Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-03-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From eur Regular Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27-An i'm
mediate extra session ofthe next Con
gre.s was avoided when an agree.
ment was reached on the Army bill,
but there are indications that cause
many to think an extra session prob
able in the near future. Things are
in more critical condition in the
Philippines than is Indicated by any
thing given out officially. Dewey's
cable to hurry the battlsship Oregon,
was given out inadvertently at the
Navy Department, and the officials
have since been trying to make the
public believe that it had no signific
ance. They are fooling nobody.
Dewey's record isn't that of man
who does things without cause. lie
thought he needed the Oregon or he
would rot have sent that message,
and it is well.knovn that he doesn't
need the battleship to fight the Fill
pinos. 1t has been feared IN Wash
ington ever since the Filipino attempt
to burn Manila, several days ago was
known. that the destruction of prop
erly might be made an excuse for
msddling, by Germany or other for
eiyn powers Or combination ofpow-
ers. Long-headed men believe that
there Is greater danger of a war with
Germany now, than there was at any
time while the war with Spain was
going on, and should their fears be
realized, Congress would at once
have to be called in extra session.
The minority Senators claim that
they won a great victory in the new
Army bill, but the more the new bill
is examined, the less substantial that
claim appears. 1t looks more like a
bunco than victory. The admins
tratiOn Senators have secured from
the minority about everything that
the Hull bill would have given them
a I'd have escaped an extra session of
G ngress, which everybody knows
TIC administration dreaded. True,
the new Army bill only provides for
tue increase of men for two years
from next July, but that amounts to
nothing when it il remembered that
a majority of both Houses of the
next Congress will give the admins
trstion any additional army lOgisl'-
ten ii may ask for.
A speech made by Senator Sewell,
who is always an administration man
when it comes to voting, has attract
ed considerable attention. He sx-
pressed regret that Dewey should
have remained at Manila AFTER his
great victory, and that we should
have undertaken to control the
Philippines, which hs said contained
q population of ten million person
who are almost uncomfortable. He
said that we must now make the best
OF the situation, and that if he was
President he would send enough
troops to make short work Of the |
even to the extent of wip-
ing them out entirely, if they could |
be paclhed in no other way. He pre-
dicted that this government would
find it impossible to satisfy the Gu
bans, and that it ws only question
Of time when We would have war
with them. And he intimated that
thu Cuban Junta was as likely to have
been responsible for Me blowing up
Of the Maine a Spain was. The
speech would have caused = sensation
uttered by any Senator, but the e.
feet was heightened by Senator Sew.
ella close relation with the admins
tration.
The Senate passed the River and
Harbor bill, with the Nicara qua Can
al amendment, with only three dis
senting votes-Pettigrew, Rawlins
AMI Teller, and friends of the Canal
in the House say that they have