Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-06-29
Washington Letter.
| From our Regular Correspondent

WASHINGTON, June PA, 1885,
Having been a soldier himself Presi
dent Mckinley knows the difference
between moving an army in al
enemy's country and moving it or
paper, and does not share the i'm
patience expressed by those entirely
ignorant of military movements be
cause General Shafter has not yet
attacked Santiago. He knows that
General Shafter is not wasting any
time, and that he will strike the
minute that his army is in the
position to strike decisive blow, be
that to-day, tomorrow, or next
week. Our army is there and it is
going to win, and to clinch the GER
tainty Of victory several thousand
troops are now on the way to rein
force Shafter. They are being sent
on the fast auxiliary cruisers Yale
and Harvard.
President Mckinley is at loss to
know why the reports of his lack of
confidence in General Miles continue
to be circulated. He has several
times recently taken occasion to ex-
press the confidence he felt in General
Miles, and Secretary Alger has done
likewise.
There is an ugly row among the
Democrats Of the house on account
Of the efforts Of Representative
Bailey, of Texas, to set himself up as
a party dictator. 1t has been brew
ing for a long time, and eliminated
when eighteen Democrats, in defiance
of their party caucus, voted for the
annexation of Hawaii, Mr.. Bailey
had another caucus called, for the
purpose of adopting rule COM
polling all participants in a party
caucus to abide by it's decision. 1t
was decidedly lively caucus, and it
adjourned without taking action.
Another is to be held next week.
The following statement by an
official shows how the Postoffice de-
partment is keeping up with the war
procession: "The postal service is
breaking all records during the
present war. Two months ago who
in the land, or world for that matter,
would have thought it possible for
US to have a pOstoffice In fine work
ing order at Manila, thousands of
miles away, by this time. or at Camp
McCalla, on the southern coast of
Cuba? Before three more weeks are
gone it is almost safe to say that
the soldiers and private citizens may
be calling for their regular mail at
San Juan, United States America
(San Juan is the principal city in
Porto Rico). The way the postal
department is expanding these days
would make Ben Franklin, our first
postmaster-general, fall dead with
amazement."
While there are honorable ex-
captions, the bulk of the Democrats
in both branches of congress are
rapidly drifting into a state Of op-
position to everything proposed by
the administration, for no other
reason than that the administration
is Republican. This was shown by
the number of Democratic votes in
both house and senate against the
war-revenue bill, now law; by Demo-
cratic votes against the annexation
resolution in the house, and by
Democratic opposition to the an
nexation resolution in the senate.
Although this sort of thing will make
thousands of Republican votes at
the congressional elections, it is
deeply regretted by Republicans, on
account of the impression if will
create in Europe that the country is
not solidly behind the administra-
ton in the conduct of the war. OF
course every well-informed American
knows that it is, but Europeans are
not we'll informed concerning our