Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1898-03-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE MONITOR.

Washington, March 9TH, 1898.
| President Mckinley is proud of the
pa thence and forbearance displayed by
the American people during their try
ing wait for tie verdict of the naval
co urt of inquiry that is investigating
the Maine disaster, in the face of
many unjustifable and intiammable
publications, although he is not sur
+ prised. He knows that whatever may
be said or done by few individuals,
that the great mass of our people
recognize that it would be as great an
insult to the brave officers who COM
pos that court to take action in ad-
vance of the report Of the court, as
! it would be to a judge and jury of any
other court to take an accused MUIR
der er in the midst of his trial and
lynch him. Every preparation that
wisdom and patriotism can suggest is
being made to place our military and
naval forces in a position to meet
any emergency that may arise. If
there is to be war, we shall be ready
for it, and we shall win.
Another step forward was taken
by Speaker Reed when he ruled that
it was violation Of order for mem-
Der to get the floor, when the House
was sitting as a committee of the
whole for the purpose of speaking
upon bill under consideration and
then to make speech upon some
thing entirely foreign to the bill. Be-
cause it is an old custom for members
to utilize any old bill that happened
to be out as a basis for partisan
political speech, is no reason that it
was right. Of course, the democrats
tempt on the part of the speaker to
suppress free speech, out it was moth
ing of the sort. AS Representative
Din gley stated, after the democratic
howl which followed the application
of this ruling by Representative
Payne, who was presiding over the
House sitting as committee, the en-
forcement of the rule against ir-
re evlant debate was necessary to
correct growing evil and to expedite
public business. It does not interfere
with the making of political speeches;
only confines their making to proper
times. stnLfs-
President Mckinley and every
member of his cabinet feel great in
dignation at the disgraceful affair at
Lake City, South Carolina, which. re-
suited in the murder of the post
master and one of his children, and
the wounding of three others, an Of
fetal report of which has been made
to the Post Office department. AT
the last cabinet meeting it was
unanimously decided to increase the
governments reward to 500 for
information that will lead to the con-
vi ction of the perpetrator or per-
petrators of the cowardly and das-
tardly crime, and that all the facilities
of the post office department and the
department of Justice should be uti-
lized in the effort to run down the
murderers.
The Senate committee on civil SER
vice, which made an exhaustive in
yes tigation of the subject, has re-
ported in favor of removing from
the classified service all deputy col
lectors of internal revenue, store
keepers and gaugers and all deputy
collectors of customs. The report
also adopts the contention of Senator
Pritchard, chairman of the committee,
that the government printing Office
was never legally put within the
lassified service and is not, by right,
now in that service.
The delay in getting special rule,
which was made necessary by demo-
cratic objections when unanimous
c onsent was asked, reported to the
III ouse from the committee on rules
or the consideration of the bill pro-
viding for the enlistment of two adj
dit onal artillery regiments has not
cen caused by opposition to the bill
on the part of republican members of
that committee, as has been declared
by sensation mongers. No republi
can members of the committee were
op posed to any precipitate action,
such as would cause the country to
get the idea that the bill was an
EN- Urgency measure, whereas it is
only carrying out the requests of the
w ar Department several years old.
A rule will be reported, and the bill
will be passed.