The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1904-06-08
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN GOSSIP.
Tbs oufloek as Viewed by Some
of the Big Pclitica! Guns in
Washington.


steps over every day or two from
Maryland. Representative Vlndiver
was here Wednesday. but he had to
hurry to look after his particular pro-
teee, Folk, whose; enthusiastic ap-
proval by the people of Missouri is the
talk of the day. Culbertson of Texas
is here, quite ucafraid of the hurri-
cane in his State. Houston, the single
member from Delaware, elected be-
cause of Republican split, is also at
headquarters. Fitzgerald, Of Brook
lslyn, has just been here and Broussard
of Louisiana.
Cowherd says thgfe are forty close
districts this year, estimating as
ac.ose'' any district which would be
changed by the transfer of a thousand
votes. Seven of these are in Missouri.
It is believed that Folks run for gov
ernor will pull through all imperiled
Democrats and give us at least one
more member from the State. Some
three or four of the doubtfuls are s.in
Illinois, but the Republican scrimmage
there Will be likely to settle them.
met Martin Emericb, Democratic
representative from Chicago yesterday.
IHis is a close district. but he. very
likely will get in again.. for he is Sub
lime Past Master, Worsbipful Grand
Mogul, and Royal High Priest OF more
fraternal societj 3s than any other man
bin America. He said with a laugh,
ST am not terrified at the state of
things in Springfield one. bit. shall
not weep If they keep it up. Isn't it
funny, though, about Cannon9 Re-
publicans think that if they could
make him run for Vice-Pesident, SEN
ator, Governor and Speaker. they
would carry the State. y
At headquarters your correspondent
raj against Col. Herbert, President
Cleveland's Secretary Of the Navy. l
asked him what it looked like. He
said Parker this morning, and he
evidently measures up to the position.
I have no doubt, however, that Cleve-
land would be elected if he we're NOM
mated though there is no reason on
earth why he should want it. A tariff
SO high as to be robbery has debauch-
ed the entire country. Look at the
Republican clamor for ship subsidies.
One would think that Jim Hllls dis
NAL experience as confessed by himself
would be enough to put stop to it.
Haven't the farmers of the United
States a right to send their crops to
foreign markets by the cheapest pos
sible mode of conveyance? Are they
criminals that they should be held up
and plundered and punished?"
Secretay Shaw in his annual report
to Congress last December announced
that there would be surplus of sl4,-
coo, 600 IN the treasury on July l. 1t
is now obvious that the Secretary was
dreaming abous what ought to be,
instead of declaring what would be.
At any rate, he got within sixty-six
million dollars cf it, for it seems cer-
tain that the deficit will be ffty-two
million dollars. The receipts have
fallen off seventeen million dollars in
year and the expenditures for ordi-
nary purposes have increased about
twenty-five million dollars. 1nclud-
ing the Panama and ST., Louis expend
itures, the disbursements are seventy
FIVE million dollars more than year
ago. In other words, the nation is
heavily in debt, and is going down
bill at smart pace. When the Dem
ocrats inaugurate their President next
March the outset party will of course
shout, "We have handed to you an
overfowing treasury, and now you
are squandering the nations wealth
and bringing on hard times !" If
every voter will stick this paragraph
lin mis- hat, he will be able to show
in moment which party it is that
under the bewildering boast of g Pros
perityr' has dragged the nation to
the brink of bankruptcy
Some very lively !word-slinging is
being INDUCED in by R. 81. Pratt,
Superintendent Of the Carlisle Indian
school, and ". j. MCGEE the chief
American ethnologist of the country
and now in charge of Indian affairs
at ST Louis. Pratt says (virtaally1
that ethnoloeists are doing all they
can to keep Indians wild and savage.
McGee retorts brand your state
ment as wholly false and deem you
pusillanimous slanderer. Pratt re-
joins that McGeer is ,"petulant and
puerile'' and then he sneers at eth
nologists' alleged discoveries of al
legged hindering, indurated complex
ties of Indian ife.' If the learned
combatants continue to hnrl these
elaborate and abstruse neologisms at
each other, Sycamore Pratt may have
to go into the Indian hospital for
dacdalion incurables and DR.. Anita
Newconnb MCGEE return from the
siege of Port Arthur to nurse the
sticken member of her family. The
missiles may not stick, however; it
is certain that they will cot stick as
adhesively as if composed of the fus-
cous compound which the Geological
Survey. in ore of it's inspired mo-
ents, has alluded TO as THAT finely
comminuted and thoroughly liyiated
substance which is called mud
A Panama Canal is an expensive
luxury. The plates are cow being pre-
pared at the, Printing and Engraving
Bureau of the Treasury Department
for the issue Of Panama Canal bonds
amounting to $3.50, 900, coo authorized
by Congress. They will bear the por-
trait cf the late Senator Hanna in
grateful recognition OF his service in