New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-02-06
WASHINGTON.
Conversational Printins-C abeifs speeeh-Hr'
clay Recovering.
Correspondence Of The y, T. Tribune

into the House day before yesterday for Con-
n,ess 20 do its own printing His bill was or
dered to be printed When ms Is cone we saan
see precisely what Is proposed.
# seems, at frs, view. very extraordinary
foot thu, this Govern nent has bsan IN operation
for near three quarters of century, and sha',u
- This ,nomenr. no satisfactory scheme OF dong
the nublic printing has ever been devised. Inc
c,c, annears 10 argue an astonishing lack Of bu-
.iness capacity on the part OF Congress, or else
!, arpues that the job of public printing has al
,vaxs been set apart as the peculiar perquisite of
the newspaper here that acted for the time being
as the organ of the dominant party. One or the
ether OF two things is indubltably true-either
Congress is miserably stupid at bargain, and
totally destitute of skill to put in motion the most
necessary subordinate agencies for the transac-
ton OF its own regular business, or else that it
wantonly squanders the public money for the
benefit OF the party newspapers.
Before any reform is undertaken. In earnest, 1t
would seem to be a good plan to have this pre-
liminary question considered and answered
Does Congress want to have its printing done in
the best and cheapest manner, or does 1t meanto
use the business of the public printing as cover
to build up, sustain and reward party presses,
and enrich their proprietors If the atterls the
intention and foregone determination, 1t seems
hardly worth while to spend any breath or any
time in talking or acting on the subject. IL the
dominant party in Congress deliberately Intend
c plumber the Treasury for the benefit OF their
"ergan," whether it he called by one name or
another, it is total waste of time to attempt to
establish regular and sound system OF prlnhng'
Now we know that the old printers to Congress
in times past have made fortunes out OF the
printing, or where they have not made them II
has been their own fault. tits said that uALES~
SEAToN ought to-day to be worth hall mliiion'
and would, if they had been money making men.
II is known that BLAIR q RIyEs, after Twelve
wears of service retired with fortune OF several
hundred thousand dollars each. It's known that
Father RlTcHlE has not yet got has fortune, but 1t
i, understood that il will be forthcoming directly
in the shape of extra allowances on the score OF
his having had hard job And 1t has been
openly avowed at this session that DONALDSON
ARMSTRONG, the proprietors Of the Union must be
served as well as their predecessors. Members
have advocated the giving to them the vast and
lucrative work of the Census printing, on the
ground that this is the Democratic "ergan" IN
Washington, and that it must be sustained by TAT
Jobs.
But if, notwithstanding, there is an earnest
purpose. on the part Of Congress to establish
ust and efficient system of public printing, for
the sake of promptness, economy, regularity ana
dispatch, and for the credit of Congress and the
country, it is good opportunity to show It, by
sustaining heartily this movement OF Gov Do
TVS. The Lord knows, that if varieties OF
printers cheating will be OF any service to
Committee of Congress having this subject IN
charge, to enable them to found printing es-
or secure the proper execution OF
their work, such Committee will be astonsh-
ingly enlightened by the past history OF Con-
gressional printing. There has been cheating IN
papas, cheating in typo, cheating in the mode of
setting them up, cheating by delays, cheating In
binding, stitching, folding, cheating in every
conceivable way, and in a variety OF ways, that
none but printers imagination could conceive
of. So that it has come to be belief with the
old stagers in Congress, that there Is no such
thing as making bargain with a printer for
work in his line, without getting cheated.
1t is most devoutly to be hoped that Gov.
DoTY's movement may lead to the establish
ment of system of Congressional printing that
will do away with systematic party plundering
of the Treasury, and secure the execution of the
work of Congress in a manner creditable to
itself and the Government.
We had in the House, yesterday, speeches tor
Bunkum on the Presidential question. The
speech of Mr. CABELL, of Florida, was a fresh
illustration of the text | expounded yesterday,
that the Fugitive Slave law stood in the way OF
the election offs Wing President. Mr.. CABELL
is for Gen. ScoTr on platform, or Mr. FILL
MORE and the Compromise. He avowed quite
distinctly the ground have already set forth as
that upon which the Southern Wings generally
stand IN relation to the Presidency. They want
the candidate of the Wings TO indorse the Fug
tive Slave Law. Stripped of all DISCUSSES, this.ls
the long and short of their demands. But we do
them the credit TO acknowledge, that we believe
they ask the Endorsement rather as a means to
enable them to maintain their political organiza-
ton and ascendancy than for any additional
strength and rgor it would give to the operation
of the law. An interesting chapter could be
written on this view of the subject.
The newspapers are hurrying Mr.. Clay's re.
covery too fast. 1t is every where stated that he
has been out TO ride with his physician. But the
sober fact is that he has never left his room since
he was first confined. He Is, however, gradually
improving Three weeks ago he was considered
a dead man inevitably. But he Is now, as he
always was, hard man TO kill. Then he could
nct carry spoon to his mouth without aid, and
his cough was severe and constant. Now, his
cough has very much abated, and he not only
sits up and eats his meals at the table without
effort, but he frequently writes letters with his
ha.A hor, 10 L. i.