Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-01-06


Newspapers Vince on Taking Their Own
Medicine = Asuinaldo's Psr;idy-Senator
Perkins Opposed to Expansion.
WAsHINGToN, Dec 80, 1898
The administration is not so cock
sure as it was that its bill for the in
crease and reorganization of the rrgu
lar army, which, if it becomes law
will increase our military expenditures,
including pensions, to an amount
largely exceeding that paid by any
European government to maintain a
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-
come more than suspicion that the
carrying out of the recent decision to
muster out SO, 900 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 passage
OF the bill certain, and i. may be i'm
possible to obtain those pledges, as
strong en- dorsement 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 administra ton 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 Senator
Morrill,, of Vermont, who died in
Washington, this week, and whose
funeral will be held in the Senate
chamber tomorrow was hardly cold
before the wires were being pulled to
get DIR. 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 Morrill's death, ap-
pointed to succeed him This scheme
will he watched with much interest,
particularly as it has teen boast of
Vermonters that the State has never
had rich Senator. Perhaps the Van
derbilt who owns Bil.mOre," in North
Carolina, also has an eye on the
Senate.
1t strikes the average man who has
no prejudice in the matter that the
protection editors whose papers are
among the 157 dailies which comprise
the American Newspaper Publishers
Association were very illogical when
they signed an argument. to be pre-
sented to the Anglo-American Joint
High Commission, asking that news
paper, which now has a duty OF Sc q
ton, and that mechanically ground
wood pulp, which now has duty Of
$1.67 ton, be admitted from Canada
free Of duty. The argument goes Oh
to say that the duty on paper and
wood pulp acts solely for the benefit of
the paper trust, which is unquestion-
ably true, just as the duty on many
other things acts for the benefit OF
other trusts, the most of which could
not possibly exist under free trade.
For a protection paper to ask for free
trade for the paper it buys and high
tariff on things which Others buy is
equivalent to man saying, "tread on
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
selfshness, and that if free trade in
paper and pulp is good thing, it
must be equally good in everything
else. 1t has been the favoring of par
ticular interests that has Disguised so
many with every protective tariff 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 allow
ing one man that privilege and deny.
ing it to another. Equality before the
law-the only real equality possible
in any country-is the cornerstone of
free government. Every man that
lessons it weakens free government.
1t seems from the reports of
Gen. Otis that Aguinaldo will be I'M
able to hold his government together
long enough to be officially asked to
step down and out by Gen. Otis. His
Cabinet has resigned and he has not
been able to form another, but that is
no reason why good enough govern
ment for the Philippines would not be
formed from the educated and we'll
TODD natives, il this government chooses
to lend hand in doing so. Aguin-
aldo is an adventurer, who was
priests servant only few years ago,
and who has been seeking only his
own gain, not the welfare OF the
islands. He and several others of a
kind sold out the Philippine insur-
gents for sum in Spanish gold and
then Aguinaldo stole the money from
his fellow traitors.
Senator Perkins, of California, says
he intends voting against the ratifica-
ton of the treaty of peace, unless in
structed by the legislature of his State
to vote for it. He said further: "I
have very strong convictions on this
subject, and am not endeavoring to
draw an unnecessarily dark picture
when I say that a general reaction
against expansion is now going on all
over the country, and before great
while we will be brought face TO face
with a realization of the fact that
we have more momentous problems to
solve right here at home, without
going to the far-of Philippines, in
search of material with which to estab.
lish q colonial policy. 1 am quite
sure that other Republican Senators
are as much opposed to the policy of
expansion, as announced by the Presi-
dent, as l am. / am convinced that
the more our practical business men
ponder the subject, the more they will
be impressed with the belief that we