Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-02-28
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON. Feb. 81. 1901

WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON. Feb. 25, 1901.
Credit will be due to Democrats in Con-
gress for whatever reduction of war taxes
the country gets. The Republicans fully
intended to kill the bill in conference, but
when they found out that all of the Demo-
Gratis in the House, and enough Republicans
to make a majority, were determined to
head off that scheme, the leaders at once
ordered that compromise be patched up
in conference between the House and SEN
ate bills That compromise will not, of
course, in any sense, be a Democratic
measure, but it will make some reduction
in war taxes that would not have been
made if the Democrats had been less
aggressive.
Senator Morgan, in the minority report
of the Committee on Foreign Relations on
the resolution declaring that the ratification
of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty is not con-
dition precedent to the construction of the
Nicaragua Canal, and that the U. S. should
proceed with the work regardless OF the
Clay agreement, which was adj
yersely reported by party VOTE makes the
positive charge that Mr. Mckinley caused
the resolution to be adversely reported.
Concerning the influence of Mr.. Mckinley
with the Republican members of the COM
mittee, and his right to say what is expe-
dent for them to do, Senator Morgan said
sThis claim was made in the committee,
and his (Mr. McKinley's) views as to the
expediency of action were stated as grounds
of objection to the resolutions. From this
view of the duty of the Senate, / wholly
dissent" Many Republican Senators who
have claimed to be for the Nicaragua Canal
are now under suspicion. The claim that
action on any legislation, relating to the
Nicaragua Canal while the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty is pending would be discourteous to
England is very plausible bluff, but still
bluff. 1t has been successfully used to
prevent action at this session of Congress
The Panama Canal lobby is trying to do the
rest. Its latest and most important recruit
is member of the Cabinet of Columbia,
who is now in Washington, seeking to
transfer Columbia's interest in the Panama
Canal to the q. S. government. 1t is not
surprising that ugly stories should be in
circulation concerning this canal business
Senator Morgan stirred up the Republicans
by openly charging them with having in
tended from the first to kill the Nicaragua
Canal bill, saying of them and their tao
tics: "These men are willing to be kicked
and cuffed about by King Edward VII and
are kneeling to his every whim They do
not believe the U. S. has any rights unless
Great Britain says so. l know that the
Canal bill was used to influence the election
of Mr.. Mckinley, the Republicans knowing
all the time that their instructions were to
defeat it in the Senate"
ALI the extravaganza of the Republican
Congress is not connected with big appro-
priations, although they make the most
fuss and are naturally heard the most Of
During the debate on the General Deficiency
Bill, it was shown that sinecures were thick
as peas in pod. 1t was shown that COM
mittee clerks, the moment they do any real
work, use their pull with members to get
extra pay therefor, and that they have been
succeeding in getting much money in the
shape of gratuities simply because nobody
made it his business to oppose these petty
raids on the public fund. The clerk of one
committee claimed, and will get $1,000
extra for reading proof of testimony taken
by his committee; clerks of the Pension
Bureau, detailed to help the Pension COM
mittees, of Congress, are presented with
$500 each in addition to their regular
salaries, and clerks who have copied few
pages from the Congressional record, in
regular Office hours, are given from $500 to
81, 600 each for extra work. A little dia-
logue between Representative Cannon
Chairman of the House Committee on APP
preparations, who reported the BILL and
Representative Loud, of California, shows
how carelessly the items are scrutiniZed be-
fore they are presented to the house. Mr.
Loud: "Who is William L. Stiles, who is to
receive an appropriation as messenger for
the Committee on Accounts?n Mr.. Cannon:
Well, if God doesn't know him any better
than do he is lost" 1t has recently be-
come known that man has for long time
been drawing salary as clerk of one of the
important committees of the Senate-For-
eign Relations-who did not even come to
Washington during the session of Congress,
to make bluff of doing the work which
was performed by two assistants.
Another method of extravaganza, which
has fiourished under this administration is
connected ~ssa tic cnol nlv,s cApcnses piieu
up by some of the departmental bureaus
For instance, when Congress provided for
the Bureau of Animal Industry Of the De-
partment of Agriculture, it provided for
one Chief, at So, 600 year, one clerk at
81, 800, and twenty inspectors at $1,000
day. The expenses of that bureau dur
ing the last fiscal year, as shown by the
official figures, have grown to nearly
million dollars, as follows: Salaries, $780,
329.61; travelling expenses, 1922, 647.S5.
miscellaneous, SOL, 53448
Senator Tillman may have opened the
way for many Southern veterans of the
Mexican war to get ON the Pension rolls
when he succeeded in getting bill pen
sioning Jim Thomas, a Mexican veteran.
which had passed the Senate, through the
House, by swearing that not another private
pension bill should go through the Senate
until it was passed. 1t is claimed that it's
passage is practically repeal of the law
barring those Mexican veterans who sympa-
thized with the Confederate cause from the
Pension rolls