Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-02-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Feb. /. 1897

WASHINGTON, FeD. !, 1c3.
If there is anything in the old supersti-
ton, Mex inley's ears must have been burn
ing ever since it was announced that he
had chosen Lyman J. Gage, of Chicago, a
man who voted Tor Cleyeland, signed the
petition upon which Coy. Altgeld pardoned
the Chicago Anarchists, and who has for
years been known as almost free trader
in his tariff views, for his Secretary of the
Treasury. It is a great effort for the Re-
pubiicans in Congress to keep from express
sing publicly the disgust they feel for this
break of McKinley's, but in view of the
official pie that Mckinley will soon begin
to distribute, they are making the effort.
After all that has been said and done
about the intention Of the Republicans OF
the House Ways and Means Committee to
give us a new and thoroughly conservative
tariff bill, they are proceeding to give us the
same old Mckinley bill, having already
adopted several entire Mckinley shedules.
The arbitration treaty has been amended
and favorably reported to the Senate,
although ever silver man on the Committee
voted against it.
Although it is the policy Of the Republic
can leaders in both House and Senate to
keep the Cuban question in the background,
there are some men who refused to be gag
ged One of these is Representative Hardy,
Of Indiana, who got the fo1r to speak on
the Agricultural Appropriation bill, and
proceeded to make q red hot five minute
have continued had not his request for
unanimous consent for an extension of
time been refused. He made direct attack
upon the administration, aud those Sena-
tors and Representatives who, he said were
dining with the Spanish Minister too often
to be able to hear the appeals Of the people
struggling for liberty.
1t was brought out during debate in
the House which resulted in the rejection
of the Conference report on the bill to con-
fer the rights and franchises of the Atlantic
and Pacific Railroads upon the purchasers
under the mortgage foreclosure, that at
least two of the New England Republicans
in the House do not entertain exalted
opinions of each other. They are Mr.
Powers of Vermont, who as Chairman of
the Pacific Railroads Committee, had charge
of the report, and Mr.. Barrett. of Mass,
who opposed the report as stock -jobbing
scheme Mr.. Powers started by pok ing
fun at the dudish dress of MI Barrett, and
wound up by slurring at the whole Mass
delegation, and charging that Boston was
the place were railroads were wrecked
This aroused the ire of Mr.. Barrett. who
said am young man. came here
with no reputation beyond service in the
legislature of my State, but the gentleman
from Vermont came here after long term
of service on the Supreme Court of his
State What was the record of that Court?
Ask any one of the shareholders of the Cen
trail Railroad OF Vermont, who were robbed
by DEGREES of that Court, and then let the
gentleman talk to me of Mass wrecking
railroads" Attempts were made to stop
Mr.. Barrett on point OF order, but Speaker
Reed with a grim smile overruled the
point.
According to Republican gossip, enc of
the surest ways to get an aspirant for
Cabinet honors turned down by Mckinley,
is to get him endorsed by Sen ator Chandler
1t is said that Mckinley Gxsads nothing so
much as that he may by accident do some
thing that Chandler wants him to do, or
appoint somebody whom Chandler wants
appointed.
Senator Allen took occasion to reply to
various rumors saying that he would vote
for the Republican tariff bill, by saying:
have said that / believe the proposed
tariff measure of the Republicans ought to
be permitted to pass. if il has sufficient
votes, after reasonable debate. This does
not mean, however, that / will vote for the
Republican tariff bill. On the contrary,
shall vote against it." In other words,
Senator Alien occupies the same position
towards the tariff bill that Senator Jones
and other prominent Democrats do-that
no fillibustering shall be INDUCED in to
prevent its coming to vote. It was just
the same with the Monetary Conference
bill which was passed last week.
! Although it was considered a matter of
doubt, thelRepublican managers had hopes
that some of the silver Republican Senators
might be persuaded to vote with their old
party when the new tariff bill comes up
for action at the extra session of Congress
They no longer indulge such hopes. They
know that not only will the silver repub-
licans not vote for the tariff bill, but that
they will vote against it if their votes can
defeat it. This has been fully determined
upon since the republicans resorted to such
extraordinary tactics to defeat Senator
Dubois, of Idaho, as a punishment for
having followed his convictions and the
wishes of his constituents by having sup
ported Bryan and silver in the late cam
paign.