The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1897-04-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.

republican vote, nVe uemOcraUlc VOIeS
and one populist vote, is now in the
hands of the senate committee of fl
nance. Every statement made con-
cerning charges made in the bill by
that committee is a guess. Senators
Allison, Aldrich and Platt of Connect
lieut., who have been going over the bill
as a sub committee, are not the kind
of men to announce their conclusions
even when they have definitely arriv-
ed at them, to the public, before max
ing their report to their colleagues on
the committee. When the committee
decides upon the amendments to the
bill will be time enough to praise or
to criticise its work. Until then your
guess is as good as anybody's, if you
must have guess.
The honor of being the first fourth
class postmaster appointed by Pres
ident Mckinley fell to Mr.. John p.
Kelly, of White Cloud, Kansas. The
delay in making appointments of this
class was owing to the change in the
Office of fourth assistant postmaster
general. Mr.. Bristow is now occupy
ing that position and will proceed as
rapidly as possible to fill the $500 va
cancies which have accumulated since
the new administration came in. There
will probably be an average of about
80 appointments a day made until the
work gets up to date.
Senator Elkins has for a long time
been studying the question of how
best to restore the old time prestige
of American shipping. AS a result of
that study, he made a very strong
speech in the senate in favor of his
bill providing for the imposing of du-
ties upon imports in manner that
will discriminate in favor of Ameri-
can ships.
President Mckinley seldom makes
promises in Connection with appoint
ments, but he has made one that will
please every patriotic American, that
is, to appoint young Phil Sheridan a
cadet at West Point as soon as he
reaches the age of eligibility, which
will be sometime next year.
Representative GrosvenOr of Ohio is
good lawyer, and the following OPP
inion from him on the decision of the
supreme court, which so many per-
sons, especially democrats, profess to
think is opposed by the amendment
to the tariff bill making the duties i'm
posed by that bill go into effect April
/. and upon the right of congress to
pass such an amendment, is both time
ly and interesting. After citing 9th
er MISUNDERSTANDING, Mr.. Grosyen-
or says: "Simply and solely what the
supreme court did hold was that the
Wilson bill, which went into effect on
the 2sth day Of August, and was said
to take effect from the first day OF
August, did not repeal the Mckinley
law until the day when it was passed
and how anybody could haye'a doubt
about that is q mystery to me, but
The supreme court did not hold that
the long line OF retrospective leglsIa
zion in the Wilson law was not ap
proved. That law bristles with re
prospective Legislation. Whiskey il
bond aud not in bond that had beer
manufactured and deposited IN the
bonded warehouse or was on that dal
deposited al a TAX OF W cents was I'M
medIate'J raised 10 @i.Io. New Noho'
were required the Nh"Ie system re-
mooeIed, but no lawyer IN 'h2 lnlIe'
STATES ever disputed the power OF con
&resS to pass Just Such an enactment
Ihe best evidence OF ihe popular es
innate OF inns retroactive amendment
IS found IN the TACT That the vast body
OF importers VINO presumably nave the
very BEST legal ADVICE al 'helr com
mano' nave all accepted as conclusive
that congress mas that power
President MchlnIeyS $ appointments
nave been uniformly good ana eyer
his Interest political opponent nave
iound II extremely olIilcult 10 crltI
else any OF them' and his appoint o'
Mayor hehJamIn hHt'erWor'h 10 Dc
commissioner OF patents Is commend
ed by eIcrHood%' including democrats
ana poP"uSjS. ! ms Is just as II
SAoNio ne lof MaJof hu!''r"o,'" az
80 a. ,,..l.4 ,,. II. :,