The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-04-26
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, d. c., April 22nd.

WASHINGTON, ID. c., April 22nd.
MIR. EDIToR:-Mr. Mckinley, having
talked the matter over fully with General
| Wood, will receive the Committee from
the Cuban Constitutional Convention, but
it will be in cut-it short this is my busy
| day manner, which will show them at
once that he is more intent upon his comm g
pleasure trip than upon hearing their re-
quests for impossibiities. He cannot
change an Act of Congress, and he will
bluntly tell the Cubans so and that is
about all he will tell them, unless his in
tentions have been misrepresented by
those who ought to know them.
The cablegrams given out at the War
Department as coming from Gen. Mac
Arthur, concerning the stealing from the
Commissary department in Manila, do not
square with either press news or private
advices. According to the former there
have only been few cases of petty lar
ceny, while the latter agree in insisting
that there has been a wholesale campaign
Of looting, and hint that more effort is
being made to protect the hooters than to
uncover the stealing and punish the
thieves, although few arrests have been
made. Of course, no one can say to a
certainty which is right or nearest right,
but on the general principle that those
who are disinterested are most apt to tell
the truth the press and private cablegrams
naturally find the greatest number of be-
levers.
Judge Lambert Tree, of Illinois, who
prides himself on being an old fashioned
democrat, is visiting Washington, where,
by the way, he was born. Asked about
political conditions in Illinois, Judge Tree
said: Il do not see that there are any
striking developments in the democratic
politics of Illinois. This is period of
evolution, but at present everything seems
to be quiescent. There are many ques-
tions to be looked into between now and
the next national campaign Having
served as United States Minister to Russia
Judge Tree is naturally much interested
in the part Russia is playing in the Chinese
game and has some decidedly pointed
opinions on the subject, but not for pub
LEGATION.
Judge Winter, of Alabama, who is in
Washington on legal business, said on a
subject in which the whole country is
interested: "The people of Alabama would
build bonfres and celebrate if the next
Congress should pass bill for the con
struction of an Isthmian canal We have
been discouraged by the developments of
the last few months, and sometimes feel
that it will be many years before the work
on the canal is begun. prophesy if a
canal is ever completed decade will suf-
flee to make Alabama greater State than
Pennsylvania now is.
1t is little early to begin the work of
making the next republican candidate for
president, but notice has already been
publicly served upon the anti Hanna re-
publicans that the votes of the South in
the next republican national convention
would be given to the candidate favored
by MI. Mckinley. The notice was served
by Judge J. W. Dimmick, federal office
holder and national committeeman from
Alabama, who is now in Washington
One sentence of Aguinaldo's recently
published manifesto, acknowledging
American sovereignty of the Philippines
and calling upon the Filipinos to cease
resistance to American authority, has
aroused more or less speculation and curl
osity in Washington 1t is that in which
he refers to the yearnings of the Filipino
people Ito see their dear ones enjoying
the liberty and promised generosity of the
great American nation" Many think that
the promised generosity relates to prom
Uses made to Aguinaldo personally, and
that the willy Filipino put it in his mani
festo so as to make it a matter of official
record. Whether that surmlse be correct
or not the language of the manifesto indi-
Gates that promises have been made of
which the American public know nothing,
and naturally there is curiosity to know
what those promises are.
Sir William Van Horne, once president
of the Canadian Pacific railroad and still
largely interested therein, who is now at
the head of a syndicate which is building
a Cuban railroad, two hundred miles long.
between Santiago and Santa Clara, has
been visiting Washington and incidentally
telling how easily he got around the For
aker amendment prohibiting the granting
of public franchises in Cuba while the
island was under American military con-
troll. He found out that there was a
special enactment-perhaps he knew why
it happened to be made-permitting own
ers of land to build railroads on their own
property without government permission,
and, as most of the land owners along the
route of the railroad were anxious to have
to purchase at nominal price the ground
upon which his railroad will run. Making
laws that head off the general public while
permitting millionaires to do about as
they please is an old time republican
specially, but favors to Canadian million
aires is new wrinkle Wonder if Sir
William was one of the contributors to
Senator Hanna's campaign Doodle? If
not, he may find his railroad costly
speculation, as he cannot cross a single
public highway on the island without the
consent OF this government as long as we
control Cuba. 1t was to talk to Secretary
Root about that consent that Sir William
came to Washington. To grant that right