The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-27
POLITICAL NOTES AND GOSSIP.

A Rumored NcssaEe.-It Is being
quietly whispered around the corridors of
the Capitol that the President is preparing
a special message TO Congress, covering
the whole subject of the Administration S
colonial policy. Presumably Mr.. McKin-
ley believes this TO be the safest course to
! pursue now. In neither end of the Capt.
tol have any of his party's leaders shown
themselves capable Of setting forth to the
| country in satisfactory manner the Admin
istration's position and intentions. Innu-
merable members of the House have taken
a whack at it, but have only made mess
of it. as revealed by the powerful logic OF
the Hon. Charles f. Littlefield of Maine, to
say nothing of the telling assaults made
| by the Democratic leaders Of the House.
In the Senate Mr.. Beveridge undertook,
more than a month ago, TO exploit the Ad-
ministration's policy. but the position ne
/ defined has been repudiated by several OF
his Republican colleagues, Mr.. Wolcott
making the first attack upon it. Since Mr..
/ Beveridge's failure Mr. Foraker, Mr..
/ Spooner, Mfr. Perkins. and Mr.. Fairbanks
1 have tried their hands at the explaining
! business all to no effect. The Oxnard bill
/ is the lion in the path Of all OF these gen
/ tlemen. and the burly Senator Tillman has
| put TO route all OF the defenders of the
party's policy. Mr. McKinley's rumored
! intention to send a communication on the
subject Of the insular possessions is taken
! as an indication of the realization on his
part Of the necessity Of an ADLER and
/ clearer defence of his policy than has yet
| been made II is said that he will give the
| reasons that induced him to repudiate his
/ plain duty" message of December, and
( use the great power of his office to coerce
| timid members OF the House into support
/ OF the Oxnard bill. If the message is sent
! it will mark one of the most peculiar pro-
/ ceedings ever taken by an occupant OF the
! White House, and will be evidence that
| there is more uneasiness in the party coun-
! ellis at present than the Mckinley mana
gers are willing to admit publicly.
sim DiscouraGed.-The St. Louis
Worlds Fair boomers continue to be very
unhappy. Though they have finally in
duced Speaker Henderson to treat them
with the poor courtesy of appointing spe-
cial committee to look into the project, yet
the special committee has never held a
meeting, and its chairman, Representative
Tawney Of Minnesota. has gone away from
Washington to save himself from destruc-
lion at home for the part he took in fore
ing upon the party the Oxnard Porto Rican
bill. Then. again, Speaker Henderson put
upon the committee six Republicans and
only three Democrats-an unusual. indeed,
an unprecedented partisan predOminanCe in
constituting a committee charged with
such purely nom partisan duties. Until Mr.
Tawney returns there can be no meeting
of the committee. and as business in Min
! rt,af,1 i'm her
eral weeks, it is evident that the St Louis
Worlds Fair bill will be delayed until the
end Of the session is in sight. Speaker
Henderson placed upon the committee the
Hon. Charles Felicity Joy. one of the Re-
publican Representatives from St Louis,
who occasionally visits the House but Mr..
joy is so far down on the list OF members
that he cannot hope to WELD much inf1u-
ence in shaping the required legislation.
II grows more evident every day that the
Speaker for some ineXplcable reason. is
opposed to the St. Louis project, and that
the enterprise will have to be abandoned
unless the Federal aid asked is granted at
this session of Congress. It is the first
time in the history Of such affairs that 50
many obstacles have been thrown in the
way by Congress. The States comprised
within the Louisiana Purchase, the cen
tenniai Of which It is desired to celebrate
at St. Louis in 1903, have seventy-one
members in the House and thirty in the
Senate. This is nearly one-fOurth OF the
joint membership Of Congress, and it
would seem that this large proportion
ought 20 be able to exert more influence in
the National Legislature than is manifest
ed by the slow progress made by the st.
Louis bill. There can be no politics in the
enterprise. unless 1t is that the railroads
and other influences Of the Northwest are
afraid of the effect upon that section CT the
country should those States make exhibits
Of their resources alongside Of exhibits
from the naturally rich but poorly devel-
oped States of the Southwest. II is init
mated that this is what causes Speaker
Henderson and other representatives OF
the Northwestern States to show such N
apparent lack of interest in the fair.