Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1898-02-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.
AN INTERESTING SUMMARY OF THE
POLITICAL DRIFT AT THE
NATIONAL CAPITAL

ledge that that resolution would
be adopted, as we'll as the advice of
the republican senator's and re-
representatives. from the middle west,
convinced Mckinley that the
gold standard business would not
60 down, and that his party's only
hope was to make play to keep
the bimetallists from deserving
the republican party in a body.
The game was started when Mr..
Preston, Director of the U. S.
Mint, who had made himself parti-
cularly obnoxious to the silver
men by his obtrusive advocacy of
the gold standard, both under
the Cleveland and the present adj
ministration, and whose work in
that direction was referred to by
Senator Walcott in his recent
speech, was bounced and the posi-
ton given to a republican bime-
tallist from Iowa. But the highest
trump was played when Secretary
Gage, the high priest Of the goldo-
cracy, was made to publicly say
that Mckinley was a bimetaIlist
and was supported in that policy
by every member of his cabinet.
Ye gods! think of that for a
somersault.
The opinion is growing in con-
gress that the sending of that
warship to Havana was the result
of an understanding between the
administration and Spain, and
that its principal object there is to
stave off congressional action.
So long as President Dole, of
Hawaii, who is now being enter
tanned in Washington as the guest
of the Z. S., contents himself with
the social attentions that are being
paid to him and his wife he will
find everything lovely and the
goose hanging high, but if he at
tempts to NEEDLE with the annexa-
ton fght-he will find things
very different.
During the discussion which
preceded the adoption of the
Teller resolution, declaring U. S.
bonds payable in silver at the
option Of the government, Senator
Teller forced Senator Allison, who
voted for this S anne resolution in
1878 and now against it, to admit
that it would be legal and proper
for the secretary of the treasury to
pay the obligations of the govern
ment in either gold or silver. Mr..
Allison tried to qualify that admis-
sion with lot Of stuff about the
duty of the secretary OF the trea-
sury TO maintain the parity of the
two metals etc., but the admission
was all that Mr.. Teller wanted; he
is willing to leave the explanation
Of Mr.. Allison's vote against the
resolution after that admission to
be made by that gentleman to the
voters Of Iowa. Although Senat-
or German pointed out that the
pension appropriation bill as it
came from the house carried about
tell million dollars less than would
be spent by the pension bureau
during the fiscal year beginning
July l, next, and Senator Allen
offered al amendment adding
So, 900, 900 to the total carried by
che bill, no action was taken by
senate to increase the appropria.
ton and the bill was passed sub
stantially as it came from the
house. 1t is somewhat surprising
that the senate should even to this
ext ent have helped along the re-
publican policy of insufficient ap-
preparations, in order that the
government finances may be made
to appear better than they should
be, for the purpose Of bamboozling
the voters at the congressional
elections. 1t is at this time abso-
lutely known to officials of the pen
sion bureau that deficiency ap-
preparation which may exceed
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