The Press., 1897-04-01
Washington Letter.
Washington, Mar. 29th,


 The annexation of Hawaii seems about to be made live question again, not by the negotiation of treaty similar to that sent to the senate by MT. Harrison and withdrawn by MT. Cleveland, but by formal application from the government of Hawaii for the admission of the island republic into the United States, either as territory or as state. This application will, there are reasons to believe, be very shortly made to President Mckinley who will send it to congress with his recom- mendation as to what shall be done with 1t. President Mckinley has not commit tive assertion as to whether he will favor or oppose. If he favored the application 1t would be granted by congress in short order, but should he oppose it, the out considerable number of men in both house and senate who would hesitate to vote to admit Hawaii against his wishes, although themselves in favor of it.
 l the Dingley tariff bill, which good or bad is to be passed by the house this week, could not have been conducted on the &C., tual merits or demerits of the duties which are to be imposed by that measure instead of degenerating into a partisan wrangle in which both democrats and re- publicans tried to show that the ''other party is responsible for the existence and encouragement of trusts, as it has done. Partisan accusations seldom influence the intelligent citizen, who may often be -nAa.dlo to- oiauuge his opinion by calm ar gument backed with proofs. Some day perhaps we may have that sort of tariff debate in congress, but truth compels the statement that there hasn't ,been one of that kind up to this time.
 Complaints of the conduct of lottery scheme by solicitors of patents have cached congress, ,and Senator Hansbrough has introduced bill making 1t illegal for patent solicitors to offer or give any premium or prize to induce inventors to pay them fee to enter any alleged competition. The bill provides a heavy penalty for violation of it's provisions.
 The committee vacancies in the senate are still thrilled and they are beginning to make trouble Senator Allen called at- tentiOn to the fact that the democrats have no representatives left on the com mittee on post offices and post roads, al- though that committee was going right ahead acting on nominations, etc. A motion is now pending to discharge this committee from further considerations of nominations until the vacancies have been filled. The various parties and elements in the senate are apparently as wide a part as ever in their ideas of how the vacancies ought to be filled. A majority of the senate must vote together before they can be filled. ,..
 A committee from Indianapolis mone- tary convention of last year called upon Speaker Reed several days ago in the interests of the talked-of bill for the appointment of a monetary commission by the president, which it will be remem- bered was indorsed by that convention. MT. Reed did not commit hi.s self, but he left his callers under the impression that he did not think the country was es- pecially hankering after currency con- nilsson, and that congress did not as a rule act upon such questions until the sentiment of the country had unmistakably made itself known. He told them that the tariff was the first and principal work set out by this congress, and they left Washington without much hope for their bill, at this session anyway.
 If President Mckinley lives up to his announced intention not to appoint those who held office under Harrison and who are now applicants for the same positions, he has made big cut in the roll of ap- plicants; but those who have strong pull are still in the field and some of them will doubtless get appointed rule or no rule. No president has been able to live up to an ironclad rule in the matter of ap- pointments, and 1t is not at all probable that man who is as anxions for the good will of senators and representatives as President Mckinley has shown himself to be, will do so, but the rule will be used to shut out great many of them.
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