The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-04-20
FROM THE CAPITAL.
Our Correspondent Talks in
General About Wash
ington.
WASHINGTON,
(CoInmunicated).
April 16. 1900.


Representatives are wrangling
fearfully over the plums made
available by the Porto Rico Act,
which goes into effect May l.
Nearly everyone of them is grab
bling after at least one of the big
gest and juiciest of these plums
for a constituent and they are
making Mr.. Mckinley very
weary by their persistency. The
selection of Mr.. G. Ii. Allen to
be Governor was entirely per-
sonal on the part of Mr.. McKin-
ley, just as the same gentleman
was personally chosen by Secre-
tary Long to be Assistant Secre-
tary of the Navy when "Teddy"
Roosevelt resigned that Office to
become a rough rider. If some
of the men who are after the
other places over there succeed in
getting them, Mr.. Allen will
have to keep his eyes wide open
to prevent his administration of
the affairs of the island getting
into the breakers of scandal.
1t is little puzzling to under,
stand why the administration is
preventing action on the Nicara-
qua Canal Bill at this session of
Congress, but perfectly plain that
it is doing so, through its agents in
both House and Senate. There
is something behind the desire to
postpone this legislation, which
has been endorsed by all the pc
litical parties and by the public
sentiment of the country as well.
OF course, Mr.. Mckinley is not
openly antagOnizing the Canal
bill, but it was administration
Senator's who voted down Sena-
tor MOrgan's motion to take up
the Canal bill, and it has been
administration Representatives
who have headed off Representa-.
tive Hepburn's several attempts
to get a date set for it's consider
alton by the House.
Nothing could more surely show
the steady increase of public SEN
timent in favor of the election of
Senators by direct vote of the
people, than the adoption by the
House of resolution proposing
constitutional amendment for so
electing Senators, by vote of
240 to ID. A similar resolution
has been adopted by the House
in previous Congress but not by
such a large vote. Whether the
Senate will respond to public SEN
timent by adopting the resolu-
ton is yet to be seen, but it is
doubtful.
.It,is bad enough for paid lob
byists to engage in manufactur,
ing public sentiment in favor of
or against pending legislation in
Congress, but it is infinitely
worse for bureau of the govern
ment TO engage in such business.
The Interstate Commerce Com
mission has been sending out
thousands of circular letters,
printed and mailed at public ex-
pense, asking that letters be writ
ten to Senators and Representa-
tives to make them support the
Cullom bill, for the enlargement
of the power of that commission.
The exposure of this official lob
bying has caused a sensation in
Congress, and it ought to cause
the summary dismissal of every
official who either participated
therein or cOuntenanced it; but
MIR. McKinley's back bone is hard
ly equal to such heroic treatment
of the case.
A bill to make more Republi-
can patronage, which can be util-
lied in the coming campaign, has
been re Orted from the House
Census Committee. 1t provides
for the creation of Census
Printing Office, with a superinten-
dent at 81, 800 a year, and large
force of printers and book binders.
In previous censuses, this work
has been done at the government
printing Office, and there is no
other reason than greed for more
patronage on the part of Repub-
licans why it should not be done
there for this census.
Under orders from the Repub.
llcan bosses, who wish to keen
down the total of appropriations
at this session of Congress, the
House Military Committee,
which had previously agreed to
increase the annual appropriation
for the support of the National
Guard of the States to $4,000, .
600, has reduced the amount to
81, 900, 900.
Only one Democrat in Con.
gress is publicly supporting AID.
miral Dewey for the Democratic
nomination for President. That
is Representative Levy, of New
York, who is a very nice gentle
man, but who has not been rec.
Ognized as one of the Democratic