The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1900-03-08
EIOquence in Washington.

WASHINGTON, March 7, 19OO.-The
republican leaders of the House are
still shaking from the fright given
them by their narrow escape from a
humiliating defeat on the Porto Rico
tariff bill. The fgurative sack
cloth and ashes of Ash Wednesday
came very near to being real for
them on that day. They amended
the bill by reducing the tariff from
p to Is per cent, which Representa-
tive Berry aptly said merely chang
ed the crime from grand to petty
larceny, and by limiting its operation
to two years, which was an acknowl-
edgement that the whole principle
of the bill was wrong one, and then
they could not get the votes needed
to pass it without resortlng to every
known form of political bull-dozing
and cajoiery. Had the republicans
Of the House voted their real senti-
ments, the bill would have been de-
feated by more than a two-thirds
vote lnstead of being passed by a
vote of 172 to 161. The Constitution
al question involved in this bill will
not down. 1t will be heard when
the bill is taken up in the Senate,
and it will be heard all during the
coming Presidential campaign, and
like other great questions, will never
be settled until it is settled right.
Senator Aldrlch explained the
gold standard bill agreed upon by
the Conference Committee, to the
Senate, but he did not attempt the
impossible task of defending the
measure, which ought to be officially
entitled "a bill to put money in the
pockets of the rich at the expense of
the poor"
Within "a hours Of the time that
the House was passing the bill to
rob the poor Porto Ricans by i'm
posing duty upon the products they
have to sell the Senate was taking
the first step towards making Hawaii
State, by passing the bill provld-
ing territorial government for
Hawaii. If there is any logical
reason for making this unjust dis
tinction between prosperous Hawaii
and half-starved Porto Rico, it has
been carefully concealed from the
public.
The House Military Committee
has endorsed two pet schemes of the
administration to provide promotion
for favorites-that to give the Adju-
tant General Of the army the rank,
pay and allowances of major-general,
which will be in the nature of a re-
ward to Gen. Corbin for his subservi-
ency to Alger, and his underhand
attacks upon Gen. Miles, his superior
officer; and that authorizing the
President to select retired brigad-
Ter general for promotion to major
general, which is intended to give
Gen. Shafter the difference between
the pay and emoluments of brigad-
Ter general and major general, re-
tired, as reward for the Cuban
campaign, the greater part Of which
he spent lying IN hammock.
Funny" old world.
Representative Bailey, Of Texas,
made the closing speech on the demo-
cratic side against the Porto Rico
tariff bill, and 1t was powerful
plea for the maintenance of the Con-
stitution as it's trainers intended it to
be, maintained. His last words,
which were received with uproar-
ious applause by the democrats
aud the occupants of the galleries,
were: "When emotional statesmen
were asking who would haul down
the flag, I dared to say that would
take it down from any place where
the Constitution could not follow it.
Do you desire to present the anomaly
of government restrained by the
Constitution in one quarter of the
globe, and possessed of despotic
power In the rest of the world? How
long is the Constitution to shield us
and our children If it's protection is
withheld from the humblest inhabi-
tant? Let me borrow the words of
Lincoln: This republic cannot en-
dure one-half free and one-half
slave. We must all be citizens, or
In TINA ua fnnat all ha suhtacta r