The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-08-06
FROM THE CAPITAL.
Our Correspondent Talks in Sage
Manner of Things in General
About Washington.
communicated
WAsHINGroN. AUGUST 9 1881

WASHINGTON, August =, 1871
The Republicans have other troubles
than those which will be made by the
new tariff ahead Of them. They are
going to have no end OF worry over
finance in the near future, 1t is an
open secret that there is a serious diff
ference of opinion IN the cabinet on the
ACCESSIBILITY of committing the admin
istration and the party to the retire.
ment of the greenhacks and treasury
notes Secretary Gage, as the personal
representative of the bankers and
ultra gold men, will make a hard
fight to commit the administration and
the party to the retirement of those
notes, although he knows as well as
be put through theterm of the present
Congress, because of the majority in
the Senate of the silver men. Proof
that Mr.. Mckinley is afraid of this
question may be found in the careful
manner in which he avoided commit
ting himself in his special message TO
Congress asking for authority to APP
point currency commission. Mr..
Mckinley has been everything on the
money question. He voted for the
free coinage of silver in 1877, and as
late as the Fifty-tirst Congress, he voted
and spoke for the Window silver bill
and the Sherman substitute therefor.
He did not want the gold standard
platform of last years Republican
Convention. 1t is doubtful if he
knows what he wants now. He pre-
fers to trim and wait, but Secretary
Gage intends, unless he is prevented,
to submit to Congress in his annual re-
port the outlines of bill that would
perpetuate the single gold standard,
not because he thinks it will lass, but
because he wishes to commit the adj
ministraton and the Republican party.
Members Of the administration still
in Washington, are somewhat worried
over the results of the new tariff as far
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 10 keep on running their
mills, even if they lost money, to help
along the interests of the present adj
ministration. They like even less
the story of increased prices for
almost everything but labor that
comes from every direction. Speak
ing of this phase of the matter
prominent Philadelphia business
man, now in Washington, said: II
hear that general rise in prices is to
take place; and that people may pre-
pare to pay more for their dry goods,
clothing, boots and shoes, and all arti-
cles 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 complaint, but when COM
modities rise in value and the volume
of money is not increased, the COM
mon people are bound to suffer, espec-
tally, when, as now, there is no chance
of an advance in wages. The upshot
of the matter will be revolt against
the political party that passed the law
which made dearer all things the con-
sumner is bound to buy, without doing
anything to increase the ability of the
consumer to purchase the necessaries
OF life. If the Republican party
hasn't a very rough row to hoe, then |
am utterly without ability as a prophet"
Some of the civil service cranks are
O. oh ATr Nj
Kinley's extension of the civil service
law to a few of the small Custom
House employees, that they have over
looked his exemption from those rules
oil numerous important places in the
Customs and Internal Revenue SER
vice. His amendments to the rules,
prohibiting the discharge of govern
ment employees, except for cause and
only upon written charges, has, of
course, been warmly received in Wash
iDgton, where so many people are Pc
cuniarily interested in life tenure of
office, but if the country endorses the
idea | will miss my guess. With a
life tenure of office, there will necessa-
rily come in few years civil pension
list. Both ideas are undemocratic and
un-American, creating as they do a
privileged class. If it had not been
for the social influences in Washing
ton there would never have been any
civil service law, and when the same
influences were brought to bear upon
Mr.. Cleveland to secure life tenure
for those in office, he positively re-
fused to make the amendment that
Mr.. Mckinley has now made.