The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-01-28
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON. Jan. 25, 1879

Olney by the minister OF the Greater
Republic of Central America, nd
sent to the Senate by Secretary Olney,
John Bull has made a break by show
ing his hand too soon. OF course the
protest by showing that the govern
ment of Nicaragua already regards
the canal company as having forfeited
all the concessions granted it bythat
government, will kill the present
, Nicaragua canal bill, but it will also
go much further. 1t may kill the
arbitration treaty recently negotiated
between the United States and Great
Britain. 1t has been openly charged
on the floor of the Senate that Eng
! fish diplomacy was working through
the combination Of those three little
Central American Republics to put
England in a position where it could
either control or have q share in CON
trolling the Nicaragua ship caQal.
This may or may not be true, but so
long as there are grounds for suspi-
cion, there will be danger that The
arbitration treaty will be rejected bY
the Senate. If there is one ,IhplirsS.
upon which the Senate is practically
a unit, it is that the Nicaragua canal
shall, if ever completed be controlled
by the United States, and if it be
shown that this question might have
to be submitted to arbitration with
the casting vote in the hands of a
European monarch, then goodbye to
the arbitration treaty. The Senators
who have openly protested against
the public clamor for immediate rat
ificatiOn of the treaty, on the ground
that it was too important a matter to
be hurriediy acted upon, regard this
Nicaragua canal incident as a vindi-
cation of their position. Secretary
Olney, however, doesn't take that
view of it, and would not have been
so prompt in sending that protest to
the Senate had he supposed that it
would cause additional delay in acting
on the treaty.
Some of his colleagues are inclined
to poke fun at Senator PETER because
of the petition from Kansas Populists
against increasing the salaries of Sen
atOrs and Representatives and extern
ding the term of the President, he
has presented since he was defeated,
and an ex-Confederate elected to be
his successor. There isn't the slight
est possibility that the bill to increase
the salaries Of Senators and Represen-
tatiyes will even be seriously cOnsid-
cred, but Senator PETER is jocularly
accused of holding back these petit
lions until he knew he would have to
leave the Senate
The refusal TO appoint q woman to
a vacant 81, 500 cleriship in the War
department, for which she had passed
a very difficult examination and was
the only one eligible under Civil Ser
vice rules, is likely to be made the
subject of Congressional investiga-
ton. The examination required that
the applicant should be able TO trans
late into English military works in
French, German, Italian and Spanish:
to do typewriting in all of these Ian
guages; 10 do prOof-reading and pre-
pare manuscript for the press: to be
familiar with library methods. cata-
lOguing, inGeXing, etc; also to be
tested in the use of the English Ian
guage and literary composition. Miss
Maud Stalnaker, OF Washington. D.
/ c., was the only one who was able to
pass the examination, but the War
/ Department refuses TO appoint her to
the position because she is a woman.
So much has been written about
the lack Of dignity On the part OF ex-
Representative "Hiuy.' Mason, OF H.,
who was last week named by the leg
stature as Senator PaImer's successor,
that his friends are rightfully begin
ming to protest. Mr.. Mason is pop
ul2r in Ma Oify,tCn T{N - q mon of