Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-05-26
WILL NOT LET GO.
THE REED Committeeman
WANT TO HOLD OVER.
The Political Outlook all that is to Be Desired
Organization to Increase the Pension Ap.
preparations Don't Want Goldbus Demo
Gratis at the Pic Counter-Frcsh Conduct Of
Young Office holders in Booming the Dewey
Residence Fund.-
From our Regular Correspondent.

FROM our heSuiar correspondent.
WASHINGTON, May 10, 1899.
II the scheme of the Reed chairmen
of the most important committees of
the last House to keep their places
under the new organization Of the
House is success, the next Speaker
will find that he is merely at the head
of the old Reed legislative machine.
The argument put forth by these
schemers is little short of ridiculous.
If accepted, it would mean that every
man at the head OF an important COM
mittee had right to stay there as
long as he could get elected and his
party could control the House. Such
a plan would be unjust to the Speaker,
who would be little more than fig
urehead, If he could not control the
makeup of the committees, and
equally unjust to the members who
wish to better their committee posi-.
tons. The Reed machine says that
all the old chairmen who were re-elect-
ed should be given the same places,
and points to fourteen vacant chair
manships, owing to retirement of the
old chairmen, AS the only ones that
the new Speaker should put new men
into; also that none of the members
of important committees should be
displaced. That would give the new
Speaker fourteen chairmanships, only
four OF which are important-Ac-
counts, Banking and Currency, Coin
age, and Printing-to distribute
among his supporters, and 81 vacan-
cies to fill on eighteen OF the import.
,, ant committees. 1t is said that these
holdovers intsnd to form a combine to
prevent the election of any candidate
who will not agree to their plans.
Representative De Vries, who will
have the honor of being the only DEM
ocrat from California in the next
House, is in Washington. He Gays
the Governor is going to appoint
Burns to the Senate, with the under
standing that he is to be seated at the
same time Quay gets in, and that the
appointment will give the State to the
Democrats.
General Joe Wheeler returned to
Washington this week. but not upon
any order from the War Department.
He has no immediate expectations of
being ordered to the Philippines, be-
cause the administration is too busy
hoping that the fighting is over to be
thinking or ordering officers to 60
there.
Representative Gaines, OF 'Tennes-
see. 10 in Washington on business.
Speaking of the political outlook he
said: "Ths Democrats have only to
stand firm, re-nominate Bryan, make
some additions to the Chicago plat
form, and they will sweep the country
in 1900. Bryan's denomination is as
sured, for he is just As much admired
in the strongholds of the party ~ he
was in '96. The next platform will
declare for free silver, but will also de-
clare against expansion. militarism,
aud the trusts, which threaten the de-
struction of the nation. What makes
the prospect all the brighter for the
Democracy is the torn and divided
state OF the Republicans. When Con.
gress meets and the majority tries to
enact iron-clad gold-standard legisla.
ton, it will find out the true senti-
ment of the country on the financial
question"
Representative Henderson's candi-
dacy for the Speakership may be hurt
more than helped by the work that is
being done in his behalf by the old
soldier organizations, which are asking
votes for him on the ground that he
will organize the committees of the
House 80 rs to ensure more liberal
pension legislation. 1t would seem to
an unprejudiced observer that the
country has already gone to the ex-
treme limit in the matter of pension
liberality, and the election of a
Speaker who would favor going further
in that direction would be regarded as
ANYTHING else than blessing outside
of those who would receive the money
or be directly benefited by further
increase in the already enormous pen
sion payments annually made by this
government.
Kentucky Republicans were per- !