The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1904-04-22
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, D. c., April 10th.


as the approximate day of adjournment.
Yet business, especially in the Senate.
moves with laggard step. Senator Nor
gan, Ala, has now spent nearly three
day in possession of the floor denouncing
the bill for the government of the canal
zone as an unspeakable outrage. He de-
clares that the ten mile wide zone can
never be peacefully governed in the way
provided and that, having taken possess
ion of it by force, the only consistent
method of governing it is by martial law.
1t is not an American colony, he says,
and there is no purpose to make it such
it is military reservation, like Guanta-
namo, or like any of our naval stations
or forts 1t is held only for the purpose
of building canal, and the establis hment
of courts, juries. and civil judges is a
gross p retense for the purpose OF hood
winking the American people. Having
commi tied highway robbery in stealing
the Isthmus, the administration ought not
to be afraid of the ghost of tyranny which
it has conjured up. Senator Morgan
warned the people of the United States
that the Panama Isthmus is not yet ours,
that the French Court ha 8 given to the
Republic of Columbia two months more in
which to appeal its case,-an opportunity
which Colombia is pretty certain fully to
avail herself Of.
After several days debate the House
has passed the PHILIPPINE bill. 1t is
ostensibly in the interest of the Filipinos
but really sacrifices their interest to that
of spectators and Adventures wherever
there are spoils 1t provides for system
of railroads in the archipelago and
ben evidently donates them to the Fill
pinos providing they will furnish the
money to build them and guarantee five per
cent. dividend on the investment. Two
mo nths ago in an interview published in
these letters Secretary Taft plumed him.
self on being pre- eminently the friend and
champion of the Filipinos. But he has
listened to the siren song of American
enterprise whereof characterization
Congressman chant the chorus and he
has concluded to let his LuZon constit-
uents look out for themselves. The
Filipinos must pay for their railroads,
telegraphs, Lighthouses. wharves and
customhouses as they pay out of their
own pockets for their schools, with
double salaries for all teachers and
officials, and we claim the credit of en-
tightening and civilizing them at our own
expense! What blessed old humbug is
the present edition of Uncle Sam!
When the bill passed there were half a
dozen Republicans who said "Aye" and
great chorus of Democratic "Noes'
causing the glass ceiling to ring. Speaker
Cannon Immediately exclaimed, "The
Ayes have it-but the Noes make the
most noise"
Congress seems very much inclined to
do the handsome thing by Washington
il. the matter of public building. The
absurdity of setting these marble palaces
in the quagmire on the south side of
Pennsylvania Avenue has at last been
made so obvious that the stupidest can
see it, and it is probable that they will
henceforth be given position on Capitol
Hill, Judiciary Square, or the high ground
between that and the Treasury Depart
ment. The Sundry Civil appropriation
carrying sixty million dollars arrived in
the Senate Thursday. The Senate Com
mittee modified it after it passed the
House, by provision for the erection
of great Office building for Senators on
the square OF land northeast diagonally
across B street for the Senate. This will
corr espond with the House Office building
on street south, for which money has
been already appropriated and the work
on which is now in progress.
The friends of General Miles in and
out Of the war Department are somewhat
solicitous for his official safety. Con-
trary to their expectation he made a
speech at the Iroquois banquet at Chica
go on Wednesday night in celebration OF
Jefferson's birthday. On account of the
Presidents command of silence it was
expected to be rather colorless and com.
monplace, but it was demand for the
freedom of the Filipinos and a ringing
protest against the current imperialism
of which the President is the head. 1t
is limited that he has been lying in wait
to catch the Lieutenant General in some
utterance so patriotic and humane that it
could be called an indiscretion, furnish
ing an excuse for arraigning him before
a court martial. The excuse would seem
to have arrived, for the speech was one OF
soldier, orator and patriot according to
his light.
1t is rumored that the Republicans in
Congress may concede to the Democrats
some sort of investigation of post office
scandals. If so, it will be of kind Of
investigation that does not reveal-a sham
inquiry conducted by the Republicans
themselves, and signifying nothing.
To have the racket of a presidential
campaign on simultaneously with the
racket of a genuine investigation into
corruption in the Republican administra
ton would be little too much for Mr..
Roosevelt to bear
The horrible disaster on the battleshiI
Missouri the same dayas the tragedy to
the Russian battleship has caused nothing
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