The Opelousas courier., 1900-05-05
Washington, d. g., News.
From Our Regular Correspondent
Washington, April 30, 1900.

AlnIGy ddmInlSLfatl0n, ln6 eAulDl-
ton of which disgusted so many
Americans during the weeks which
Immediately preceded the wal
with Spain, is again in full view
of the world. The present exhi-
bitten is connected with our rela-
tions with Turkey. Only a few
days ago, all of the well-known
disseminators of semi-official news
in Washington, were singing a
song Of jing0ism and filling the
newspaper men with thrilling sto-
rles of She red hot demand the
administration had made upon
the Sultan Of Turkey, to settle
these long standing missionary
claims at once, and intimating
that if the sponduliX was not at
once Forthcoming, an American
feet would be sent into Turkish
waters to forcibly collect it. These
stories were duly sent out, but
they didn't fire the country even
a tiny bit, the people not being in
a jingo humor. But they did
something else. They brought an
intimation from Russia, in the po-
litest diplomatic language that
there were reasons which made it
incumbent upon Russia to OBJ
ject to any fOrcible collection of
claims from the Sultan. That
threw Secretary Hay into blue
funk, almost as bad as would have
followed a snubbing by an Eng
lish lerd, and straightway the yell
low streak in the administration
backbone was uncovered, to add
to the gaiety Of nations and to the
humiliation Of Americans, and the
official announcement made that
this government had at no time
intended to go beyond diplomatic
insistance in trying to make the
Sultan pay that claim. A famous
American wit once commented
upon an exhibition of yellow
streak by public man, by saying:
"Ged Almighty hates GUTTER"
and it is we'll known to every OBJ
serving man that the American
people also hate gutter.
The Senate seems to be pretty
nearly unanimous, in one thing at
least-that the U. S. Senate has
no authority to investigate State
Legislatures qualification to elect
a q. S. Senator. Although the
temptation to go behind the ac-
ton of the West Virginia Legis-
lature which elected Nathan B.
Scott to the Senate was great,
there being plenty Of evidence
of crookedness, only three Sena-
tors-Pettus and Morgan Of Ala,
and Turner of Wash, voting for
the melton of Senator Pettus to
send the resolution declaring
Scett entitled to his seat back to
Committee with instructions to
further investigate his election.
Senator Allen rebuked Senator
Chandler for his apparent anxi-
ETY. to railroad the resolution re-
ported from the Elections Com
mittee, declaring Senator Clark,
of Montana, not entitled to his
seat through the Senate when he
said every man must realize
that it is asking a good deal of
anyone who occupies place in
this chamber to take the mere
conclusions of committee, with
cut an opportunity of reading the
evidence upon which these con-
clusions are based. / am not in
terested in this case one way or
the other, but the Senate cannot
expect to dispose of it IN two or
three days when it has taken the
Committee three months to hear
witnesses and reach judgment.
That would be ridiculous in any
tribunal. It is strongly believed
that the resignation of Senator
Clark will make a vote unnecessa-
ry on this resolution, although he
still declines to talk. for publica-
ttign.
amocratic Senators have de-
cided that the army re-organiza-
tion bill contains SO many ebjec-
tionable features that they will
not allow it to go through the
Senate, and notice to that effect
has been served on the Republi-
cans. Among the striking fea-
lures of the army bill are provis-
ions for making Gen. Miles Lieu
tenant General (put in to catch
Democratic votes) and General
Cerbin Major General for the
increase of the regular army and
for doubling the number of Ca
diets to West Point. Senator Jenes,
of Ark, the Democratic lead
er, who never minces words when
he has anything to say,4declared
the army bill to be full of rascali-
ty.
The Republican leaders will al
low the Nicaragua canal bill to
pass the House this week, simply
because they saw that they could
not prevent it, but their pres
ent programme is to hang it up
in the Senate, for fear that its