The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1901-02-02
what The Republicans WIN Do.


A letter to the Editors of The ADVOCATE
from Washington, D. c., thus outlines the
the action Of the Republican Congress.
Read it.
The shrewdness of the Hanna Mckinley
bluff in the Senate by antagonizing approprl-
alton bills with the Ship Subsidy bill cannot
be denied. Having determined that there
shall be an extra session of Congress anyway,
they could afford to make this bluff. Ii they
succeed in getting the subsidy steal through
by It. they will dodge the charge OF arranging
a. he extra session Just to get it through; if
The subsidy bill fails to get through, it may
also preyent some of the regular appropra-
ton bills from getting through, thus furnish
ing other reasons for the extra session than
Mr.. McKinley's sudden desire to have Con-
qress provide form of civil government for
the Philippines and his anxiety lest the Gu
hans should have to wait few months for
Congressional action on the constitution they
are now making. Unless all signs are wrong,
there is some partisan devilry behind this
extra session plan. 1t is easily conceivable
that if the Republicans intend to do some
partisan legislatng in the Fifty seventh Con
gress, for the purpose OF perpetuatlng them
selves in power, they would prefer doing it
sion. which will not close until few months
before the next Congressional campaign.
The large Republican majority IN both
branches Of the next Congress will be great
temptation to a certain class of their leaders
to indulge in partisan legislation.
There are indications that the Republicans
are going to try 10 do in the next Congress
what they we're afraid TO do in connection
with the Reapportionment bill passed by the
present Congress-peke their fingers into the
internal affairs of those Southern States that
have by Constitutional provision cnrtaiied
negro suffrage. Enough was said when the
credentials OF Senatorelect Summons, OF N.
c., we're presented to the Senate TO show that
an attempt is to be made in the next Con-
gress to get the matter before Congress by
Directing TO the seating of Senator'S from the
States that have restricted suffrage-North
Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi and
Louisiana Whether the attempt will sue
coed will depend upon the support it gets from
the more conservative Republicans, many OF
whom have said in private conversations that
they we're opposed to any agitation ol This
sort in Congress, and would have favored the
suffrage restrictions had they lived in the
States tina. have adopted them Democratic
Senators will TO a man oppose any and every
move to question the right OF Senator's from
the four above ndultd Suites ~ tdhc tUtii
seats in the next Congress.
The House Judiciary committee by vote
of 10 to adopted resolution, declaring that
Representative Richardson, of Alabama, is
only entitled to draw salary from August 6,
1900 the date OF his election 10 fill the va
cancy made by the resignation of Gen. Joe
Wheeler. If sanctioned by the House, as II
probably will be, this decision will serve as
precedent 1t has been contended by some
that Mr.. Richardson salary should date back
10 the day Gen. Wheeler resigned and by
others that it should date from March 4. 1899,
the beginning of the Fifiy-sixth Congress.
Senator Turner, of Washington, in speech
against the Ship Subsidy bill, characterized
it as vicious in its principle and absurd in its
extravaganza; one-quarter government pater-
nalism and three-quarters lawess, plraticai
raid upon the public treasury, its principal
purpose being to enrich few private indi-
viduals, by giving $270, 600, 900 Of public
money to one favored industry. Mr. Turner
called particular attention to the fact that in
stead of operating for twenty years, as gener-
ally supposed, at a cost of $780, 900, the
bill, if il became a law, would operate for
thirty years and cost $270, 900, 900.
Although the Ship Subsidy bill is not before
the House, Representative Thayer, OF Mass,
took advantage of the wide latitude allowed
in the discussion of appropriation bills to make
a strong speech against it, bristling with CON-
mon sense arguments showing that the meas
IRE would not result in building up our iner-
chant marine, and concluding with these words:
sIf the American Merchant Marine is to be
revived and rehabilitated so as to take
prominent and commanding position among
the nations of the world, il will be done in
some other way than by the temporary in
toxicant provided by the provisions of this
bill, and we have no moral right, even if we
were constrained by no other consideration,
to tax 75,000,000 people that we may bestow
a bounty upon seven companies or corpora
TONS"
1t is now admitted by Treasury officials that
the greater portion of the taxes imposed
nominaly to meet the expenses of the war
with Spain, but really to make up the deficit
that would have existed long before now on
account of the prohibitive nature of many
sections of the Dingley tariff act, will be per-
manent, because of the increasing public ex
penditures and the decreasing income from
customs duties. Some prominent Repubi-
cans are openly advocating the lowering of
tariff duties to increase the revenue, but the
rockribbed high protectionsis, of whom Mr..
Mckinley is one of the chief high priests, will
not consent to that as long as they have the
power to prevent it. So the people can make
up their minds to pay the war taxes, not cut
by the bill now before the Senate for at least
four years more.