Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-01-24

these great headlines, which must
cause the junior senator from Ohio to
vince: s'The Delusive Ship Subsidy
Bill; Overfed Snake Is Coiled Within
Its Complicated Folds; How the
Scheme Would Work; Oil Men Are
Particularly Interested In the Defeat
of This Iniquitous Measure" Then
through column after column it pours
q broadside into this latest and most
stupendous scheme to loot the treasury
"a scheme of public plunder utterly
unjustifable as either a business or a
moral proposition = which will take
$180,000,0OO of the peoples money and
give it to q few greedy spectators.
Further along The Petroleum Gazette
sounds this clear and unmistakable
warning to Republicans:
Some of the Washington dispatches have ind-
Gated the desire and purpose Of a few Republicans
peculiarly Interested in the ship subsidy bill 10
attempt to give it the force Of party measure
and thus push it through. The Republican party
has never advocated in any platform or conyen-
tion such subsidy measure as the one for which
it is attempted now to make it responsible and
for which it certainly would become responsible
If the bin were permitted to pass. In fitting ex-
preston of the sentiments of the rank and file Of
the party the Republican conventions and plat
forms have spoken in favor of stimulating the
growth of the American merchant marine, but
the present bill is worse than travesty as to
being in accord with those sentiments. 1t were
better named a bill to check than to promote
American shipping and foreign commerce. The
neither needing deserving it were better locked
up even destroyed for then they could not be
applied, as they could be under the operation OF
this bill, to curb what might otherwise be the
healthful and rapid growth OF American shipping
and commerce, a continuance and Improvement OF
the conditions summed up by Mckinley In view
of the conditions which have been described thus
by the president it is an open question whether
the mass ol the Republicans Of the country favor
the passage Of a subsidy law now on any eondi-
tions whatsoever mueA less the passage Of such a
subterfuge and imposition as the one now under
consideration. They need but to become inform
ed as they will, Of the rottenness Of this meas
urc 10 place the responsibility where II belongs II
the bill becomes q law. As to the Republicans
identified with the oil business let net the mis-
take be made at Washington OF Understanding
the number OF them. Let it not be forgotten that
the oil regions no longer limited to a little
area, but now are included and growing in doz-
en- states. If those intrusted at Washington with
the carrying out of Republican policies so betray
the trust to permit the passage of this obnox-
ious bill it will bring speedy and general re-
proach both upon them and upon the party and
will cost them dearly. Through its representa-
tives at Washington it is the duty Of the Rspub
lican party to defeat this bill. The Republican
majority in congress is ample to do this, and ii
it is not done there can be no shifting of the re-
sponsbiity.
Mark Hanna's Cunning.
Some time ago, when it was an
nounced that Senators Richard Frank
lin Pettigrew, William Vincent Allen
and Marion Butler had formed an al
lance, offensive and defensive, to
fight the subsidy bill to the death, it
was whispered about Washington that
Senator Hanna had threatened to have
an extra session of congress called If
his pet bill was killed by the trio
aforesaid or by anybody else at this
session. In reply to that it was said
that no administration would dare to
call an extra session for the sole pur-
pose of passing ship subsidy bill.
Now it is limited that in ordei. to avoid
that unpleasant and hazardous situa-
ton and at the same time to force an
extra session of the next congress in
the spring $50 that it may be as far
ahead of the next election as possible,
in order to let people forget, Sena-
tor Hanna is now so engineering things
in the senate that some of the neces-
sary great bills will fail, and that
| the extra session will be called os-
tensibly to pass them, but really to
pass his ship subsidy bill. There's
cunning for you, also strategy The
| proponents of the bill are afraid to
pass it at the regular long session be.
| cause it is too close to the next cleo
| ton. See?
Presidential Succession.
The sickness of President Mckinley
has been regarded with unfeigned and
| widespread uneasiness for two rea
sons: First, because he is mos
amiable man, personally very popular
not only with Republicans, but also
with Democrats. This is the simple
unvarnished truth. Second, because
his death at this particular juncture
would leave things touching the presi
Dental succession in a fearful muddle
Mr.. Mckinley is not president for tht
term for which he was elected accord
ing to the general idea on the 9Th oi
! November, to which he was really
elected by the presidential elector:
| on Monday, Jan IL He doesn't begiI
| that term till March f. Consequently
| Colonel Roosevelt is not vice presiden
till March 4. He must become vice presi
| dent before he could be president, an(
| there must be a vacancy in the office il
order to enable him to succeed: but wer,
Mr.. Mckinley to die prior to March Z
| Colonel John Hay, secretary of state
would become president and on Marcel
would be filling a term of his owl
whose duration is fixed by law. 81
that things would be in tangle sufi
ciently intricate to puzzle the wisest.
1t is passing strange that congress
has never made provision for such :
contingency. I have no doubt that il
the event of Mr.. McKinley's death, O
which there is no immediate prospect
as he is rapidly recovering, that whicl
would happen would be this: Colone
Hay would serve as president unit
Colonel Roosevelt is sworn in as VIC
president on March and would thei
resign, whereupon Colonel Roosevelt
would be sworn in as president. IL
this way everything would be amica
bly, arranged in this particular in
stance, and everybody would acuuiesc
| in this plan for carrying out the vii
of the people as expressed at the poll
last November, though nobody wouii
be certain that Roosevelt would bay
legal title. But. to suppose case
| suppose that Democratic presiden
were now in and Mr., Mckinley, th
! president elect. were not president 10Y
: