The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-02-13
FROM THE NATIONS CAPITAL.
From Our O,cn Correspondent.

w WAo1IN0tOH, As Nss + GU. Ill 1oVL.
According 10 present indications,
Congress is preparing to obviate the
necessity of an extra session by adopt
ing resolution authorizing the Presi-
dent to withdraw the United States
aTmy from Cuba and turn the island
over to its own people, as soon as GER
tain conditions are inserted in the new
Constitution of the island. These con-
dit;ons include grants of naval stations
and formal consent to submit tho oAeT-
else cf the debt raising and treaty
making powers Of tho new government
to the supervision of the United States.
In other words, the Republicans seem
to have about made mp their minds
that they can do by indirection what
they cannot do by direction; they hold
that they cannot amend the Cuban
Constitution but they insist that they
can compel the Cubans TO amend it rs
this country may desire. This is GER
tainly amazing in view Of the following
resolution unanimously adopted by
Congress anu signed by President Nc
Kinley: "That the United States here
by disclaim any disposition or intention
to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction
or control over said island, except for
the pacification thereof, and assert
their determination when that is COM
pleted to leave the government and
control of the island to it's people,"
Under this resolution, it is difficult for
| any honest man to see what either
Congress or the President has to do
with the matter, further than to make
sure that qualification" has been
brought about. The position of the
Democrats in Congress, therefore. is
that the President should withdraw
from the island the moment stable
government has been established, ire
spective of whether the United States
has gotten all it wants or not.
The overwhelming flood of special
pension legislation will soon force
Congress to take some means Of dam
ming it. Even Republicans express
the opinion that the scope of Congress
sional action in such matters had been
overstepped entirely, and that under
the present practice pension bureau
had been established under the dome
of the Capitol. In the present Con-
gress there have been 2,183 special pen
sion bills in the Senate, and with the
general bille and House bills, the Sen
ate Pension Committee had been asked
30 far to take up about three thousand
bills. One Senator has introduced 162
bills and another 145. The business is
| already Cs large as the committee can
handle well and there is little doubt it
will be doubled in the next Congress.
This is due t, the fact that tho pension
| attorneys are advising soldiers that it
is easier to get their pensions through
Congressional action than through the
Pension Bureau.
! Reference was made in this CORES
pOndence some time ago to the almost
| openly avowed Intentions of the Re-
publicans to resortto gerrymaudering
in the States receiving increased rep
resentation under the new census,
especially in any of which they had
obtained temporary control by the re-
suits of the last election. Few people,
however, know how far this method Of
securing members to which the Re-
pnblicans are not entitled has already
gone in the Northern States, rivaling
in it's effects, the most wholesale dis
franchisement IF negroes for which the
South has ever been responsible. For
instance, consider the following state
ment prepared from official records by
q Democratic member of the House:
81 find," he said, 'that q great dis
crepancy exists in the population of
certain districts in the United States
as compared with those for other dis
tricts. will give you somo figures to
illustrate what I mean. The Fourth
district Of California contains 147, ,842
people, compared with 229,042 for the
Fifth district; New York, Seventh dis
trict, 114,768, and Fifteenth, 223, 1888, q
difference of 109,072; Wisconsin, $3.50, :
1877 in the Fourth district and 1884 in
the Fifth, difference Of 1872 2,648; Con-
necticut, Second district, 249,542, and
Third, 121,792, difference Of 1928, 792;
Pennsylvania, Third district, 129, ,764,
and Fourth, 3O9,0s6, q difference of
1S0,2S2; Illinois, Third district, 307, 702,
and Seventh, 1923, difference of
17S,e49."
Republicans are feeling rather blue
over the continued failure of the Leg
islatnres of Delaware and Nebraska to
choose Senators, and are beginning to
fear that no elections will be had. In
this case, what with the animosities
engendered by tho contests, there is,
they think, much danger that the States
may go Democratic at the next election
and four Democrats may be chosen
from them to the Senate. ALI party
and personal influences possible to be
exerted have been brought to bear on
| the Republicans members of the two