The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1899-01-05
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.

! From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, Jan. ed, 1890.
The administration is not SO cock
sure as it was that its bill for the in
crease and re- organization of the reg
ular army, which, if it becomes law,
will increase our military expendi-
lures, including pensions, to an amount
largely exceeding that paid by any
European government to MAINTAIN
great army on a war footing, and
which is masquerading in the House
as the Hull bill, can be put through
the Senate. Consequently it is be-
coming more than suspicion that the
carrying out of the recent decision to
muster out $4,000 of the volunteers
is to be postponed and manipulated
SO as to get votes in the Senate for
the army bill and no large number
of volunteers are likely to be mustered
out until Senatorial pledges enough
have been secured to make the pass
age of the bill certain, and it may be
impossible to obtain those pledges, as
strong endorsement of the Democratic
opposition to the bill is coming from
every direction. OF course, this sort
of thing is hard on the volunteers, but
the administration isn't worrying
about that.
The Vanderbilt interests are not
satisfied with owning one seat in the
Senate--that promised by Boss Platt
for Chauncey Depew; they are out
for another seat. The body of Sena-
tor Morrill,, of Vermont, who died in
Washington last week, and whose
funeral will be held in the Senate
chamber tomorrow, was hardly cold
before the wires were being pulled to
get DR.. Seward Webb. who married
one of the Vanderbilt girls, and who
acquired a residence in Vermont sew
eral years ago for the purpose of
awaiting Senator Morrills death. ap-
pointed to succeed him. This scheme
will be watched with much interest,
particularly as t has been boast of
Vermonters that the state has never
had rich Senator. Perhaps the Van
derbilt who owns " Blltmore," in North
Carolina, also has an eye on the Sen
ate.
1t strikes the average man, who has
no prejudice in the matter, that the
protection editors, whose papers are
among the 157 dailes which COM
prise the American newspaper Pub
fishers Association, were very illogi-
cal when they signed an argument, to
be presented to the Anglo American
| Joint High Commission, asking that
newspaper, which now has duty of
| 5000 ton, and that mechanically
ground wood pulp, which now has a
duty Of $I67 ton, be admitted
from Canada free of duty. The ar
gument goes on to say that the duty
on paper and wood pulp acts solely
for the benefit of the paper trust,
which is unquestonably true, just as
the duty on many other things acts
for the benefit of other trusts, the
most of which could not possibly ex
ist under free trade. For a protec.
tion paper to ask for free trade for the
paper it buys and a high tariff on
things which others buy. isequiva
lent to man saying, "tread or
everybody else as much as you please
as long as my toes are spared.
These gentlemen should bear in mind
that the average man can see through
their selhshness, and that if free trade
in paper and pulp is good thing, il
must be equally good in everything
else. 1t has been the favoring o.
particular interests that has disgustet
so many with every protective tarif
we have had. The theory that every
man should be allowed to buy where
he can buy the cheapest is thoroughly
good, but it isn't carried out by al
lowing one man that privilege and de
nying it to another. Equality before
the law-the only real equality possible
in any country-is the cornerstone O
free government. Every man tha
lessons 1t weakens free government.
1t seems from the reports of Gen
Otis that Aguinaldo will be unable t.
hold his government together loni
enough to be officially asked to stel
down and out by Gen. Otis. Hi
Cabinet has resigned and he has no
been able to form another, but that l
no reason why good enough govern
ment for the Philippines would not b.
formed from the educated and well
to-do natives, if this government chos
to lend hand in doing so Aguln
aldo is an adventurer, who was
priests servant only few years age
and who has been seeking only hi
own gain, not the welfare of tn
Islands. He and several others of