The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-03-10
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

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the trying wait for the verdict of the
Naval Court of Inquiry that is inves-
tigating the Maine disaster, in the
face of many unjustifiable and inflam-
mable publications, although he is
not surprised. He knows that what
ever may be said or done by a few in
dividuals that the great mass of our
people recognize that it would be as
great an insult to the brave officers
who compose that Court to take
action in advance of the report of the
Court as it would be to a judge and
jury of any other court to take an
accused murderer in the midst of his
trial and lynch him. Every prepare
ton that wisdom and patriotism can
suggest is being made to place our
military and naval forces in a posi-
ton to meet any emergency that may
arise. If there is to be war, we shall
be ready for it, and we shall win.
Another step forward was taken by
Speaker Reed when he ruled that it
was violation of order for member
to get the floor, when the House was
sitting as committee of the whole for
the purpose of speaking upon a bill
under consideration and then to make
a speech upon something entirely
foreign to the bill. Because it is an
old custom for members to utilize any
old bill that happened to be out as
basis for partisan political speech,
is no reason that it was right. OF
course, the democrats claim to see in
this ruling a fresh attempt on the
part of the speaker to suppress free
speech, but it was nothing of the sort.
As Representative Dingley stated,
after the democratic howl which fol-
owed the application of this ruling
by Representative Payne, who was
presiding over the House sitting as a
committee, the enforcement of the
rule against irrelevant debate was
necessarytO correct growing evil and
to expedite public business. 1t does
not interfere with the making of DO
litical speeches; only confines their
making to proper times.
President Mckinley and every mem
Der of his cabinet feel great indigna-
ton at the disgraceful affair at Lake
City, South Carolina, which resulted
in the murder of the postmaster and
one of his children, and the wOunding
of three others, an official report of
which has been made to the POstOf1ice
Department, At the last Cabinet
meeting it was unanimously decided
to increase the Government reward
to $500 for information that will
lead to the conviction of the perpetra-
tors of the cowardly and dastardly
crime, and that all the facilities of the
PostOffice Department and of the De
partment of Justice should be utilized
it the effort to ruu down the murder
ers.
The senate committee on civil ser
vice, which made an exhaustive in
vestigation of the subject, has reported
in favor of removing from the CLASH
fed service all deputy collectors of the
internal revenue, store keepers, and
gaugers, and all deputy collectors of
customs. The report also adopts the
contention of SenatorPritchard chair
man of the committee, that the gov
eminent printing Office was never
legally put within the classified ser
vice and is not, by right, now in that
service.
The delay in getting a special rule,
which was made necessary by demo
cratic objections when unanimous
consent was asked, reported to the
House from the committee on rules
for the consideration of the bill pro-
viding for the enlistment of two adj
ditional artillery regiments has not
been caused by opposition to the bill
on the part of republican members
of that committee, as has been de-
clared by sensation mongers. No re-
publican member of the committee is
opposed to the bill, but all of the re-
publican members of the committee
were opposed to any precipitate ac-
ton, such as would cause the country
to get the idea that the bill was an
emergency measure, whereas it is only
carrying out the requests of the War
Department several years old. A rule
will be reported, and the bill will be
passed.
1t has been discovered that some
democratic members of the House are
resorting to questionable methods of
making friends of old soldier voters
in their districts, by grossly misrepre-
senting the attitude of the admins
tration and of the republican leaders
of the House towards individual pen
sion bills. A letter written by Rep
resentative Brucke, of Michigan,
which is now in Washington, to