Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1901-03-01
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent. }

(From our Regular Correspondent
Washington, Feb. .25.-Credit will
be due to Democrats in Congress for
whatever reduction of war taxes the
country gets. The Republicans fully
to kill the bill in conference,
but when they found out that all OF
the Democrats in the House, and
enough Republicans to make ma
iority, were determined to head off
that scheme, the leaders at once order
ed that a compromise be patched up in
conference between the House and
Senate bills. That compromise will
not, of course, in any sense, be a Dem
reduction in war taxes that would not
have been made, if the Democrats had
been less aggressive.
Senator Morgan, in the minority re-
port Ut the Committee on Foreign
Relations on the resolution declaring
that the ratification OF the Hay -Paunce-
fOte treaty Is not condition precedent
to the construction of the Nicaragua
Canal, and that the U. 8. should pro-
coed with that work regardless OF the
Clayton Bulwer agreement, which was
adversely 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 committee,
and his right to say what Is e1pedient
for them to do, Senator Morgan said:
This claim was made in the commit
tee, and his Mr.. McKinley's) views as
to the expedlency of action were Stated
as grounds of objection to the resolu-
tions. From his views 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 &C.
tion on any legislation, relating to the
Nicaragua Canal while the Hay
Pauncefote treaty is pending would
be discourteous to England, is a very
plausible bluff, but still bluff. 1t
mas 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 import
ant recruit il a member Of the Cabinet
of Columbia, who is now In Washing
ton, seeking to transfer Columbia g
interest in the Panama Canal to the
q. s. government. 1t is not surprising
that ugly stories should be in circuia-
ton concerning this canal business.
Senator Morgan stirred up the Repub
licans by openly charging them with
having intended from the first to kill
the Nicaragua Canal bill, saying of
them and their tactics: "These men
are willing to be kicked and cuf1ed
about by King Edward VII, and are
kneeling to bis every within. They dc
not believe the o. 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 Re-
publicans knowing all the time that
their instructions were to defeat 1t IN
the Senate.
| All the extravaganza Of the Republic
can Congress 10 not connected with
big appropriations, 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 az
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 gratultles
simply because nobody made 1t bis
business to oppose these petty raids
on the public fund. The clerk OF one
| committee claimed, and will get 81 ,OO(
extra for reading proof of testimony
taken by his committee; clerks OF the
Pension Bureau, detailed to help the
pension committees, 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 te
$1,000 each for extra work. A little
dialogue between Representative Can
non, Chairman of the House Commit
tee on Appropriations, who reported
the bill, and Representative Loud, OIL
California, shows how carelessly the
items are scrutinized before they are
presented to the House. MI. Loud
"Who is William L. Stiles, who ia to
receive an appropriation as messeng
er for the Committee on Accounts =
MI. Cannon: "Well, If God doesn't
know him any better than do, he is
lost" 1t has recently become known
that man has for long time beer
drawing salary as clerk of one of the
important committees Of the Senate
Foreign 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 flourished under this admin
istration is connected with the enorm
Gus expenses piled up by some Of the
| departmental bureaus. For instance,
when Congress provided for the Bureau
of Animal Industry of the Department
| of Agriculture, it provided for one
Chief, at So, 900 year, ono clerk at
| 81, 500. and and twenty inspectors at
$1,000 a day. The expenses Of that
bureau during the last fiscal year, as
shown by the official figures, have
grown to nearly million dollars, as
follows: Salaries $769, 1923 81, travelling
expenses $22, 647.S5, Miscellaneous
$101, 634.48.
Senator TiIlman may have opened
the way for many Southern Veterans Of
the Mexican war to get on the Pen
sion rolls, when he succeeded in getting
bill pensioning Jim Thomas, a Mexi-
can veteran, which had passed the
Senate, through the House, by swear
ing that not another private pension
bill should 90 through the Senate un-
til it was passed. 1t is claimed that
its passage is practically repeal of
the law, barring those Mexican vete.
rams who sympathlzed with the Con-
federate cause from the pension rolls.