The Republican journal., 1897-04-01
Our Washington Letter.
Correspondence of The journal.

itol of the United States, would have
given to the farmers of the country this
week some interesting information as to
the attitudes of the two great parti les.
The tariff bill has been under discussion,
and no farmer could have listened to the
discussion without being able to clearly
determine who were his friends and who
were not his friends. The strong, vigorous
arguments of the Republican members of
the Ways and Means Committee in behalf
of those features of the bill which are
specially beneficial to the farmers on the
one hand, and the covert sneers of the
Democratic and Populist orators relative
to these very features of the bill on the
other, show that the. farmers Of the coun-
Der, they voted the Republican party into
power and the protective system into op-
GRAFTON. The Republican members of the
committee have shown that the bill was
framed with the interests of the farmers
constantly in mind, while the attacks up
on that measure by the Democrats have
been specially leveled at those features
which were beneficial to the farmers.
Chairman Dingley in his opening address
called special attention to these features,
and General Wheeler, of Conf derate fame,
who led off the debate for the free trade
wing of the Democracy, attacked fiercely
| those features of the bill which are intend
ed to be specially valuable to the agricul-
tural community. Congressman Hopkins
of Illinois devoted large share of his
| speech to an explanation of the reciproc-
! ity features, showing that under the
reciprocity treaties, made in pursuance
of the Mckinley law, great advantages
We're gained in foreign markets for our
agricultural products and that even great
er opportunities are offered by the new
bill; while Populist Bell of Colorado, who
followed him in opposition to the bill,
especially attacked the wool schedule and
t denounced the effort to give the home
market to the American workmen and
thus to the American producers. Mr..
Bells speech was freghted with sneers at
the wool tariff, the sugar tariff, the tariff
on flax and hemp, and indeed everything
in the bill which is Republican in doctrine
and which is intended to benefit the
farmer, and these attacks were coupled
with admissions on his part that even his
own State had good beet growing soil,
great opportunities for wool production,
and other agricultural possibilities of ex-
IRENE value. Populists and Democrats
/ seemed to vie with each other in their de-
nunciation of the tariff measure, and all
because it is the production of the Repub-
lican party.
An interesting development of the week
has been the additional evidence of the
fact that the attitude of the new admins
tration with reference to the protection of
American citizens abroad is being prompt
ly recognized by the Spanish government.
lions in Cuba with reference to American
citizens and those which prevailed under
the Cleveland administration is strongly
marked and is the subject of much COM
ment on all hands. AS everybody knows,
during the late administration scores OF
American citizens were imprisoned in
Cuba, and whatever pretence at demand
for their release was made was of such a
feeble character as to fail in result The
ringing utterances OF Senator Sherman,
now Secretary of State. in the closing
days OF his service in the Senate, in which
/ he said that American citizens abroad
must and should be protected at all haz
ards, coupled with the clear declaration
of President Mckinley on this subject, in
his inaugural address, have had a marked
ami prompt effect in the attitude of the
| Spanish government, and in the few weeks
since the new administration came in the
prison doors in Cuba have been thrown
! open and large number of American cit
slightest pretexts have been given their
freedom. All this happened without any
| hluster or protest on the part of the new
administration, but simply clear, vigor-
Gus statement of policy which the Span
ish government has been wise enough to
recognize and act upon without waiting
for further developments.
While there has been no official an
nouncement as to the immediate policy of
the administration regarding internation-
al bimetallism, the developments have
been such as to warrant the conclusion
that the negotiations for an international
conference are to be undertaken through
authorized representatives of this Gov
eminent at very early date. Whether
this will be by the appointment of spec
ial representatives selected for this speci-
tic purpose or through the ministers to
the foreign governments is not yet clear,
but it is known that negotiations are be-
ing set on foot already, and that the adj
ministration hopes to be able to bring
about a conference in the coming autumn
which will be participated in by the great