Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1897-01-29
LETTER.
Nicaragua Canal Bill and Arbitra-
tion Treaty.


torship.
(Trom Our Regular Correspondent.)
WASHINGTON, Jan, 25.-If John
Bull is really behind that sensational
protest against the Nicaragua Canal
Bill, made to Secretary Olney by the
Minister of the Greater Republic of
Central America, and sent to the
Senate by Secretary Olney, John
Bull has made a break by showing
his hand too soon. OF course the
protest, by showing that the gov
ernment of Nicaragua already re-
CARDS the Canal company as having
forfeited all the concessions granted
it by that government, will kill the
present Nicaragua Canal bill, but it
will also go much further 1t may
kill the arbitration treaty recently
negotiated between the United
States and Great Britain 1t has
been openly charged on the floor of
the Senate that English diplomacy
was working through the combina
ton of those three little Central
American Republics to put England
in position where it could either
control or have a share III controlling
the Nicaragua ship canal. This may
or may not be true, but so long as
there are grounds for suspicion,
there will be danger that the arbi-
tration treaty will be rel cted by the
Senate. IL there is one policy upon
which the Senate is practically a
unit, it is that the Nicaragua Canal
shall, if ever completed, be con-
trolled by the United States, and if
it be shown that this question might
have to be submitted to arbitration
with the casting vote, in the hands
of European monarch, then good
bye to the arbitration treaty The
Senators who have openly protested
against the public clamor for imme-
diate ratification of the treaty, on
ground that it was too important a
matter to be hurriedly acted upon,
regard this Nicaragua canal Incl
dent as a vindication of their posi-.
ton. Secretary Olney, however,
doesn't take that view of it, and
would not have been so prompt in
sending that protest to the Senate
had he supposed that it would cause
additional delay in acting ON the
treaty
Some of his colleagues are inclined
to poke fun at Senator PETER be
cause of the petition from Kansas
populists against increasing the
salaries of Senators and Representa-
tives and extending the term of the
President, he has presented since he
was defeated, and an ex-Confederate
elected to be his successor. There
ism t the slightest probability that the
bill to increase the salaries of Sena-
tors and Representatives will even
be seriously considered, but Senator
PETER is jocularly yaccused of holding
back those petitions until he knew
he would have to leave the Senate.
The refusal to appoint a woman to
vacant $500 clerkship in the War
department, for which she had
passed very difficult examination
and was the only one eligible under
Civil Service rules, is likely to be
made the subject of a Congressional
investigation. The examination re-
quired that the applicant should be
able to translate into English mill
tary works in French, German, TIA
liam and Spanish TO do typewriting
in all of these languages to do
proof-reading and prepare manu-
script for the press, to be familiar
with library methods, cataloguing,
indexing, etc., also to be tested in
the use of the English language and
literary composition. Miss Maud
Stalnaker, of Washington, D. c.,
was the only one who was able to
pass the examination, but the War
Department refuses to appoint her
to the position because she is a
woman.
So much has been written about
the lack Of dignity on the part of
ex-Representative BILLY" Mason,
Of Illinois, who was last week named
by the legislature as Senator Pal
mer's successor, that his friends are
rightfully beginning TO protest. Mr..
Mason is popular in Washington.
He is a man of fine instincts, and it
is merely his love for a good story
and a hearty laugh-traits of Lin
coln-that have caused him to be
called undignified. One of the Hi
nois Representatives gives this
picture of him that will be at once
recognized by all who know him