Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-05-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.

WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, May 90 1901
Having secured the administration
favor for the VIGOROUSLY disreputable
Panama Canal, the men who are manipulate
ing the scheme to make millions by unload
ing the Panama Canal upon the United
States are now working to create public
sentiment in favor of the Panama Canal and
against the Nicaragua Canal, and it cannot
be denied that they are doing it cleverly
Some high-priced brain work is being put
into articles given to the press, under
Washington date lines and otherwise, in
which advantage is taken to point out
everything that can be called an obstacle to
the Nicaragua Canal, and the specious
reasons are being given for changes of
opinion among Senators and Representa-
tives who favored that route. And the
most is made of the opposition of England
and its right to oppose the construction
of the Nicaragua Canal, except upon con-
ditions of which it approves. The last
reason is also being made use of by the
administration in an indirect way. Tips
are given by prominent officials to the cor
respondents of influential Republican
papers, limiting at the possibility of politi-
cal complication with England, making it
necessary to abandon the idea of canal
over the Nicaragua route, and, of course,
those hints are reflected more or less in the
matter sent from Washington. As yet,
neither the Panama Press Agents, nor the
administration men venture to use names
publicly, when speaking of Senators and
Representatives who have changed their
minds and now favor the purchase and com
pletion of the Panama Canal, but privately
the former are not so discreet.
The news of this change in the part of
the administration towards the Nicaragua
Canal, has reached Nicaragus, and the
Nicaraguan minister to the United States
who had gone home on leave of absence,
has hurried back to Washington to do
what he can for the interests of his govern
ment. He has notified the State Depart
ment that his government and that of Costa
Rica, regard the procotol they signed last
year with Secretary Hay, as committing
the United States to the Nicaragua route,
and barring the Panama route from con-
sideration. That position is a strong one,
too, but Nicaragua and Costa RIGA haven't
the pull with this administration that
any If the administration isn't careful, ii
will make this Canal question one of the
leading issues of next years Congressional
campaign, as there are men in both the
Senate and House-they are not all Demo-
Gratis either-who will do some talking that
will stir the country during the next SEES
sion of Congress, if the administration uses
its influence to prevent Nicaragua Canal
oh fba loo
Then, it succeeded in keeping many quiet
by putting up the plea that it would be q
violation of International courtesy to stiI
the matter up while England was consider.
ing the y-Pouncefote treaty There
will be no such plea to use next Winter.
Notwithstanding the failure of the
experiment of placing the Federal patron
age of the State of South Carolina, at the
disposal of Senator MeLaurin, with the
hope of building up white administration
party in that State, there are reasons fol
the belief that the experiment is to be
extended to other Southern States. In fact
it is known that men who have formerly
been active in the Democratic party il
several other Southern States, have beer
sounded to ascertain whether they would
be willing to assume the role that McLauriI
is playing in South Carolina in theil
respective States. The responses have not
SO far, been satisfactory, but the sounding
is still going on, and men will doubtless bt
found; but outside of administration cir
cles, nobody really expects any serious
inroads to be made upon Southern Demo
cracy, by these experiments, but they will
result in one thing that will be satisfactory
to the white people of the South, and thai
IL e I,,sc
Federal officials
Evidently some of the men who have
grown rich by putting the screws on the
United States government, when they had
advance knowledge of the intention of the
government to buy something, have beer
giving the owners of the land in the
vicinity of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where 6
naval station of the first class is to bt
established, some pointers. The nava
board which considered the location of the
station on Pearl Harbor has been ordered
to resume its sittings in Washington, tt
consider a communication from Capt J. F
Merry, Commander of the Naval Coaline
Station at Honolulu. Capt. Merry has
informed the Navy Department that the
price of land around Pearly Harbor hai
been raised to such an extent that the
$3.50, 600 appropriated by Congress, as the
limit to be paid for the site, will not buy
the land originally chosen, and that somt
changes will have to be made in the plans.
The latest officials to discover that an
extensive European trip, at public expense
was necessary part of his official duties
is Mr.. o. P. Austin, the Hanna-madt
statistician of the United States Treasury
He says he is going to study the statistics
of European governments, but everybody
knows that he can only get access to the
published statistics, and that they could b.
had in Washington as easily as in The
countries that publish them.
Nearly all of the prominent officials IL
Washington, attended the funeral of Mrs
Gage, wife Of the Secretary of the Treas
ury, which was held this morning at Secre
tary Cages house. The remains were taker
to Chicago