The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-25
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POLITICAL NOTES AND GOSSIP.

Never Net"es.-A wild Story appears
/ to have gained some currency in the West
to the effect that President mckinley. not
being unmindful of his splaln duty" mes
sage will veto the Oxnardized Porto Ricau
Tariff bill if that measure is forced upon
the country by Congress. Il is supposed
that this story is due to two causes. One
! is the unwillingness Of the editors Of the
! Republican papers to believe il to be pos
/ Sible that the President could forget his
plain duty" message. The other is that
: they do not know that the amiabe Mr..
! Mckinley never has exercised the veto
prerOgative either while he was Governor
/ Of Ohio or since he has been President.
That is TO say, Mr.. Mckinley is famed for
trusting to the superior wisdom Of his
party in all circumstances Not even
( private pension bll-usually the fruitful
/ source Of Executive disapproval-hds been
vetoed by the present very affable OcCu-
: pant Of the White House. other Presi-
dents have slaughtered these measures by
/ the wholesale. Particularly was this true
Of Mr.. Cleveland and General Harrison
So also did these gentlemen veto import
ant pieces Of legislation enaCtments of
more or less political as we'll as national
! imPortance-sent to them by Congress
And the historian already has recorded
that the firm. clear-headed, and conscien-
| tious General Harrison served only one
term as President and that the courageous
and stiff- necked Mr.. Cleveland was de-
| feated in his second race though he re
trieved himself sufficiently to be again
elected after the lapse Of four years. But
these statesmen had trouble with their
parties-a thing to which Mr.. Mckinley
Is very much averse. Indeed, so 3reat a
lover of peace is this genial and mild
hammered gentleman that it is a foregone
conclusion he is willing to sacrifice ',plain
duty to the eXigencies of party harmony.
Wherefore. il is certain that tariff law
against Porto Rico will be enacted as soon
( as the able and astute Senators are ready
to cease their dilatory tactics in behalf
Of various special interests that are de-
handing free trade and it is equally as
certain that this tariff Law will receive
the approving signature of Mr.. Mckinley,
whose party in Congress Is harmonious
for such a law whatever may be the
threa tening conditions in the party out
side OF Congress. Mr.. Mckinley will live
in history as the no-veto President.
A. t" "Plots."-Henry watterson-
"Alarse Henry" as the Kentuckians call
him when he is not fighting the Democracy
through his ewspaper-seems to be a
marked man in more senses than one. Not
since he entered an eloquent and moving
plea to be taken back into the fold has he
been able to do or say anything that has
not been construed by somebody as evil
deuce OF a dark plot to betray the cause Of
himetallism and cruelty the Hon. William
Jennings Bryan upon a cross Of gold. |
When "Marse Henry" was in Washington |
last week he expressed himself being |
very unhappy over these various reports |
concerning his intentions and talked as if |
he felt like going back to his beloved but |
somewhat distracted Kentucky and hiding |
himself from the gaze of man. He went |
from here TO New York. and no sooner did |
he land in that town than he was pounced |
upon by clamorous horde OF reporters |
who piled him with all sorts Of questions /
As to what he is doing against Mr.. Bryan 1
and the present organization Of the Demo- |
cratic party. To all Of these questions he |
made reply indicating that he is deeply |
wounded TO be placed under the ban Of sus-
p'cion, and that he is only too anxious TO |
let politics alone il politics will let him |
alone. One Of the enterprising newspapers
Of Gotham even goes so far as to declare |
that "Marse Henry is now in New York
for the sole purpose Of plotting the undoing /
Of Chairman Jones. Of the Democratic Ma
tiCn3l Committee. as the first move in the
conspiracy to undo Mr.. Bryan. Poor
Marse Henry almost wept while denying
this story and denouncing il as a cruel and /
unjust reflection upon his sincerity
Taking Mean AdVantHge.-Con-
certed effort is being made by the Repub.
licans to have il appear that the Kentucky
Democrats. who are now trying to peace
ably dispossess Taylor. the usurper, have
broken faith BY declining to carry the liti-
CATION through the Federal courts up 20 |
the Supreme Court. The Kentucky Repub- |
lican leaders now in this city are claim
ing that the Democrats coyenanted with /
them at the Louisville peace conference to
submit the dispute TO the Federal courts
for final adjudication and also to repeal
the GOebel law. II is distinctly recalled !
that the Democrats repudiated every part
Of the agreement reached a the confer
ence held in Louisville between repre-
seutatives Of Taylor and Peekham a day or
two after Goebel's death. II is true that
the conference arrived at terms that We're
suitable to those who participated in it,
but these terms never were ratified by the
representatives of either side
Taylor held out against them strenuously.
and positively refused to sign the so-called
peace treaty. II is unwrirten history that
il Taylor had signed the agreement the
Democratic State Committee would have
been called together Immediately and re
pudiated the agreement. The fact is that
Senator Blackburn and the other Demo-
Gratis who participated in the Louisville
conference had no formal authority or
even request TO meet in conference for any 1
such purpose. Furthermore. Senator |
Blackburn. and those who acted with him. |
have been roundly abused by the Goebel |
leaders for having gone into the affair AMI
for attempting to bind the party 70 such a
hard bargain. Until Taylor's representa-
riyes came to Washington this week. no
body had regarded the Louisville peace | .
treaty as anything more than an express
sion of a number of gentlemen unofically
both parties in an effort to
reach an early and peaceful settlement of
very unhappy condition of affairs in Ken
lucky The conference agreement is bind
ng on nobody and the efforts of the Tay-
orites 10 make it, appear differently is re
,arded only as desperate resort to
methods which they believe will arouse
ympathy for them in influential quarters
Mr. Drake. Of Texas. The seDsa-
ional troubles in the Republican party Of I,
texas at present are typical Of the history a
4 Republicanism in that State-the big Z
.est Democratic State in the Union The =
'exas Republicans have no fixed principles ~
S the old Southern Republicans Of the car
et-bag type have no fixed residences In q
'exas the Republicans who are In a noisy. n
n -colored and ridiculous minority. have =
ried every sort OF fusion for years to no I
fleet In 1892 when there was a split In D.
he Texas Democratic ranks they allied d
themselves with the followers Of George N
lar the bolter. and deprived the indie 81
aDdaut movement of whatever rasDecta- n