The Opelousas courier., 1898-01-15
Washington Letter.
From our Regular Correspondent.

| FROM our Regular correspondence
WASHINGTON, d. c., Jan. 10, 1898.
Mr.. Mckinley, by working overtime
and by using Il shovel on the pie, man
anaged to send more nominations TO the
Senate since Congress leassemhIed
than have before gone III III any single
week since he took charge OF the pie
counter, but it has not lessened the
pressure on him for pie even a little
bit. For every hungry mouth he has
filled there are a thousand asking to be
filled. There is Il suspicion that Mr..
Mckinley, instead of being opposed to
the warm fight that is being made in
the House for a modification oi the civil
service law, is really i'll favor of it. Lack
ing the backbone to use bis authority
to modify the rules under tho present
law, he will do nothing. But il Con
gress adopts any legislation he will
allow it to become a law, probably
without his signature. The ground tor
,hisNlspicion is ample. Many Of Mr..
McKinley's warm friends are engaged
in this fight, and every member of his
Cabinet has gone on the record as favor
ing some modification. The bill now
before the House civil service commit
tee limits the law to tIlossnpositions
paying from 5000 to $1S2~ yeysSS
The Senate has taken up the ESWal-
ian annexation treaty and, If its ny
porters have their wi,e, will considerS
daily until IL vote is reached.
Senator Butler of North%'olina. has
offered a joint resolutkH proposing a
constitutional amendment that would
revolutioniZe the U. S. courts. 1t pro-
poses that all U. s. judges, including
those of the Supreme Cou,t, shall be
elected by the people, for terms OF
eight years, and provides for division
OF the country into circuits for their
election. Speaking of his resolution,
Senator Butler says :"Thcre was Il time
when all the States thought it incum-
bent upon them to appoint their judges
for life. Now the life tenure of judge
in n State is the exception. | believe in
placing the power over the judiciary in
the hands of the people. 1t the system
of stated terms is good in the States it
ought to be equally good for the Fede-
raj Government
Many Democrats in Congress- favor
beginning the congressional campain of
gress, and keeping up a red hot, aggres-
sive fight upon the Republicans from
start to finish. Among them is Repre-
sentative DeArmond, Of Missouri, who
said Oh the subject: we ought to be
We want to force the fight
W. ought to lose no time in ex-
the hypocrisy and cOwardice of
our political opponents. We can lose |
nothing by being aggressive. Those |
who followed the standard of DemOc-
racy and Bryan in tho last campaign are
az enthusiastic and as earnest as ever,
and we who are here in Congress rep-l
resenting that sentiment ought not to
'ag."
Senator Chiffon, of Texas, says of the
civil service hubbnb in Republican
ranks "In my opinion, if Mr.. Bryan
lad been elected instead Of Mckinley,
he fly specks which Republican orators
n Congress now imagine to be blood
spots Oh the civil service system would
escaped their attention altogether.
II civil service reform has been carried
far is due solely to their purpose to
get Republicans into places now filled
~ equally capable Democrats, and no
Senator or Representative
hOuld give them aid or comfort in their
lesigns.
Gar Reed is the one Republican in
Congress who has never backed down
o Boss Hanna. On the contrary, lie
Iot long ago made Hanna eat Il big
hunk of humble pie. 1t all came about
connection with the appointment of
light house keeper in Mr.. Reeds dis
a place Mr.. Reed had asked for
or me of his constituents. Instead of
he appointment Mr.. Reed got a letter
rom the headquarters of the Republi-
an National Committee signed NJ. A..
lama. That made him mad. He isn't
profane man, but tis demand for an
from the Treasury Depart
lent as to what NJ. A. Honna had to
0 with appointments in his district was
J "hOt stuff" as anybody on Secretary
ages staff cared to hear about. An
biology quickly followed, as did the
)pointment of Reeds man. But that ]
idnt mollify the Car. He went after
Oss Hanna and made him a]polOgize
so.
Senator Teller made a manly and
Die speech in reply to the DumerOus
,wspaper stories alleging that some of
e silver men ia Congress have no
'Oper conception of the financial ques-
ID, and are trying to force it to the o.
ont merely to make il breach between Oh
r. Mckinley and his Secretary of the
reasury. He said that it was ridicu-
Us to suppose that Mr.. Gage would ,
in tho Cabinet an hour if he
d the President were not in financial
cord also that the Republican party :
IS to-day fully committed to the gold
Every eye in the Senate was
on Mi. Teller when he uttered these
iging words: Il attack the Republic
n party because it is the party Of the
Id standard. | hope to see it go
in 1900, and | pledge you that
II do everything in my power to drag
down. Its policy is not such as is de-
lnded by a great and free people.
v e no quarrel with the President. but
stands for the gold standard. a policy
ich in my opinion will i%mpoverish
i wreck our people,
The following terms of court haye
IN fixed by Judge Dupre for the
rish OF st. Landry during the year
8: .