Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1899-08-17
WASHINGTON LETTER.
(From our Regular Correspondent
Washington. August T., 1899.

tFrom Our Regular Corrcspondrnt)
Washington. August II. 1892.
There is to bc more whipping OF the
devil around the stump. That is the sum
ard substance Of the semi official lcakii <
rs To the intention Of the adminisi ration
in the Philippines. Gen. Otis IL not TO
be either recalled or Inundated. Oh no!
not for worlds the administration has
such absolute confidence in him, that 1t
intends TO let him sit in his office, ut
Manila. and worry over the ten-ccnt de-
tails of the govern ment Of such portions
of the Philippines M recognize o'r au-
thoritv. But another man is to he put IN
command Of the army which Is to 90 the
fighting. That would be SO thoroughly
charact ri-tic Of the Mckinley admins
tra,ion that it Is generally accepted to be
true of present intentions. Oh course,
those intentions, like many others have
been, may be changed before being car
lied ont. Statements differ as to the man
who is to command the fighting branch
OF the Philippine army, some saying that
it will be Iawton and others that it will
be Miles. Gen. Miles has indicated to
Secretary Root his willingness to take
command OF the Philippine campaign,
but there aie several reasons why he is
not likely to 90 The first and most inn
portant of which is the evident intention
of the administration to leave the supreme
command nominally in the hands OF
Gen. Otis. t;cn. Miles could not serve
under subordinate officer.
The new secretary Of war has been
ask Il to pass upon question OF law, but
he has not said that he will do so, not
! withs.anhng all the talk abolt that being
| What he was taken into the cabinet to do.
The question involved is whether the
secretary OF war has right to author re
officers who are his favorltes to draw
specified sums. in addition to their salary
and regular allowances, to re used to
maintain the dignity Of their positions. !"
During Ayers recent visit to Cuba, he
authorized Gen. Brooke to draw 81 800 a
year in addition to his pay as major gen
eral Gen. Ludlow, who made u break
last week by suppressing Cuban news
paper. $1,000 a year, i'm addition to his
pay as q brigadicr general; Col. Bliss,
collector at Havana, 5000 in addition to
his salary rs colonel, and Maj. Davis,
sanitary officer at Havana, r., 800 in add.
ton to his salary as major. AIger directed
that these allowances be made from the
Cuban revenues. Only favorites Of Alger
were authorized to draw this extra
money. no such authority being given to
Gen. Fitz Lee, Gen. Leonard Wood. and
other officers who would seem to have
quite as much dignity to maintain as the
officers OH duty at Havana. 1t has been
pointed ont to Secretary Root that section
1868 OF the revised statutes, which fixes
the pay OF army officers, contains this
positive language: "No allowances shall
be made to officers in addition to their
pay except as hereinafter provided" The
provisions referred to are for the care of
officers horses, the payment for quarters,
and for travel pay, but there is nowhere
Il word about any allowance to "main
tain dignity" 1t is very clear that Alger
excee led his legal authority in making
these allowances, but whether Secretary
Root will say so is horse Of quite an.
other color.
Democrats hereabouts have paid very
little attention to the attempt OF few
anti-Bryan democrats in New Jersey, to
start boom for Hon. Grover Cleveland
as the democratic candidate next yesr,
simply because they know that it is not
worth any attention. Even if Col. Bryan,
the man whom ninety per cent of the
democratic party wishes to see nominated
again, were to die before the nominating
convention met, Mr.. Ceveland's name
would not be seriously considered. He
has received all the honors he will ever
get from the national democracy, with
when lie was never really in sympathy
upon more than two or three Of its prin-
cipes, and even those he has "a way of
interpreting to suit himself. Mr.. Cleve-
land is an able man-one of the ablest
who was ever president-but so self
opnionated as to be unfit to lead party
IN country where every man is theoret-
ically, at least, the peer of every other
man. One autocrat is an ample sutfi-
cheney for the democracy Tor long time
to come. The last time Mr.. Clevela, d
was nominated, it was not because he
was the choice of the majority OF the
party, but because of the shrewdoess Of
Hon. W. G. Whitney.
Against the advice If experts, Secretary
Aiger gave contract last year for twenty
five Brown segmental wire wound guns.