The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-09-22
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10Th, 1893.


WASHINGTON, Sept. 10Th, 1893.
Mr.. Mckinley may be compelled
to abandon that investigation of the
war by a commission, owing to his in
ability to get men of prominence to
serve thereon. John Sherman, who
was kicked. out Of the Cabinet be-
cause it was alleged that his wits had
gone wool gathering, punctured this
commission scheme when he called
attention to the fact that it could not
compel witnesses to testify. That is
fatal defect. The Commission can
only take voluntary testimony, and ev-
cry school boy knows that military
officers are not likely to volunteer to
give testimony that will reflect upon
their superiors. Mr.. Mckinley may
succeed in forming his commission,
and it may go through the form of
making an investigation, but there
will be no real investigation until it is
made by Congressional Committee,
cloaked with all the authority of a
court of law.
The Peace Commissioners have
had their powwow with Mr.. Mckinley,
received their instructions, and de-
parted for Paris, via New York. 1t
would be easy to follow the majority
of the Washington correspondents,
and give what purported to be the
substance of those instructions, but
as the instructions have never been
put upon paper and are absolutely un-
known outside of the administration
and of the Peace Commission, they
can be guessed at by one man about
as good as by another. So each of
your readers may do his own guess
ing.
This administration has made
specially of handling seats in the
U. S. Senate as though they were
petty Federal appointments. The
scheme to send Senator Mcmillan, of
Mich, to England as American Am
bassador in order that Secretary
Alger might step into his seat in the
Senate has had to be abandoned, ow-
ing to the unpopularity of Alger
since the public has known of his
culpable mismanagement of the War
Department, but it was at once sue
ceeded by a new one, which only
needs the consent of Senator Hoar,
which has been once refused, to 60
through. This scheme is to send
Hoar to London as Ambassador, put
Secretary Long in his seat in the Sen
ate, and make Assistant Secretary
Allen, Longs successor in the Cabi-
net. Pressure is now being used to
bring about acquiescence on the part
of Senator Hoar, but its success is by
no means sure. Hoar doesn't wish to
leave the Senate, of which he regards
himself as one of the principal own
ers, and it is doubtful whether he can
be forced to do so, as John Sherman
was. The scheme does not commend
itself to Republicans Of other States,
as Massachusetts, already has one
Ambassador.
There isn't the slightest doubt that
the Republicans are becoming
alarmed over the prospect of the cap.
ture of the House by the Democrats.
Chairman Babcock and Secretary
Overstreet, Of the Republican Con-
gressional Committee, have both
made visits east within a week, one
to Boston and the other to New York,
and there are reasons to believe that
both of them went after the same
thing-money to be used in the cam
paign. That the sentiment of the
country is now with the Democrats is
what all the correspondents of the
Democratic Congressional Committee
say, and all the callers at committee
headquarters tell the same story. I'm
less there Is great change before
the election there is every reason to
expect that sufficient Democratic
gains will be made in the following
States to give the party control of the
House by good working majority:
Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina,
West Virginia, New York, New Jer-
sey, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Massa-
chusetts and Connecticut. One Dem.
ocrat, after sizing up the situation,
said: The only thing that l fear is
that the situation may change again
before election. But l don't see
how it can"