Daily Kennebec Journal

AT THE WITS' END.

Washington Newspaper Correspondents Fuz- zled to Find Democratic News.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14.—[Special.]—One of the most unhappy men in Wash- ington is Chairman Wilson of the ways and means committee. Mr. Wilson is a polite, quiet, scholarly and studious man. He has little love for the hurly burly of poli- tics or for the rough and tumble debate which is often indulged upon the floor of the house. For many months he has worked on the new tariff bill as man has rarely worked before. He has, as he says, been a slave to duty. Night and day, with all his strength and endurance, has he toiled. And what does he get for it? Nothing but abuse and misrepresentation, fault finding, oppo- sition—not a little of it from his own party —from the very men who in the nature of things would be expected to stand by him.

At one time Mr. Wilson felt so badly over the treatment accorded him by his fel- low Democrats that he thought seriously of resigning and escaping all the annoyance and trial by a return to his books. But that would have been rather cowardly, and Mr. Wilson is not a coward. So he stood his ground, and in Washington it is gen- erally believed he will find his reward in an appointment to the supreme court when a vacancy in the right circuit occurs dur- ing Mr. Cleveland's term.

Awaiting a Turn of the Tide.

The Washington manager of one of the great telegraphic press associations received a terse inquiry from one of his customers a few days ago. It was "Why in the name of Mike don't you give us a little Democratic stuff out of Washington?" His reply was equally pointed. "There isn't any," he wired back. It is a remarkable fact that for sev- eral weeks the representatives of the press associations in Washington have been at their wits' ends to find news to send that would not be discouraging to the Democratic party. The aim of these press associations is to be absolutely impartial, and if forced to send bad news for one party to even it up by sending bad news to the other party. But of late it has seemed that the only news in town was news which only Republicans would really enjoy, and it was not surpris- ing that the Democratic editor finally broke forth with his inquiry why some of the Democratic counties could not be heard from once in awhile.

The remark has frequently been made in Washington during the past six weeks that the Democratic party has been in the slough of despond. The elections went against it; the tariff bill raised a storm of opposition in the ranks; the Hawaiian business turned out exceedingly unfortunate. It appears that parties are like individuals in that they have their periods of ill luck. At this capital the Democrats are anxiously but confidently awaiting a turn of the tide.

The Pass of Mr. Gresham.

During all this Hawaiian row the corre- spondent of a San Francisco paper has been in serious trouble. The San Francisco pa- pers naturally have been keenly interested in everything pertaining to Hawaii. They have instructed their correspondents here to get up early and stay up late to make sure of getting everything going. In the case of this particular correspondent the instructions have been followed so lit- erally that he scarcely goes to bed at all. His paper has both a morning and an after- noon edition. With the difference of time between San Francisco and Washington it is possible to print afternoon news in a morning newspaper and morning news in an afternoon newspaper if the correspon- dent is only on the alert early and late. This unfortunate newsgatherer has thus been kept on the jump about 20 hours out of the 24. If the Hawaiian business is not soon settled, he will have to resign or go to a hospital.

Politicians, like parties, have their ups and downs. A few months ago Mr. Gresham was the rising man of the Democratic party. It was he who killed the silver compromise scheme, and when that prettily laid plan went to pieces Senator Gorman retired to his tent a bitterly disappointed and badly defeated man. Gorman's end of the teeter board was way down and Gresham's was aloft. Now the thing has swung the other way. It is Mr. Gresham who is waiting for the clouds to roll by, while the senator whose little compromise bantling had its head cut off by the big secretary of state now takes keen delight in posing more or less sincerely, and more or less in a Pick- wickian sense, as the friend of the adminis- tration in the upper branch of congress.

Whenever Mr. Hoar or some other Neme- sislike Republican introduces a resolution intended to annoy President Cleveland or his secretary of state, it is Mr. Gorman who usually rises, and with that peculiar smile which we all know so well suggests that under the rules it had better lie over, or that it had better be referred to the appro- priate committee. It is as good as a circus to watch the ups and downs of great men here.