The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1899-02-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.
TREATY OF PEACE WI L BE
VOTED ON rIoNDAY.
One Hundred and Forsy-five mil- :
lions for Pension

full swing In the senate this week,
as nearly every senator who op-
poses and who has not already
spoken against Imperialism, has
given notice of intention to speak
The treaty of peace will be
voted upon February 9th, and the
chances favor its ratification, be-
cause nothing would be gained
by rejecting it. A motion would
require a majority to table it.
That majority its opponents have
not. So, if it were rejected Feb
ruary 9th, all Mr.. Mckinley
would have to do would be to cali
an extra session of the senate, in
March, when it would be prompt
ly ratified.
Within the last week, Mr..
Mckinley has been personally
harshly criticised in both hous
and senate, and in each body
one OF his critics was a republi-
can. In the house, representa-
tives jerry Simpson, and john
son, Of Indiana, jumped on him
for bowing to public opinion,
right or wrong; and in the senate
Senators German and Hoar gave
him fits for declining to furnish
the senate with copies OF the in
structions given to the peace
commissioners.
Senator German has never
posed as an alarmist, but he new
er fears to speak the truth be-
cause it may be alarmir G. just
before the senate passed the reg
ular pension appropriation bill,
which carries. S145, 100000, Mr..
German made speech, calling
attention to the fact that although
it was estimated that the war
with Spain would add 80, 600
names to the pension roll, unless
our troops were recalled from the
tropics before the sickly season,
no provision, whatever, had
been made in the bill for the in
crease. Mr.. German concluded
with this significant prediction:
within three years from this
date, the pension roll will amount
Of S165, 600, 600. If you add to
that, the cost Of maintaining
your army Zone thousand dollars
man), the American republic
will in the year 1900, expend
more for its army and pensioners
than any other nation on the face
Of the earth. That is a fact,
which the American people will
have to face, and they ought 10
know now, in advance, what is
coming to them, if the schemes
and projects which are being
forced upon us are carried out. :"
The attempt of the republicans
to get democratic support for the
Hull bill, which will be voted
upon tomorrow, by Amending it
so as to make any increase Of the
regular army above $4,000, dis
cretionary with the president,
was not success. IL made no
real change. The democrats
proved by their votes for the
first war appropriation, that they
were not afraid to trust the pres
ident, but that did not change
the principle of the party yainst
the concentration OF the authority
in the hands of one man. Sucn
concentrations does no harm as
long as the right man exercises
the authority, but who can say
when the wrong man will come
along? The change was not
made for effect in the house,
where partisanship will put the
bill through, but in the senate,
where its fate will be very much
in doubt, unless the support ol
senator's, who are now inclined
to oppose it can be secured
The subterfuge was 30 palpable
that Representative Loud, o.
California, a republican, made
a hot speech against it. plainly
telling his party associates that
they could not hope to catch
suckers with such bare hook.
Gen. Miles is still piling uE
evidence, official and unofficial
that the beef furnished our sol.
diers in Cuba and Porto Rico wal
unfit to eat. He has already
about convinced everybody, ex'
cept the members OF the admin
istration, and of the war investi
eating commission, that hi
charge was true, but they seen
determined to stick to it that TIL
beef was good.
Secretary Alger put anothe