The Indianapolis journal., 1897-05-19
M'KINLEY TO BE SUPPORTED
PARTY LEADERS WILL PERMIT HIM
TO FORMULATE A CUBAN POLICY.
Secretary Sherman's Eccentricities
and Observation-Disclosures Bill
That Mr.. Sayers Paid.

press his bellgerency amendment it will
be shown by leaders Hit, Dingley, Dalzell
and others that the House has already, on
| two previous occasions, adopted almost
identically the same resolutions as those
now offered by Mr.. Bailey; that the Senate
has passed them once and that resolutions
almost identical in language, so far as this
one goes with the addition of an ndepend-
ence paragraph, were passed by both
branches of Congress more than a year
| ago, the House adopting them May g. 1885,
| by vote of 246 to 81 The resolutions of
May, 1896, recited that I'm the opinion of
| Congress a state of war existed in Cuba.
The Bailey rider. which is the same as the
Morgan resolutions now before the Senate,
omits the words "in the opinion" and also
the independence" paragraph, but in 9TH
er respects they are copied word for word
from the resolutions OF last year, which are
as much alive now as they were the day
they went to President Cleveland and were
! by him pigeon-holed. They merely ex-
pressed the sentiments OF Congress then,
and their re-adoption now would be merely
a reaffirmation of what is already ON rec
| ord, weakened by subtraction of the
strongest feature. The whole present agi-
tation is described by the opponents of i'm
mediate action and by those who are for
| giving the administration a chance to shape
and formulate a Cuban policy, as an
| empty and senseleSs academic perform
ance."
| The conservatives are rallying to the sup
| port of the administration opposition. and
it may be safely assumed that the House
! leaders will not permit action to be taken
which will interfere with the administra-
tons plans, even though the Senate should
ms thn elf Dr.,
ident is known to be in accord with the
great majority of the American people in
their feeling toward Cuba, but he is vested
with tremendous responsibilities in the mat
| ter and will not be forced to hasty action
| He is resorting to every possible means of
obtaining full and accurate information
with regard to Cuba, and Republican SEN
ators and representatives have been in
formed and believe it to be a fact that he
is anxious to do everything that lies in his
| power to assist in restoring peace. to the
| desolated island. There is, therefore, con-
centration of Congress leaders to back UP
the administration in this Cuban matter
and to prevent jingo indiscretions which
may embarrass the executive.
The fact that President Mckinley has
! been consulting with Assistant Secretary
of State Day in all the complications rela-
! tive to Cuba, and has almost entirely ig-
nored Secretary Sherman, has been the
subject of a great deal of quiet gossip and
has tended to revive the stories that Secre-
tary Sherman will probably soon retire
| from the cabinet All sorts of gossip about
| Secretary Sherman'S eccentric actions con-
tinue to float about. Secretary Sherman's
observation-disclosures has been proverbial in
the past but it is only recently that he has
| f,sl ~1x1
A few days ago a SENATOR who was his as
sociate in the upper House for almost
twenty years, and who has been on the
most intimate terms with him, took two
friends to the State Department. The SEN
ator introduced his companions to the sec
| retary, who appeared to receive them cor
daily. Suddenly the secretary turned to
the senator, looked at him inquiringly and
| to the senator's utter amazement said: Il
didn't catch your name" The senator was
dumfounded, but passed it off.
| Some time ago Hamilton Fish, of New
! York, called on the secretary to paw his
respects. The secretary gave him a hearty
| greeting, as he said, because he had known
| his father SO well. How is your father?"
he asked. Mr. Fish could hardly credit his
ears When he informed the secretary that
| his father was dead Secretary Sherman
i expressed SURPRISE SdlQ ne ndQ not heard
| of it and inquired the particulars. etc.
| But these evidences of loss of memory
are not all. Last Friday prominent Texan
who had read of the capture of an Amer
lean correspondent by the Turks as a spy
and who feared that the correspondent
might be his son, who is with the Turkish
army as correspondent for an English
| paper, asked Congressman Sayers, of Tex
as, the ranking Democratic member of the
appropriations committee, to go to the
State Department and make inquiries. The
latter saw Secretary Sherman and asked
him to cable our minister and ascertain
whether his surmises were correct.
1T is very expensive to cable" demurred
the secretary. We'll I'll pay the tolls,
said Mr.. Sayers, disgustedly.
IF you will agree to do that and save
the government the expense I'll cable"
replied the secretary, as if much relieved
III cable with the understanding that you
pay the tolls on the message and any an
swer that may be received" And so he
did. 1t turned out that it was not the son
of the Texan who had been captured, but
when Mr. Sayers went for the answer Sec
retary Sherman presented the bill for the
cable messages and Mr.. Sayers paid it.
The meeting of the Cabinet to-day was
brief and unimportant. The President and
his advisers expressed mutual satisfaction
over the prompt response the Senate had
made to the Cuban message yesterday Mr.
Mckinley received many congratuIatory
kilograms yesterday and this morning.
The method of the distribution of the food
supplies and medicines to be purchased for
the relief OF the suffering Americans in
cuba was not discussed at the meeting, as
that is considered purely as a matter of
detail. Two methods have been suggested
distribution through the American CON
suls and through the agency of the Red
Cross. The former method seems to be
considered more favorably but the details
probably will be left TO the discretion OF
the secretary of state, the distribution
of relief to the Mississippi food sufferers
was to the secretary of war. 1t seems
likely that the supplies, if purchased here
will be shipped by a specially chartered
steamer. This course would serve the
double purpose ef conveying the supplies
TO the ports Of Cuba and also of enabling
the Americans who desire voluntarily to
return to this country to be brought back