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

WASHINGTON, d. c., Dec. 81, 1897.
Up to this time the most marked
feature OF the Congressional recess III
Washington has been the ~unconcealed
anxiety of the administration as to the
probable action of certain Senators
when Congress gets together again
and the attempts made to cajole them
with patronage and promises into
doing as Mr.. Mckinley desires, or into
doing nothing aud keeping quiet. The
two principal cause.-the minor ones
are too numerous to mentioned Mr..
MckiDley's anxiety are Finance and
the treaty for the annexation of
Hawaii. lie wants the treaty speedily
ratified and he wants the Silver Re
pubIicans to keep quiet and not to at
tempt to carry ont the intention an
| nounced by some of them Of forcing
Mr.. Mckinley's hand by compelling
him to come ont in tho open n de-
clare himself to be in sympathy with
the ouspoken efforts of Secretary Gage
to secure legislation to strengthen the
gold standard, or else to declare in ia
vOr Of the restoration OF bimetalIsm,
| which he has ill along led them to be-
iieye he favored. The Senators who
have been put III the doubtful column
on tie annexation question and the
Silver Republican Senators can get
anything at Mcklnley's disposal in the
way OF patronage, it they will pledge
themselves to DO as he wants Them.
The effect OF this cajolciy OF Senators
cannot be told to d certainty until the
questions affected get mp in the Senate.
Soon after the debate on the annexa-
t.un treaty opens it will become appar
emf whether any OF the doubtful" Sen
ators nave become advocates OF annex
alton, and the explanation that senator
NalcUtt, who is regarded as the leader
OF the Silver Republicans, has prOm-
ised to make OF his trip to Europe in
behalf of international bimetalism,
about the middle of January, will
probably Indicate the attitude of the Sill
yer Republicans, at least one Of whom
has told Mr.. Mckinley in plain words
that unless he muZZles Secretary Gage
the Silver Republicans would publicly
rtpudiatn the financial policy of the
adnlinlStlUn
1t is practically certain that nearly all
the Democrats in both branches of
Congress will vote for the bill provid-
ing for the publication OF a COM
plcte list Of those drawing pensioas
from the government and the amount
they draw, which Commissioner Evans
says he will have introduced when Con-
gress resumes work. In fact, j. is diff
cnlt to imagine any good reason why
the vote in Congress should not be
unanimous for such a bill. The publ
cation would serve several good pur-
poses and could not possibly injure any
honest and deserving pensioner. Some
of the q. A. Il. men are opposing the
idea and are trying to work up senti-
ment against it.
The money pull with the present ad-
mlnistratlOn has once more been dem
onstrnted. Although there are several
men with the strongest sort Of political
endorsements after the Office of U. S.
Marshal of the District of Columbia,
Mr.. Mckinley decided to give it to Mr..
Aulick Palmer, who knows all about
club and social life in Washington and
Newport, but who has never even
learned the A C's of politics. 1t is an
given to Palmer because the place was
requested for him by Cornelius Wander
bilt, who was one of the largest
contributors to Boss Hanna's
million dollar campaign fund.
representative Bailey, of Texas, is
spending his Christmas with Ex-Repre-
sentative Sibley, of Pennsylvania, and
as both men are close friends of Mr..
there is believed to be more in
visit than holiday recreation. Both
gentlemen are prominent in Democratic
councils, and although Mr.. Sibley is at
present out of pnblic life, it by no
means follows that he will remain ont.
He has ability of a high order and his
devotion to Democratic principles as
Interpreted by the Chicago platform
IS nnGuestiOned.