The St. Johns herald., 1897-08-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.
The Rocky Road Ahead of the
 Republican Party.
Our Regular Correspondent.

From Our Regular Correspondent.
 WASHINGTON, August 6, 1897.
 The republicans have other troubles
 than those which will be made by the
 new tariff ahead of them. They are go- ing to have no end of worry over finance in the near future. It is an open secret
 that there is a serious difference of opin- ion in the cabinet on the advisability of committing the administration and the party to the retirement of the green
 backs and treasury notes. Secretary
 Gage, as the personal representative of
 the bankers and ultra gold men, will make hard fight to commit the admin istration and party to the retirement of those notes, although he knows as we'll as any body that no such legislation can
 be put through during the life of the present congress, because of the silver majority in the senate. Proof that Mir.
 Mckinley is afraid of this question may
 be found in the careful manner in which he avoided committing himself ill his special message to congress asking for authority to appoint a currency commits sion. Mir. Mckinley has been every thing on the money question. He voted for the free coinage of silver in 1877, and as late as the Fifty-frst congress, he voted and spoke for the Windom sil- yer bill and the Sherman substitute therefor. He didn't want tho gold s...sl.l ...4.l3.u. .>- ..-. years -pe.- Iicaa convention. t is doubtful if he knows uH.t sa ,rs..= now. fl- ur.5s-s tgtr.m au. .s t...-. Hat -.. ...ss l-. intends, unless he is prevented, to sub- init to congress III his annual report the outlines of a bill that would perpetuate the single gold standard, not because he thinks it will p5ss, but because he wishes to corn init the administration and the republican party.
 Members of the administration still in Washington, are somewhat worried over the results of the new tariff as far as they have become apparent. They did not like the shutting down of those big New England cotton mills, and some of them went as far as to say that the mill owners should have been willing to keep on running their mills, even if they lost money. to help along the republican party. They like even less the story of increased prices for almost everything but labor that comes from every direc- ton. Speaking of this phase of the matter a prominent Philadelphia busi- ness man, now in Washington, said "I hear that a general rise in prices Is to take place, and that people may prepare to pay more for their dry goods, cloth ing, boots and shoes, and all articles of household necessity. If this is going to be so, predict tremendous discomfort and dissatisfaction among the people. In flush times there would be no com plaint, but when commodities rise in value and the volume of money is not increased, the common people are bound to suffer, especially when, as now, there is no chance of an advance in wages The upshot of the matter will be a re- volt against the political party that -ree.3 ~. 'sr vhirh made 7aa--r ~' things the consumer is bound to buy, without doing anything to increase the ability of the consumer tD purchase the necessaries of life. If the republican party hasn't very rough row to hoe, then am utterly without ability as a prophet.
 Some of the civil service cranks are doing so much shouting over Mir. McKin- lev's extension of the civil service law | to a few of the small custom house em- | ployees, that. they have overlooked his | exemption from those rules of numerous | important places in the customs and in ternal revenue service. His amend ments to the rules, prohibiting the dis charge of government employees, ex cept for cause and only upon written charges, has, of course, been warmly received in Washington, where so many ! persons are pecuniarily interested in a life tenure of office, but if the country endorses the idea I will miss my guess. With life tenure of office. there will come in few years civil pension list. Both ideas are undemO- cratic and un-Amercan, creating as they do @ privileged class. If it had not been for the soc1al influences of Washington there would never have been any civil service law, and when the same influences were brought to bear
 AF CtIo,-oIonJ to ooorra I;fo fapura