The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1898-01-28
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON. D. c.. January 24th.

MIR. EDITOR:-Czar Reed has one COM
mendable trait-frankness. When he
learned that the Committee on Territories
was inclined to favorably report bills for
the admission of Arizona, New Mexico
and Oklahoma, as states, he told the mem
bers fiat footed that it was useless for them
to do SO, as he did not intend that those
territories should he admitted, so long as
he had the power to prevent, and the pres
cnt conditions continue to exist. He add
ed that it was simply Il question of gold
against silver, it being well known that
each of the territories named would send
two silver men to the Senate, if they had
the opportunity.
| The hot fight made for recognition Of
Cuba, by the democrats of the House, has
frightened the whole administration outfit
very badly The fake news of Spanish
successes in Cuba also indicate that the
fright has extended to the Spaniards. The
fighting isn't over vet. Representative
Bailey proved OIL the floor of the House
that the efforts of the democrats were
thwarted for the time, only by a breach of
faith on the part of Gar Reed and Mr..
Hit.
Senator White of California, who is
leading the fight against the ratification of
the annexation treaty, is SO confident that
the treaty cannot be ratified that he pro-
! posed to Senator Davis, who has charge
! of the treaty, that day be set for taking
the vote, and the proposition was declined.
| That little incident tells the story of the
situation as well as it could be done in a
column of space.
The refusal of the House Committee on
Banking and Currency, which has been
holding daily sessions in order to hear
everything that Secretary Gage, members
of the monetary conference, and other adj
vccatcs of the single gold standard, might
have to present in the shape of a gold
argument, to grant hearings to reprcsen-
tatives of the American Bimetal!ic Union,
was an unprecedented and an uncalled for
insult. The Executive Committee of the
American Bimetallic Unicn sent Il very
manly and digniied protest to the Com
mittec, closing with the following appeal
to the love of fair play that every proper
ly constituted American has: 80 far as
we arc aware, this is the first time that in
a matter of so much Importance, great
Congressional Committee, engaged in Civ
ing hearings on proposition before it,
has refused to accord full and fair hear
ing to both sides
In marked contrast to the action of the
House Banking and Currency Committee
was that Of the silver Senators, whose ma
jority gives them the power to prolong the
financial debate in the Senate, rs long as
they might wish to do so. on the Teller
resolution, declaring United States bonds
to be payable in silver at the option of the
government. They merely desired to
adopt that resolution, as Il notice to the
gold standard administration that gold
standard legislation is an impossibility
during the life of the present Congress,
and to put certain Senators on record for
the benefit of their constituents, and in or
der to show that they had no desire to UNI
necessarily prolong the financial debate.
Senator Vest, who has charge of the reso-
luton, submitted an agreement that the
vote be taken on Thursday of this week,
which was adopted. The adoption of the
resolution by the Senate is certainty:
the House WILL of course, in Difference to
Car Reed allow it to be pigeon-hoied.
The republicans who started out to throw
down some of the bars to the Federal Off
ces, are up against snag in the shape of
the inability of the House Civil Service
Committee to agree upon bill To con
ceal this difficulty and to gain time the
Committee has started an indefinite series
of hearings, such as the Senate Committee
has been conducting off and on for months.
1t will be lamentable if Mr.. Mckinley
allows the scheming republican politicians
to dictate the successor to Hon. Ben jamin
Butterworth, late Commissioner of Pat
ents, whose funeral last week drew to-
gether so many sorrowful public men, re-
gardless of politics. Mr. Butterworth did
the country great and valuable service
i'll reforming abuses in the practice before
the Patent Office, and he was ably assisted
in that work by Hon. A. P. Greeley, Act
ing Commissioner of Patents. Mr.. Nc
kinley could not show his sympathy with
the reform work done by Mr.. Butterworth
in more practical way, than by making
Mr.. Greeley Commissioner of Patents