The age-herald., 1898-02-01
GENERAL GOSSIP
 FROM WASHINGTON
Special to The Age-IIerald.

for the speakership if the next house is
 democratic.
 He is to all intent and purposes a can
 didate and many of McMillin's old friends
 are rallying to him. Representative Rich
 ardson, of Tennessee, will also be in the
 race, but owing to the fact that Missouri
 will make determined effort to elect De-
 Armand, he will make considerable fight 1 from the start
 l Of course, if Richardson and DeArmand 1 both stay in the fight it makes Bailley's caucus nomination practically certain The l friends of DeArmand are trying to unify
 the opposition on their candidate, however. 1 It is hard to see how anybody can head l off the Bailey movement He is stronger | now than he was last March, and there | seems to be no reason why he should not continue to be the drawing card among the democrats He has made no legislative
 blunders, no parliamentary mistakes and
 he has not offended any of his old follow l ing by presuming too far on their loyalty. l The chief complaint against him was due | to his personal intimacy with Speaker
 Reed, but these two are now far apart enough to satisfy any reasonable partisan 1 demands. They hardly speak, and as Reed | is one who never forgives, there is no l likelihood that the breach will ever be l healed.
 But DeArmand is not without strength. 1 I know that MT. Bailey is expecting him | to make better showing than McMillin | did, but he is prepared to fight for what | he has gained. DeArmand is charming man personally and has way of dealing blows in the short ribs of republicans that is particularly pleasing to democrats. At | afC fact makes him of special interest to dem- ocrats all over the country and what he says of the democratic outlook, therefore, 1 is said after careful consideration and re- l flection.
 1 Richardson is possibly the the better parliamentarian of the three, Bailey more | deliberate than the other two, while De- | Armonds reputation rests on his power Of arraignment of an enemy and on his spe- cial aptitude in invective and satire. These three men will make a race for the speak | ership an interesting event.
 Bailey seldom fights for mere party ad- vantage, and when he enters a contest on the floor he generally has a good case to | argue. DeArmond believes in hammerlng | at republicans merely because they are such, and never fails to put his fealty to I party above every other consideration.
 Richardson sleeps with one parliamentary eye always open, and there is no point in l the tactics of a skilled parliamentarian | that he would not take advantage of when | dealing with enemy.
 Bailey is essentially a student. He Is
 student of philosophy and has the history | of all schools at his fingers point. He has l made the history of his own country and | it's constitution his life's study. There Is no subject on which he cannot throw some | light, from Esoteric Buddhism of the east | to the dances of the Hawaiians, which so | delighted Senator Morgan and Jo Cannon on their recent trip to the Sandwich lsl-
 ands
 Richardson Is incisive in argument keen | in intellect, hard worker and student | of men. An enemy could love Bailey, ad- | mire DeArmond and fear Richardson. The | latter always has his parliamentary knife | up his sleeve, and when he gets 1t between
 an enemy's ribs he knows the art of twist ing it. DeArmond is cold, calculating, but | eminently honest. There Is nothing to be | said against any of these men, and much l to admire in all three of them,
 They are men who will become bigger as | events shape themselves. Each state which
 sent them here has reason to be proud of | their records, for they are easily the three 1 leading men on the democratic side Of the | house, and are the peers of any three re- l publicans the other side of the house can | point to- In fact, if Dalzell, Dingley and Paine are the brag men among the re- | publicans, then these three democrats | stand head and shoulders above them, both | in individual attachments and in mental | make-up Not one of these three could be lead bullied or controlled as Paine, Dingley | and Dalzell are by party lash, or remain in complete subjection to one man as they | are to Reed. It may be better for the | party for blind obedience to be the rule In public life. but those who adhere to 1t never | impress their individuality on the country
 as do others who think independently and l follow out their own theories of govern | ment, right or wrong.
 But the democratic party Is essentially
 the party that allows freedom of thought and independence of action. Democracy
 cannot be stifled either in the individual
 or within the party. It suffers in discipline
 in consequence, but it keeps alive that
 which is of more value than mere party
 success-individual liberty and independent
 
 Judge DeArmond declined to talk about
 his candidacy for speaker of the next
 house. 1T would rather not say anything
 about that" he said when asked whether
 he was a candidate or not The judge
 thinks, however, that the prospects of the
 democracy are brighter than they have
 been in years. Tt appears to me-" said
 Mr. DeArmord, "that the prospects for
 democratic victory in the next campaign
 are excellent. Certainly the republicans
 merit defeat. They have done everything
 and admitted the doing of nothing that | would insure their overthrow. Their tariff
 measure is an extreme protection measure
 and has brought and is bringing and will
 bring upon the country the many evils of
 such legislation. At the same time the
 mills of protectionized New England are
 closing, the wages of those still running