The Press., 1898-02-17
wMmhlnwtom Letter.
Washington, Feb. lA. 1898.


 an entirely different beginning necessary for e Washington letter dated St. Valen- tines Day, but the blackguard minister got his resignation accepted by his govern ment beforethi government got In its re- quest for his recall, and now all depends matter will end. Congress as a whole has been like Q keg of powder, and had the pl esident desired, he could, by . word have furnished the spark that would have brought about an explosion. He chose the other plan, whether wisely or not have had no explosion, except on the part of individuals whose brains and tongues work on the hair trigg r principle. What ever else may be its effect, de Lome's letter Is expected to hasten intervention in Cuba by this government, regardless of Spanish apologies. Whether that inter- vention will result in war Is 6 question upon which different opinions are held by men equally competent to judge.
 Instead of trying to make political capital out of the attitude of the admin istratlon towards the De Lome incident as many of his party colleagues are doing, Senator Gray, of Delaware, a prominent member of the committee on foreign re- lations, Is trying to allay public excite ment by expressing such opinions as the following "It seems to me that the presi- dent has acted with great dignity in pay ing no attention to the opinion concern ing him which is found In the letter. He could not take cognizance of 1t without making himself 6 party to 6 theft, for, 1t must be remembered, this letter Is stolen one. As to the utterances of the minister, which indicates that Spain Is using autonomy and reciprocity as pre- texts, I should say that they must be re- garded in the same light. We cannot afford to base any complaints of this government on an incident which Is the result of some person's perfidy, because, If we do so, we countenance the crime and make ourselves 6 party to 1t. The U. s. Is such big and powerful body that when 1t moves something has to give way. Naturally, therefore, we should not move unless there Is something st stake-some-' thing more important and serious than . personal opinion expressed in a private communication which came into public notice by surIeptitious means. am not in favor of hysterical Legislation or hys- terical diplomacy. We should pursue our even course until the time comes vwhar &hara Ia roa Ilv roon alau for uOh0ld ing our dignity and honor. When that time comes, there will be no division of opinion, and we, who take a conservative view, will be found fully as patriotic and as courageous as those who now stand tearing their shirts and blowing fish horns instead of trumpets. Senator Foraker, also a member of the foreign committee, who may be said to represent the other extreme, said: "The incident should not be allowed to end with the acceptance by Spain of the minister's resignation. We should have an apology. The offense of Minister de Lome was c serious one. In my judgment the time has come for some- thing affirmative, positive and conclusive to be done by the United States. Christ ianity, morality, humanity, patriotism and the spirit of liberty, all combine to demand that we intervene to put an end to an atrocious struggle. We must answer for all the pillage, waste ,rapine, butchery and starvation that may ensue from this time, in Cuba"
 One prominent office seeker, Col. Mat n Endarmon oP Arkapaas-whiI0 die cussing his long wait in Washington and his descent from terrapIn and a small bottle to pork and beans, thus unburden- ed his mind to a sympathetic listener: "If never get the on @, shall not die of grief. There Is plenty of the solid comforts of life down in old 'Rockensack', and fellow is always dead sure of 6 living. I'd like to win 8 place just to show the boys that didn't stay in Wash ington a year and five months for nothing, but if I fall down, all right. Happiness in this life doesn't all hinge on getting 6 federal job"
 l The present week in the senate will de- termine whether the treaty for the annex ation of Hawaii shall be abandoned or pushed to a vote, 1t having been de- termined by the committee on foreign re- lations to obtain test vote upon some motion that will show just how many votesthe treaty can command. This &C., ton on the part of the committee is the direct result of Senator Teller's assertion in his strong speech in favor of annex atioD, that not enough votes to secure the ratification of the treaty could be had ,and that the best thing to do was to push through joint resolution for annexation. There are rumors that Speaker Reed will attempt to block annexation, to which he Is opposed, should 1t be attempted by means of a resolution or bill, but they are | probably only rumora