Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1898-06-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.
wAsnINeroN, D. c J, May 30, '98.


President Mckinley and Secre-
tary Long are satisfied from infor-
nation they have received, official
and otherwise, that Commodore
Schley has the Spanish fleet penned
up in the harbor at Santiago de
Cuba, but the invasion of Cuba will
not be ordered until Commodore
Schley has officially reported that
the Spanish fleet is in Santiago har.
Dor. This report may be made any
hour. If the Spanish fleet is there
it will be helpless to do US any harm
and will in the end be either cap
tured or destroyed. Although a
portion of the volunteer army is
still unprovided with all the needed
equipments, there are more than
30, men, about three-fourths reg
ulars, ready for embarkation, and
they can all be landed in Cuba with
in twenty four hours after orders
have been issued.
President Mckinley left his work
long enough Saturday afternoon to
visit Camp Alger, on the Virginia
side Of the Potomac, near Washing
ton, and reviewed 13, 900 of the 90
600 volunteers now assembled
there lack of equipments prevent
ed all the men taking part in the
review. President Mckinley ex-
pressed himself as highly pleased
with the spirit displayed by the
men.
This week each of the governors
will be officially notified of the num-
Der of men his state is expected to
furnish on the second call of troops,
by the President last week. There
is no especial hurry about enlisting
these rs, 900 men. In the first place
they will probably not be needed !;
they have been called for more to
provide for unexpected contingen-
cies than because of any press
ing need for them at this time, and
in the next place, there will be no
equipment for them until after
those already in service have been
all provided for.
The Memorial Day exercises at
Arlington and other cemeteries in
the vicinity of Washington were
unusually interesting this year.
What is treason. The question
becomes of the greatest Importance
when the country is engaged in war.
1t is a serious matter to accuse men
of being TRAITORS, but black doesn't
become white because it ism t called
black. In times of peace it was
all right for men TO oppose the an.
nexation of Howaii because they
did not personally believe that this
country would be benefited thereby
but, now that the President, his en-
tire cabinet and every officer in the
army and navy whose opinion has
been asked have declared that the
immediate annexation of Hawaii
is a military necessity, without
which our attempting to hold the
Philippine Islands may be turned
into a disastrous failure and all of
the fruits of Dewey's great victory
be lost, it is not all right. On the
contrary, it is all wrong. That free
speech may at times become danger
GUS is shown by the activity of the
Sugar Trust lobby to prevent Con-
gress providing for annexation of
Hawaii, Notwithstanding that the
administration, large majority of
Congress, and an overwhelming ma
jority of people were strongly in
favor of annexation even before it
was declared to have become a mill
tary necessity. If this lobby ism t
guilty of treason, it is dangerously
near to being guilty. From the day
that the President declared annex
alton to be military necessity it
has been the patriotic duty of Con-
gress to annex without regard to
personal opinions of individuals.
just as soon as President McKin-
ley can get the time he will issue
an order, with an elaborate opinion
prepared byAttorney General Griggs
declaring that the Government Print
ing Office never was legally under
the civil service rules, because it be-
longs under the legislative, and not
the executive branch of the govern
ment. The same opinion has oper-
ated to put an end to the movement
for the placing of the Congressional
Library under the civil service rules
because the Library, like the gov
ernment Printing Office, is a Con-
gressional institution. There are
many desirable places in the G. P.
0. now neld by the Democrats.
Postmater General Stanton has
made plans which will insure the
regular payment Of tho troops sent
To the Philinninas- Paurnastars