted, |
of course, to receiving those rendered in
person. In consequence he has had little
opportunity to get down to business. To-
day is the first time that the members of
the new cabinet have been in charge of
their respective departments although they
were all sworn in Saturday. The more
one considers the men chosen by President
Mckinley for his advisers, the stronger
grows the conviction that this is going to
be business administration from the jump.
There are no experiments, Secretary Sher.
man, the oldest member, has been in public
life forty-two years; Secretary Bliss and
Postmaster General Gary were both born in
1888, and both have heretofore declined to
leave their large business interests to accept
public office, other than membership of the
Republican National Committee: Secretary
Wilson, who was born in 1885, made
good record in Congress and at the head of
the Iowa Agricultural College; Secretary
Gage who was born in 1896, has world
/ huS
fnancer; Secretary Alger, who was born
in 1891 has good war record and IA fine
business reputation; Secretary Long, who
was born in 1888, made an excellent record
both in Congress and as Governor of Massa-
chusetts, and Attorney-Gene Mckepna,
the baby Of the cabinet who was born in
1873, has :. legal and judicial record of
which any man might be proud, in addition
to having been brilliant member of the
House. With such advisers and his own
hard horse sense, there is little danger that
President Mckinley will go wrong upon
any important matters.
Senator Frye made sure that if there was
to be a squabbe over the organization of
the Senate it should not leave the Com
mittee on Foreign Relations without head,
when he offered a resolution, which was
adopted without opposition, authorizing
Senator Davis, of Minnesota, to act as
chairman Of the committee until further
notice. AS the ranking Republican mem
Der of the committee, Senator Frye was
entitled to the Craftsmanship, but he pre-
ferred giving way to Senator Davis and re-
tanning his craftsmanship of the Committee
on Com merce. 1t is not yet certain what
is to be done about reorganization of the
Senate, and it may be that there will be no
reorganization further than the filling of
vacancies on the committees. The Repub-
licans held caucus and elected Senator
Allison, chairman of the caucus, to succeed
Senator Sherman, and incidentally talked
over reorganization without arriving at any
conclusion.
Although Republican Senator from
Kentucky is very much desired, it is very
doubtful whether Maj. A. T. Wood, who
has been appointed by the Governor Of
Kentucky to fill the vacancy pending action
by the Legislature, which has been called
to meet in extra session to elect a Senator,
will be seated. All the precedents are
against him. Within the last few years
the Senate has refused to seat men appointed
to similar vacancies by the Governors of
Washington, Montana and Wyoming. 1t
is in the power of the Republican majority
of the Kentucky Legislature to elect
Senator who will have no trouble about
taking his seat, and President Mckinley
and every Republican in Congress expects
them to do so promptly. The Senators APP
pointed by the Governors of Florida and
Oregon are on an entirely different footing
from the Kentucky appointment.
Ohio is generally spoken Of as a Repub-
lican State, but the opposition has managed
during a long period to control the Legisla-
ture often enough to keep one Senator.
Now for the first time since 1869 there are
two Republican Senators from the State,
and that Senators Foraker and Hanna will
creditably represent the State is as certain
as that they have taken rank among the
leaders Of the Senate