The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-10
PRESIDENT WITHOUT POLICY.
CONGRESSMAN LESTER AGAINST
M'KINLEY IN ALL THINGS.

He Is Decidedly Opposed to the Adj
miniStrarOn I'm Its Treatment of
the Philippine and Cuban Prob
lens and Is Glad the Nicaragua
Canal Bill scheme Was Defeated.
President Mckinley More RE-
spOnsibIe Than His Secretary for
the Mistakes of the War, But Al
ger Likely TO he Made the Scape-
gOat-The CongressmaR's Meeting
With an Old Servitor in Washing
ton Who Fought Mt Santiago.
Hon. Rufus e. Lester is home again. Ac-
| companied by Mrs. Lester, he arrived from
Washington yesterday morning.
Col. Lester was warmly greeted by his
friends, all Of whom were delighted to see
him looking well and hearty. The Fifty
fifth Congress has concluded its work un-
less the President should cali an extra
session, which is not regarded as likely
and Col Lester expects TO spend the sever
al months intervening between now and
the converting of the Fifty-sixth Congress,
of which he is a member-elect, in Savan-
nah.
Col. Testers constituents know pretty
well where ne stands on the various public
questions of chief moment. but they al
ways like to hear his expressions of opin-
ion on the most recent phases of these
questions. The congressman from the First
district is a rockribbed Jeffersonian Dem
ocrat and hence decidedly in opposition to
the present administration in all its acts
of ON tesion and commission IIa roax, -,
said to abjure Mckinley and all his ways.
and does not hesitate TO so express him
self. He was one of the eight members Of
the Georgia delegation who voted against
the declaration of war with Spain. and he
has disapproved of the policy of the adj
mnistration in regard to the war ever
since.
"Washlngton's advice to avoid all en-
tangling alliances with other nations Is
still good enough for me-" said Congress
man Lester. IF I could have had NV
way about it Dewey would have been or
dered away from the Philippines as soon
as he had completed the destruction OF
the Spanish fleet. We have paid 500. 900. 900
Tor the philippines and there is no telling
how many more millions they win cost
us. There is no end to the problems which
may arise from this source, problems that
will be very expensive and unsatisfactory
IN the effort to solve them and with no
beneficial results 10 the country generally
We have bought something and we don't
know what we have bought We won't
be any better off when we have completed
the conquest of the Filipinos. The best
thing that this country could do is to pull
out right now and leave the Philippines
severely alone"
"As to Cuba" said Col Lester, I'VE
have made a bad job of it. The proper
thing to have done was to recognize the
cuban government in the beginning They
had form of government and had car
ried on the war until we interfered We
should have recognized their government
and co-operated with them. Then when
the SpaniaFds had been driven from the
island We could have retired and left the
Cuban government in charge know
that everything was in a disturbed con.
dihon as the result of the war, but there
are some good and able men among the
Cubans and ii would have been right 10
let them work out their own problems
The policy pursued by our government
in Cuba is causing a great deal of dissat-
isfaction to the people of the island and
the state of affairs there remains very
unsettled"
However there is some advantage to
be gained in our controlling Cuba" The
island is right at our doors, and 1t Is to
our interest 70 see that a stable govern
ment is established there, and especially
see to it that the cities of the island are
put in a sanitary condition and a regard
for sanitary laws esta blished"
Col. Lester expressed his pleasure at the
defeat of the Nicaragua canal bill. There
We're many reasons for looking upon this
bin with disfavor, he said. The scheme
appeared 10 be very uncertain and in
definite, and had the appearance of being
merely an effort to secure a big govern
ment appropriation for the benefit of in
terested parties. The members of Con-
gress had a pretty we'll defined idea. he
said, that the stockholders of the old Mari
time Canal Company, which held a con-
cessioh from Nicaragua, wanted TO sell
out to the government at a tremendous
protft.
THE bill provided for the payment to
this company of $1,000, 900 for its rights and
franchises and work already done" said
Col. Lester. CAS- a matter of fact the
company had expended only a little over
100000. Its contract with the Ncaraguan
government called for the expenditure of
81 600, 600. After spending about 81 100000
the promoters of the scheme seem to have
become tired. They sent down TO Panama
and bought up a lot of The old machinery
of the Panama Canal Company,
failure few years ago. The ma
| chinery was got for song
of course but it was billed 10 the COM
pany al the original cost TO the Panama
| Canal Company, somewhere in the neigh
borhood of a million dollars, and the Mica
ragua government was prevailed upon TO
accept of this purchase as the fulfill
ment of the company's contract to ex-
pend 100000. For this expenditure the
United States government was asked TO
pay the canal company 5000 000."
There is another Nicaragua canal COM
pany," said Col Lester. whose repre-
sentative claimed that the Maritime Canal
Company had allowed its franchises to
lapse and that the new company is the
only company which now has the right
TO build a canal through Nicaragua. War
ner Miller VINO was generally thought 10
be the chief hacker of the Maritime Canal
Company, is now associated with the Mica
ragua Canal Company"
LAS a matter of fact" said Col Lester.