Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-03-10
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, March, Z, 1898.

There is no denying that the present
policy of the administration is aggravatiDg
and CALLING to the average American, re-
gardless Of his political utilization. 1t is
difficult to understand, when Spain is
moving heaven and earth to borrow money
and to buy warships to fight us, why we
should not be openly preparing for war by
having Congress appropriate the money
needed to buy additional warships, and to
put us on a war footing generally, instead
of pretending that the preparations for war
which the administration is making, not
only to the extent of available appropria-
tions, but in anticipation of appropriations,
are merely routine proceedings We are
not fooling Spain, ana it seems nonsensical
trying to fool ourselves. Mr.. Mckinley
knows Just as everybody else knows, that
there isn't one chance in ten that war will
be avoided. He knows that the acceptance
of blood money from Spain will not be
countenanced, and that a peace at any
price policy would have no supporters out
side OF Wall street and its connections
Knowing these things, it is his duty to
ask Congress to make the necessary appr0-
priations to put the country in proper
condition of defense, and to enable it to
give Spain the thrashing 1t has been itch
ing for during the last year or two. 1t Is
no valid excuse TO claim that doing, so
would be reflection upon the Naval Court
of Inquiry. Ii so, Spain has been casting
rsiscuons upon that Court quite numer-
ously during the last few days. But, as a
matter of fact, would it be any more
reflection to openly ask for the money from
Congress to make proper and needed
for war, than it is to be
secretly making conditional contracts for
the same thing, in anticipation OF appro-
piiatlons that Congress. has not even yet
been asked to maize? There is probably
not a man in Congress who would ask that
a gun be fred in advance of the verdict of
the Court OF Inquiry, but inasmuch as
every body now thinks that that verdict
will show that the destruction of the Maine
was not an accident, there is little doubt
that majority of Congress would like to
see the administration openly making
ready to fight after that verdict is rendered.
Few men in Congress are willing to
believe the rumors connecting Mr.. McKln-
ley g name with the scheme to buy Cuba
from Spain. Some of his advisers may
be in the scheme, but Mr.. Mckinley ought
to know the people of this country well
enough to know that they would bury
every man ought of sight, politically speak
ing, who dared to support the necessary
legislation to make this country guarantee
the payment of Cuban bonds which would
90 to the present holders of Spanish bonds.
If this scheme is seriously pushed, it will
soon be diseove cred that the universal senti-
ment of our people is, millions for the
of our national honor, but
not one cent for Spanish bond-holders.
1t appears that the friends of Hawaiian
are afraid to try to secure an
nexation by joint resolution, owing to
threats of the opp~sit to keep Congress
in session all Summer, if they do. At a
secret meeting of the Senate committee on
foreign relations it was decided TO make
another attempt to ratify the treaty. Ii
that fails, as it is expected to do, the whole
matter may be dropped until the next
session of Congress.
Car Reeds latest ruling, that Democrats
shall not, when the House is sitting as
Committee of the Whole, criticise the
the Republican party, or
any Individual Republican, is another step
towards the absolute throttling of free
SpCSCu III TIC 1lOucCs anu JuSe dS JUL
rageous as any of those in the same direc
non which have preceded it. From the
birth of Congress the custom has been to
allow the very widest latitude to members
who made speeches while the house was
sitting as the committee of the whole, but
this new autocratic mumbo jumbo says
that no Democrat will be allowed to make
a political speech, except when the bill
under consideration is purely political
This muzzling rule would be outrageous
even if it were made to apply impartially
to all members of the House. but when
applied, as it has been. solely to anti-Re.
publican members. it is more than out
rageous; it is depriving the representatives
Of the people of their constitutional right |
TO be heard at all times.
The q reward has been increased to
81 200 for the arrest of any person or per-
SONS who were connected with the killing
1t the negro postmaster at Lake City, S c.,
and his child, aDd a number of Govern
ment detectives have been put on the |
case. The members of the South Carolina
delegation in Congress all say that the
State authorities are also trying hard to
run down and punish the perpetrators of
his bar barous crime.