The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-02
FINANCIAL REFORMS
TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN THE TAR
IFF BILL Is DISPOSED OF.
President Mckinley, 1t Is Reported,
wiz Appoint Monetary COM
mission Before Long.
JOHN F. SEARLES ACQUITTED
ANOTHER SUGAR-TRUST MAGNATE
NOT GUILTY OF CONTEMPT.
COntumaciOus Correspondents to Be
Tried NeXt-Terms of POstmasters-
PitchforIx TiIlman's Resolution.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.

Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON, June 1.--There is high
authority for the statement that the Presi-
dent will appoint a monetary commission
as soon as the tariff bill is passed, and it
is reasonable to assume that Congress will
be asked to specifically authorize it's crea-
ton by resolution or act before the ad-
journment of the special session. The duty
of the commission will be to inquire into
and report on the domestic currency and
financial situation, the purpose being the
development of a comprehensive and salts
factory plan of reform in the existing sys-
tenn. With the end of tariff agitation in
sight, the initial move for a commission
may be looked for soon.
Mint Director Preston, who has estimated
the gold production of the United States for
1886 at $53 0C0 600, says he is confident that
the yield for 1897 will approximate $50 000, 00G
The United States. South Africa and Rus
sia continue to hold the lead as the great
gold-producing countries of the world, this
Nation being strongly in the read The
Russian mines are being developed with
more energy probably than those of any
other district in the world, and there is a
suspicion that the output of that section is
grossly underestimated by the crafty Mus
covites. %%*
Office seekers will be interested in know
ing that within d very short time Postmas-
ter General Gary will make ruling in a
test case involving the term that Demo-
cratic postmasters shall hold whose offices
have been raised from fourth class to
'presidential' during the Cleveland admin
jstration Former Postmaster General Bis
sell ruled that an appointee to a presidential
office should hold four years from the date
of his commission, though it should have
been made out the last day of the presiden-
tial term. He was cursed by Democrats for
the ruling, but now hundreds of Demo-
Gratis whose offices were advanced in rank
during the four years are praying that Mr.
Gary will approve the Bissell ruling. The
chances are that he will rule that four
years, all told, is long enough time for a
Democrat to serve as postmaster and that
he will modify the Bissell conclusion.
There is a bare chance that the Senate
may be able to sidetracll the Tillman reso-
luton for an investigation into the Sugar
Trust scandals. The committee to which
the resolution was referred is disposed to
accept as conclusive refutaton of the
charges the explicit denials of Senators
Smith and Aldrich, the only two senator's
mentioned guilty of stock gambling and
other improprieties. Such a decision would
furnish "Pitchfork" Tilman with a theme
for perennial outbreaks and excuse for con-
tinually calling attention to the cowardice
of the Senate in refusing to face the music
of another Investigation:
The dismissal of the contempt cases
against sugar magnates Havemeyer and
Searles by the District Court turns specula-
ton OH the probable fate of the newspaper
correspondents whose trials come up next
week on the same account. The magnates
got off on the plea that the questions they
refused to answer were irrelevant and had
no legitimate bearing on the subject matter
of the inquiry. Broker Chapman was found
guilty for refusing to tell what senator
speculated through him. The newspaper
correspondents will plead that the informa-
ton from which they built their corruption
stories comes under the head of privileged
communications" There is a fair prospect
of conviction The politicians are trem-
bling at the outlook and shrinking from
the prospective popular indignation over
the punishment of the broker and the news
gatherer and the escape of the principals.