The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1902-06-28
Washington, ID. c., News.
From our Regular Correspondent.

Vii tIiC fttiN iCt vi kCCilttOI AkNLilit.
who is too astute politician not to
appreciate the baneful effect on his
party Of the continued suppression
Of facts and figures by the War De
partment. Secretary Root has made
public the cost OF the Philippine war
up to the first OF May. by the most
conservative methods Of figuring
which theSecretary could command,
the total now aggregated $l70,32G,-
SO. These figures, large as they
are, do not however, ten the whole
story. Mr.. Root, Of coIfff,4, makes
10 mention of the 0,000,CSO orig
inalIy paid to Spain nor has he ANY
way Of figuring that portion of the
cost which has been incurred by the
Navy Department and which is not
small. Last May, however, the
Secretary OF the Navy threw some
light on the situation by sending
to Congress a statement the total Of
which aggregated, in round num-
bers, $20,000,0G0. 1t may, there
fore, be safely stated that the Phil
ippine Islands have cost this coun-
try, up.to-date, $2l0,000,0O0 which
would mean, exclusive Of the pur-
chase price, an annual expenditure
of S50,000,000. So stupendous are
these figures that they convey but
little to the mind Of the average
man, but when it is calculated that
the islands have cost every man,wo-
man and child in the United States
53, or, to the bread winner.who has
five mouths to feed, SIS, some con-
cepti0n Of the expense of being a
"world power" can be arrived at.
ltAl& quite a part Of the irony of
fate Z tlIat the republican party, which
indulged in so much gratuitous lev
ity at the lack of harmony i'll the
democratic ranks, at the beginning
of the Fifty-seventh Congress,
should find itself, at the close of the
first session Of that Congress more
hopelessly divided than were ever
the democrats. The message of
President Roosevelt urging the re-
publican senators to get together
on his policy of Cuban reciprocity
accomplished nothing and the two
conferences which have served no
purpose but to more clearly demon
strate to the country the hopeless
division of the party. 1t is worthy
OF remark that at neither meeting
of the senators was there any sug
gestion of promoting harmony by
the sacrifice of the trusts and the
natural result was deadlock be-
tween the adherents Of the Sugar
Trust and the Beet Sugar Trust,
respectively, from which, in the
words of Senator Hanna, tour party
will suffer at the polls in the com
ing election While, at the llth
hour, Mr.. Hanna came to the res
cue Of the policy Of the admipis
tration, it has for some time been an
open secret at the Capitol that, had
the Senator from Ohio thrown his
influence, as chairman of the Ma
tional Committee, into the balance
and worked for reciprocity instead
OF indulging in much quiet enjoy
ment at the discontinue Of the Pre-
silent, the result would have been
different. As it is, all hope of any
action looking to the relief of Cuba
at the present session has been
abandoned.
On Thursday the Senate adopted
the Spooner substitute for the Mic
araguan Canal bill and, il the Pan
anna Canal Company have been cor
rect in their representations of their
ability to furnish Il clear title to
their property, and if the Colombian
government has been sincere in its
promises to make the necessary con-
cessions to the United States, the
isthmian canal will be built along
the Panama Colon route. In view
of the extrayagant raid on the treas
ury which has been perpetrated by
the present Congress, Senator Fair
banks found it necessary to attach
| to the bill ali amendment whereby
the government is authorized to is
sue interest bearing, gold bonds to
the alnout Of Sl3O,000, 600 to defray
the expense Of the construction OF
the canal. The canal bill as passed
is now in the hands of the confeIecs
of the Senate and the House but ii
lis expected that the House will
finally agree to the Spooner sub
Estitnte.
On Thursday the House took up
the Philippine bill aud an earnest
debate is being conducted by both
sides. iC now appears that the
House will insist upon the Senate's
concnrring in the adoption of the
measure reported by the House
i committee on Insnlar affairs. This
measure grants IL certain form ot
/ self,government to the Filipinos
and, although inperialistic in its
purport, is q shade better than The
j bill passed by the Senate. Thu
i House republicans will vigorously
flight the adoption of the silver
/ standard in the islands. According
to republican tenets a gold standart
is the only proper one for any na
tion, and the. adoption of u silve
standard for the Philippines will b.
an absolute qualification Of repub
II