The Opelousas courier., 1897-02-20
Washington Letter.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON. February Is.

From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, February Is, 1897.
Another billion dollar Congress! Al
though the exact figures cannot be gwen
until the last appropriation bill has been
passed, it is already known, and admit
ted by the republican chalrmen OF the
committees on appropriations OF both
House and Senate, that tho total apprO-
priations will not only exceed one bill
lion dollars, but that they will 60
enough beyond that amount to break
the high water record made 10y the pre-
vious billion dollar republican Congress
10y an advance of thirty OF forty million
dollars. This, too, in the face OF tho
general republican howl about tlie in
sufliciency of the revenue provided 10y
the present tariff bill. There is little
doubt that the republican leaders have
allowed the appropriations to pie up,
although apparently fighting for econ
omy by shutting OuG bills even for the
smallest public building, in order to
make the deficit big enough to excuse
the tariT bill they are engaged ~ con.
coctiny. They have made a success OF
tho big appropriations, bat when the
people get IL wIiack at them in the next
congressional election they will find
how their excuse has been accepted.
Representative Sayers, of Texas, who
vas chairman of the committee on .ap-
preparations in the last House, made Il
rafting good speech, attacking the ex~
travagance of this Congress, while the
sundry civil bill was before the House.
In a speecl, made by Pension Commits
sioner Murphy, in answer to resolutions
commencing his administration of the
pension bureau, presented by a commit
tee from two Pennsylvania e.. A. H..
Posts. Mr.. Murphy told for the first
time in pnhlic the instructions given
him bv President Cleveland when he ap-
pointed him commissioners OF pensions.
Whatever may be one's opinion OF many
of his otiier policies, it is difficult to see
how any man could have outlined I'D a
few words II moe just and patriotic
pension policy than President Cleveland
did when he sad to Commissioner Mur-'
plv: nv. Mummy, | think yon know
nv ideas of The pension bureau and the,
pension system. They are just these!
10 claims coming up for the action OH
the bureau, whtte you tiud The case oil 4
worthy soldier who served his country
faithfully in her hour OF danger, YOU
will he ienient with him and give him
the benefit OF a reasonable doubt. ln
settling the claims OF the widows and
orphans, you will act in the same man
ner, but waste no sympathy on the I'M
WOrtby."/
such language az Representative Catd-
eri,ead. a good Kansas republican, Gid
before the House banking and currency
of which he is II member,
republican editors invariably
call it characteristic raving.' The text
of Mr.. Cdluerhead's remarks was the
bill naming thirteen American million
aires, among them Andrew Carnegie
and Phil Armour, as incorporates OF
the "Iuternaiiunat American Bank"
with authority to establish eight branch
banks in other countries. This bill or a
Que has been before this COM
mlttee in several Congresses, aud it was
only when an attempt was made to push
it through the committee when Mi.
Calderhead spoke against it, in part AS
follows: "The whole United States is
in il condition of unrest. The under
BALI of the country believes that it is
injured, and injured largely by the
power OF aggregated wealth. They ac-
tually believe il. They believe it TO
such an extent that large AREAS of the
county need nothing but a leader of
ability to give us an instruction. That
is The truth, and that is the political
that will follow any attempt, di-
rect or indirect, to incorporate the men
named here into a private bank with a
of millions of dollars, and the
plea that it is done for the benefit of in
ternational commerce will not answer
that mob-for it is a mob-which only
needs u commanding general TO lead it.
IL the leader should happen to have the
military instinct, it would eau civil
war;