Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1900-01-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent

Washington, Dec. 30, 1899.
The most notable thing about the pres.
ent attitude OF the Hanna Mckinley ma
chine is it's apparent recklessness in
arranging for legislation that will result
in the extravagant expenditure OF publ;
money. They seem tc take it for granted
that the people are too dazed to see
through their schemes, one OF the most
costly Of which is the ship.subsidy job,
which is to be started with an appropria-
ton Of $100,O0O,000, to be disbursed in
ten years. This job was endorsed by Mr..
Mckinley in his message, and by the re.
publican national committee at it's recent
meeting, and it is to push it along that
Assistant Postmaster General Perry
Heath and Conn troller Of Currency Dawes
have been selected so long in advance Of
the campaign, and in absolute defiance OF
the civil service law. to prepare literature
to be distributed by the national COM
mittee. The principal duty Of this re-
publican literary bureau for several
months will be to try to fill republican
papers with demands for the passage OF
the ship-subsidy bill by congress, in order
that the weakened republicans in con-
gress, who are disposed to balk on this
subsidy business, may be made to believe
that the press Of their party is demand.
ing the legislation. If this job goes
through congress, and is signed by Mr..
Mckinley, it ought to and probably will
make thousands Of democratic votes in
the presidential campaign. And that
isn't the only contemplated job. In fact,
it looks as though the Hanna-McKinley
machine, in its reckleesness to spend
public money in the interest Of its ia
vored supporters, would furnish first
class lot Of vote.making democratic cam
paign material.
Boss Plat has already half won his
fight against Secretary Root as tn, nomi.
nee for vice president on the Mckinley
ticket, as Boss Hanna has publicly said
that there was no disposition to force Mr..
Root on the ticket, if he was not accepta-
BILE to the New York delegation. BIT
Plat is not to have everything his e n
way, and it is practically certain that he
will not be able to get his man, Timothy
Woodruff, on the ticket. Hanna played
a strong anti-Platt card when he got a
boom started for Cornelius Bliss, who
was Mr.. McKinley's first secretary Of the
interior, and who is every bit as objec.
tionable to Plat as Root. And he dropped
a hint for Plat when he said that if New
York wanted the second place ON the
ticket, it would have to present united
delegation at the convention; otherwise
the nomination would 90 to some other
state. Already. Attorney General Griggs
has miniature boom.
That Mr.. Mckinley does not regard bis
reelection as an assured thing may be
judged from the fact that he has already
partially made arrangements for an
cross.the.continent stamping tour, sim
liar to the one he made last fall. The
excuse is to be the launching OF the bat
tleship Ohio, at San Francisco, which il
to take place some time in September Of
October. Mr.. Mckinley will attend the
launching on a special train, going by
one route and returning by another, and
will make rear.platform speeches wher'
ever the party managers may consider
them necessary. Similar trips are to bt
made to the New England states. all o.
which shows that Mr.. Mckinley ISM
expecting the walk-over that less shrewd
members Of his party are predicting.
The administration has refused to order
Gen. Wheeler either to remain In the