Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-12-29
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Dec. Is, 1898

The Democrats in Congress may not
succeed in defeating the schemes to in |
crease the regular army to 100000 men.
but they intend that the country shall be |
thoroughly acquainted with the enormous |
and permanent taxation which those who
are behind the scheme are trying to put
upon the people. The report Of the
minority of the House committee on mill |
tary affairs, signed by every Democratic |
member of the committee, has been filed
with the Clerk of the House-owing to the |
railroading of the Hull bill through the
committee and reporting it to the House |
before the holiday recess, they had to
prepare it after Congress adjourned-and
it is an interesting document. II points
out that while an army of 100000 men
would be menace to our liberties in time
of peace, it would be too weak to cope |
with any frst-class power in war that
the cost of the Hull bill would be about
$l50O00000 a year, which added to our
Pension payments would bring our milf
tary expenditures up to nearly $500, 0OO,-
000-more than is paid by any one of those
great European nations which keep their
armies practically on war footing all the
time. Here is clause of the report,
especially deserving consideration 1t Is
well understood that the great corporate
interests of the country demand this large
army for obvious reasons A President
with such force behind him, could invade
our liberties, suppress freedom Of speech.
and even desecrate the ballot itself" The
Democrats on the committee accompany
their report with a bill, with which they
will put the House on record, by Offering
II I..1I Hi Tf
provides for a regular army of thirty
thousand men, and for the enlistment for
not more than two years, of 80 900 vOlun-
teers, for service in the new possessions of
the U. s. and in Cuba. There is no reason. |
at this time, to believe that we will have
any actual need for an army of more than
10000 men two years hence, as the islands
which we are now compelled to garrison
are likely to be either governing them
selves by that time, or owned by some
other government
Professor Blair, of N. c., who is in
Washington, said " The purpose of the
North Carolinians to follow the example of
Mississippi, South Carolina, and Louisiana,
and accomplish the partial disfranchise-
ment of the negroes. is worthy and COM
mendable of all supporters of the instItu-
lions of this country. 1t is quite in line
with the most advarced idea of the Nc
Kinley administration, represented by
Senator Cullom's Hawaiian Commission,
which, by the way, has modelled splendid
plan for the dis:ranchisement of the North
Carolina negroes, without Intentionally
doing such thing. The bill he has re-
ported. DISTINGUISHING the natives of the
Hawaiian islands, is very good one, IN
that the natives of the islands are not fit
to govern an American territory. If this
is true in Hawaii, it is doubly true in
North Caroline"
Gen. Miles badly frightened number of
persons, and some of them hold q. s. Com |
missions, when he said that he was making
personal investigation into the sending of
embalmed" beef to our soldiers in Cuba
and Porto Rico. An investigation real
Investigations about the last thing any
body connected with that embalmed"
beef wants to see, because, in the first
place, it would show that those high in
authority agreed to making an experiment
that endangered the health and lives of
thousands of soldiers for no more apparent
reason than that it would be very profit |
able for those who sold the government the |
embalmedn beef
Senator Gray, the only Democratic mem
Der of the Peace Commission, which has |
just returned from Paris, bringing the
official copy of the Treaty of Peace, ex-
pressed pleasure to learn that Democratic |
Senators generally had accepted Col |
Bryan's idea, that the question of expan-
sion was not in any way involved in the |
treaty, and that consequently there would
be no party opposition to the ratification of
the treaty. Failure to ratify the treaty |
might cause international complications, |
while its ratification will clear the deck |
for domestic contest, as to whether W
shall keep the Philippines, give them their |
independence or dispose of them to some
other country. Senator Gray declined to |
express an opinion on this matter, further |
than to say that he was Democrat which |
probably means that he will oppose our |
keeping the Philippines.
There is one thing connected with the |
treaty of Peace that may force an extra |
session of the next Congress. That is the |
$40 100000, which we have got to pay |
Spain. The treaty provides that this
money shall be paid within six months |
after the interchange of ratification of the |
treaty between the two governments also |
that the treaty shall be ratified within six |
months from the date it was signed. 1t is
expected that the Senate will ratify the
treaty at this session, but both Senate and |
House will have to pass bill apDropriatiDg I
pass the appropriation, an extra session of
get within the time limit.
The hopeless division of the Republican