The Opelousas courier., 1899-03-18
Washington Letter.
From our Regular Correspondent.

From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, d. c., March Il, 1890.
Mr.. Mckinley hasn't gone to Thomas
Vile, Ga, where he will be the guest
of Boss Hanna for several weeks, sole
Iy to get rest and recreation. Not by a
jugfull ; there is political scheming, and
a lot OF it, in the trip. While they are
in Tllomasville the leading administra-
ton Senators and Representatives will
visit them, and in addition to clinching
MIR. Mckinlcy's denomination next year,
the question of whether the administra-
ton will try to prevent Gar Reeds
reelection as Speaker of the House,
will be carefully gone over and decided.
Mr.. Mckinley and a number of his clos
est friends are sore on Reed because of
his attitude towards all of the admins
tration measures that came before the
late Congress, and would gladly antag-
onize his reelection as speaker, If they
thought they could beat him, but there's
the rub. They arc afraid to fight Reed,
unless they are reasonably certain of
being able to control enough votes to
down him, because if they do so and
fail, they know he wonld fight hack
during the life of the tifty-sixtl Con-
SItSS, " IilCu VIII w uS ltthS do tbuL VI
the administration.
Democrats will be glad if the Repnb-
lican party will endorse the claim OF
Representative Cannon, of Illinois, one
of Car Reeds most obedient hencll-
men, that real Nicaraguan Canal legis-
latiOn, which has been commended by
National Conventions, regardless OF
party, vas purp0sely prevented at the
recent session of Congress by the Re-
publican House. The blame for the
failure of that legislation had been
| placed upon Reed, but when Mr.. Cannon
says: "Fortunately, the House of Rep
%resentativcs resisted tho enactment of
the proposed legislation," in his labored
| commentator of Republican accom-
| plisi1ments during the Fifty-fifth Con-
sress, he places the responsibility on
tho1 Republican party, and actually
! gloats owe it rs something to be proud
of. Vii the National Convention of
his party dare to assume tho same at
titude on this question?
While the friends of Gen. Miles do not
20 so far as to make tho direct charge
that the canned meat furnished our
soldiers in Cuba and Porto Rico was
horse meat, although labeled "Roast
Beef" they do not hesitate to say that
suspicion strongly points that way. 1t
is known that $4,000 cans of meat was
bought in Europe, where il had been
| shipped from this country. The labels
on the meat said it was packed in Chi
cago, but the firm alleged to have
packed 1.-THE Prairie State Packing
Co.'s said to be unknown either in
| Chicago OF to the wholesale trade of the
country. That horse meat Is being
canned in Chicago and shipped to
Europe is known, and persons who
ought to know have declared that the
meat in question was horse meat. 1t
tie military Court of Inquiry really
wishes to get at the bottom of this bus
| mess, it ought not to be Il difficult mat
ter. The contractors who supplied this
meat could be made to tell who canned
it and where it was canned. The Court
is already accused of failure to call wit
tending to prove Gen. Miles's conten-
| ton, and if it's members are not care
full their report will meet with the same
reception the country gave to the re-
port of the Alger Whitewasliing Com
mission.
Senator Chandler, who has IL reputa-
ton for talking against things support
ed by his party, but always voting with
the party, has an acute attack of anti
trusthobia just now. He talks against
the trusts as seriously as though lie was
a good Democrat or Populist, but
that is no reason to expect that
he will vote against any meas
ure desired by the trusts which
may come before the Senate, in the
future !; he certainly has not done SD in
the past.
Navy Department officials say that
armOr for our %war-shlps cannot be
bought for $500 a ton, the limit set by
the last Congress. A statement made
before the House Naval Committee
shows conclusively that it could be if
there was not an Armor trust formed
members of this trust sold Russia three
$40 Il ton. 1t was claimed by IA repre-
sentative of that Company that $780, 900
was lost on that order, for the purpose
of introducing their armor in Europe.
This claim was q direct admission that
the armor only cost 1886 a ton ; yet,
the trust got the price fixed at $3.50 a
ton iD the bill as first past by Con-
greSs. The reduction was made by the
Senate. That is the sort of business
that makes rich trusts and disgusts
those who believe in old fashioned hon
est dealing with the government as
we'll as with individuals. II the trust
can make armor for 1888 a ton, which
its agents say it can, it can certainly af-
ford to sell it to the government for
$500 a ton, but, of course, that is no
reason that it will. 1t will probably
prefer making the next Congress raise
the price, and the next Congress being
Republicanin both branches, will prob
ably be easier to control than the last
was,