The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-03-22
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.


WASHINGTON, D. c., March 18th.
MIR. ENTHUSIASTICALLY Hay was given
an impossible t,.sk when he was told 10y
Mr.. Mckinley to negotiate new treaty
with England to take the place of the re-
jected treaty that will represent the views
of two thirds of the Senate. What the
Senators would agree to would not be
agreed to by the British Ambassador. In
fact, Senators who ought to know have
declared that if the treaty just rejected
by England, were to be accepted just as ii
was, by Secretary Hay and the British
Ambassador, and again sent to the Senate
it would fail of ratification, until it had
been amended. Many Senators arc
thoroughly satisfied that England has
been tricky in its efforts to head off the
construction of the Nicaragua Canal by
this government, and some of them do
not hesitate to express the belief that the
administration has been party to some
sort of trickery. Whether in the face of this
knowledge of Senatorial sentiment
Secretary Hay will try to carry out his
orders as to the negotiation of the new
treaty, is not known, but it seems absolute
ly certain that any treaty acceptable to
England will fail in the Senate, if nego-
tiated. Even if the administration could
control the votes of all the republican
Senators, which it cannot, it would be
six votes short of two thirds, and it may
be set down as sure, that those six votes
cannot, under any circumstances, be had
from the democrats, to ratify Il treaty that
gives England even as much say in the
construction of the Nicaragua Canal as
was given by the rejected Hay Paunce-
fote treaty. That's why Mr.. Hays task
is an impossible one.
When one is rewarded for having turn
ed ones political coat, the size of the re-
ward is apt to be regarded as the value
put upon the services of the turncoat by
the other side. Upon that theory, Hon.
Irvine DUNCAN, who was sent to Con-
gress few years ago by the democrats
of the thirteenth Ohio district, and who
turned his political coat during the last
campaign and took the stump for Nc
Kinley, must be very small. Senator
Hanna has just had Mr.. Dugan appoint
ed to $1,000 clerkship in the Treasury
Department.
IF some of the good things that are
said of a man after he is dead were said
of him and to him when he was alive
this world would be much more salts
factory place to live" remarked philoso-
phic and somewhat cynical Senator who
had been discussing the praise bestowed
upon the late Hon. Benjamin Harrison
by prominent members of his party who
had for years lost no opportunity to sheer
at him. 1t does seem that the death of a
man of prominence serves to bring out
striking bits of hypocrisy in other men
of prominence. Why is one of those
mysterious things which no one is ever
able to account for in any satisfactory
way. 1t is known to all the world that
while he was President, and since, Mr.
Harrison was hated heartily by nearly
every prominent member of his party
for one or another reason, but since his
death, these men have been trying to out
do each other in saying extravagant
words of praise of him. The public is
very forgetful, but it isn't quite so forget
FIJI tho tall nf thacu I'M nc
them to believe.
The friends of Mr.. Meiklejohn, late
Assistant Secretary of War, and present
candidate for the T. S. Senate, before the
Nebraska legislature, are saying publicly
that he retired from the War Department
voluntarily, while in private they are
tary Root, for pushing Mcikleiohn out,
which they fear will queer whatever
chances he had for election to the Senate.
Secretary Root was doubtless actuated
tant secretary who would perform the
work of that office-during the past six
months Meiklejohn has been away from
Washin gton practically all of the time,
but has regularly drawn his salary-but
even if he was, his doing so was credita-
bic as an indication of his belief that Il
man should not draw apublic salary with
out performing any public duties. 1t is
also creditabe to Mr.. Root that he refuse
to be bluffed by Senators Plat and Depew
and insisted upon having Col. Sanger, his
personal friend, for Assistant Secretary
of War.
Senator Morgan, who told some plain
and bitter truths about British influence
having been used to make republican OPP
position to the Nicaragua Canal in his
speech advocating his resolution declaring
the Clayton Bulwer tire ATTY a rogated, says
he has received personal assurances from
a sufficient number of Senators to make
him certain that his resolution will be
adopted at the regular session Of Congress,
and that the Nicaragua Canal bill will be
passed whether the administration
changes its attitude towards the project
or not