The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1898-12-16
Washington LCIIer.

From our regular correspondent.
The Democrats OF the House wcr" entirely |
too smart for thc busy bodies who Lave been |
working SO hard to make that adjourned Dem |
ocratic caucus cat and dog fight that would |
have resulted in encouraging and otherwise |
njuring the Democratic party. The caucus |
was held, and there was no fight at all. On the |
contrary, the me ting was entirely harm OniOuS. |
and not even any show of hard feelings was |
INDUCED in ny anybody. According The |
rule governing Democratic caUcuses no&ut;on
could be taken upon anything except the rcso-
luton, offered at the caucus held last June,
providing that an affirmative vote of two
thirds of Il caucus should make caucus action
binding upon the whole body, except in cases
where individuals have pledged their word or
been instructed by their conventions to the
contrary. This resolution was adopted without
opposition. There was no talk in the caucus
about the purity policy to be pursued at the
! present session.
The bill prepared by General Miles for the
1 reorganization of the army, has been intro
4 duced in Congress, but that is about as far as
4 it will ever get, as tine Hull bill, prepared
| largely under the direction of Secretary AIgcr,
| is backed by the administration and by the
! Republican leaders in the House, and is, unless
| present plans are changed. to be put through
! The House before the Christmas recess. The
4 Democrats are opposed to keeping the volun-
| tcers i'll service until the Army Reorganization
| Bill becomes IL law, as proposed by the admin
stration, but their protests viii not, it is fear
ed, change the programme, because the de-
sire TO get the volunteers mustered out is
counted upon to help get votes needed TO
/ authorize the increase of the regular army to
4 100. 900 men. The House Military Committee
| has fa-oraDly reported Il resolution offered by
| Representative Hay, of Virginia, asking the
Secretary of War to inform the House what
| towns in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines
| will have TO be garrisoned by U S. troops, the
number of troops for each town and the num-
| Der that will be required at home.
The Philippine problem is giving the
Republicans no end of trouble. Gen.
Grosvenor, of Ohio, is not timid man in
\ handing political questions but he acknowl-
| edged himself at II loss what to do with this
one when he said, after discussing several of
the propositions that have been made to get
rid of the islands: For my part, l wish the
| Philippines were in the bottom of the sea- -
Mr. Mckinley has allowed it to become known
| TO his party leaders that he has no ambition t.
4 lead i'll a Philippine policy but will be perfect
! ly satisfied to follow any policy that promises
to be ia accord with public sentiment, witt
| preferctsce that it should he one that will en-.
1 able us TO get rid of the Philippines, if it bC
possible to do so without laying this country
open to the charge of trGllicng in human liber
e | ty, for Il profit, and wit hOut causing war
y There is reason for saying that if it had TO br
e done over again, Mr.. Mckinley would not dc
: mand possession of the Philippines, and woulC
II save the 100000 900 which we must pay Spuil
for something we do not know what to d.
, with. But that sort of hind sight doesn't hell
II the situation one bit.
p The Naval clique that has been trying +
t keep Lieut.. HObson from receiving attention
Y and deserved glory, ever since his return iron
n Spanish prison, has succeeded in getting hin
+ ordered out of the country for an indcint
80 | period. 1t was discovered that Hobson wa
At just the man needed to superntend the repair
on the Spanish gun boats, sunk by Dewey !
W Manila bay, which have been raised and ser
TO Hong Kong, under contract made b
Dewey. Hobson tried to get short leave {
IT. absence to attend to some private matters bt
n fore going SO far away, but il was refused biz
= and he was given p2rcmptory orders to lcuN
for Hong Kong on the steamer that sails fro
u" San Francisco Christmas eve.
It. The proposition, that England and the L.
oil jointly build and control the Nicaragua Cans
2, has not met with any marked favor in Co
gress. The Morgan Bill, by which the L.
will own controlling interest in the Compar
eli, which will build the Canal, guaranteeing tAcr
oh for $4,000 900 of the C0mpauy's bonds
he issued at the discretion of the President.
now before the Senate, with the right of wa
Senator Morgan, its author, says il will pass
a big majority. Democrats generally wou
ry- prefer that the Canal be built directly by Il
es, government and owned by it, but it is not