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Washington Letter

Washington Letter image
Parent Issue
Day
8
Month
February
Year
1895
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

(Froni our Regular Correspondent.) Washington, D. C, Feb. 4, 1896. President Clevelatid may in deference to the attempt of the leaders of the hous to pass the bilí reponed from the comtnittee on banking and currency, which was drawn in accordance with the recommendations of his special financial message, postpone for a few days the official announcement of the bond issue for which all arrangements have been made, but a careful canvass of the senate has shown that no bill passed by the house can possibly get through the senate; henee the bond issue is inevitable. It will afford the treasury that relief which congress has so persistently denied, and that relief is necessary is acknowledged, alike by those who favor and those who oppose the issue of bonds. It isn't what the administration would like to do, but what it has got to do in the absence of congressional relief. The house committee on rules will report an order for the consideration of the financial bill on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and when the vote is taken on that order it will be seen how much influence the president's special message had with the democrats of the house. If the rule is adopted it is probable that the house will pass the bill in some shape; and if it is rejected there will ae no further hope of financial legislation at the present session. Senators Caffery and Blanchard, of Louisiana, accompanied a delecatión of New Orleans business men in a cali upon President Cleveland to ascertain his views upon the payment of the sugar bounty for the year 1894. Members of the delecatión were surprised and pleased :o find that the president was thoroughly posted on the subject, and were still more pleased when he cold them he was in favor of the payment of one-half of the bounty for 1804 and would gladly co-operate with them in securing the necessary congressional legislation. Chairman McCreary, of Ihe house committee on foreign affairs, made a few sensible and well-timed remarks concerning the disposition of rejublicans to introduce all sorts of resolutions concerning Hawaii just :or the purpose of making buncombe speeches thereon. He said that the actions of this administration on Hawaüan matters had been in accordance with international law and with the policy of this country for a hundred years, and that if a different policy were to be followed the government might be called upon to send warships all over the world, and to interfere wherever there was trouble. The dealers in fake resignations from the cabinet had at last a real resignation to handle several days ago. True, it was not a cabinet resignation, but it was as near as t could possibly have been not to be. The solicitor general is next in rank to the attorney general and draws a salary of only a thousand less. Although the resignation of Solicitor General Maxwell was a great surprise outside of the department of justice, there was little or no foundation for the sensations which have been built up around it There was noquarrel between Judg Maxwell and Mr. Olney, althoug there have been numerous differ enees of opinión between them,suc as are common enough between law yers who are the best of friends Judge Maxwell's principal reaso for resigning was that the illness o: his law partner made it necessar for him to return to Cincinnati anc take charge of their large practice. Holmes Conrad, of Virginia, was appointed to the vacancy. Under the alleged divinity which doth hedge all legislation concern ing men who served in the United States army during the recent war, there is a vast amount of crookedness. A case in point is the bill to place I-t. Col. J. Madison Cutts on the retired list of the army with the rank and pay of captain. This man, who has for years been a $1,200 clerk in the war department and the recipiënt of $20 a month pension, was dismissed from the army in disgrace in 1863, for using and writing abusive language to brother officers and fsr playing "peeping Torn" in a hotel. Yet he now comes forward, under the protection of the aforesaid divinity, and makes a strike for $1,500 a year for the rest of his life, and the bill giving it to him had passed the senate and been favorably reported to the house when Representative Bretz, of Indiana, made the above facts known to the house. Today for the first time since the fourth of March, 1893, the democrats have less than a majority of the senate. There are now 86 senators, and the democrats have only 43. When the two additional re)ublicans, one each from Wyoming and Washington, take their seats, here will be 88 senators, the repubicans having 40 and the populists 5. Whether the republicans and jopulists will combine to reorganize he senate is as yet unknown, but he probabilities are that they will, after the 4th of March, when the democratie strength will be still furher reduced. The house killed the Reilly Pacific railroad funding bill by adopt ing a motion to recommit it. The vote was 177 to 106.

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Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News