The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1859-03-11
WASHINGTON CITY.
FRIDAY, MARCH m, Is60.
THE TRIBUNE AND MR.. GROW.

A1o NfN'cHN0 HNHeNA ANNN 'NNN 10
the last few weeks that the Tribune is now thor
oughly awakened to his merit The Tribune has a
weakness for h~umbugs, and Mr.. Galusha Grow has
managed at last to e~-ke a powerful impression upon
its susceptbilites, 1t is astonishing that the Trib-
une had not discovered the merit of Mr.. CROWN this
particular long ago for the professional worshipper
of ~humbugs usually detects the genuine article by
instinct " as Falstaff detected the true prince. The
nursery-book, in the story of Jack and the bean-stalk
describes the giant, on coming home, as detecting the
presence of the adventurous intruder by the instinct
Of the nostrils, and as calculating, in angry tone, to
the great terror of poor jack smell the blood of
an Englishman." The Tribune, by the same process,
but with more friendly olfactories, has discovered
the merit of Mr.. Galusha Grow, to the great joy of
the newly discovered, however, rather than to his ter
ror. The author Of the homestead bill-the member
who, in order to save his Thanking privilege, and to
secure a snap Judgment upon the Speakership, be-
thought him of the cunning e~xpedient of raising a
constitutional objection to a Senate amendment of a
House BILLS enjoying the honors of canonization at
the hands Of the Tribune. 1.-THE discovery of sharp
practice like this, the Tribune instantly puts aside all
its aversion and distaste for Mr.. Galusha Grow, and
offers incense and adulation to the new deity thus
wise:
'4And Mr.. Grow, whom we have seldom praised, and
never greatly admired, has this session evinced u fertility
of resource, a command of parliamentary tactics, u promp-
titude in seizing an opportunity, a wisdom in act and a
brevity of speech, such as have rarely been exhibited ON
that floor. The passage of the homestead bill, under
Mr.. Grows leadership would of itself have sufiiced to con-
fer honorable distinction u single mistaken motion, q
moments hesitation, would have enabled its adversaries
to interpose debate and delay, and thus have endangered
its passage, if not ensured its defeat. So the Senate's at
tempt to force the House to raise the rates OF postage was
INST by Mr.. Grow in a manner and spirit that ut once de-
cidea the contest-decidcd it in such a way that, should
an extra lesion be-required, the responsibility will clearly
rest NJ To0nbs, Mason, and Pearce, all administration
men who az n CONT of mere will, insisted on Debating
the Post Office appropriation bill, and thus subjecting the
public service to serious Embarrassment. We rejoice that
Sir. Grow is a member of the Rext House, where Penn
syEvania will make quite Miothef Hgufe IMAM IN the last,
especially at its close"
Alden, Congress"
sin. Grow is TO be congratulated. "The Author of
the Homestead Bill" 'the Champion of Postage Re
forin"-these are the titles of the new Allah. A
small man has become a veritable giant for the
Tribune hath pronounced him so. One of the small
potatoes, which Was neglected as of no worth, has
all unawares TO the world mysteriously swollen into
size of one of those blue-skinned monsters, a dozen
on two to the busheI, which are sent East as curiosi-
ties from the Pacific side Of the continent. Ordinary
diet will henceforth not suffice for Mr.. Galusha
Grow he now feeds on such meat as made Caesar
great; he subsists, like the breed of Widenostrils
in Rabelais, on windmiils as his diet.
Mr.. Galusha Grow, since the apotheosis which he
has taus undergone, has risen to the rank of con-
stitutional statesman. 1t has occurred to an aboli-
ZIONIST, of the sect who denounce the Constitution as
~ /. 81 4 n ~, - -. -.
lation az an infringement of the "ieague with hell"
The measure thus objected to proposed to take away
the franking privilege, by which vast numbers of Sc
ditious and incendiary tracts, issued by the sect in
question, are disseminated throdgia the land free of
postage. In that point of view we can discover a
sound consistency in the action of Mr.. Galusha
Grow but in every other aspect of the case, the OBJ
lection by an abolitionist to any measure of legisla-
ton as unconstitutional is the most preposterous,
bare-faced, and hypocritical thing conceivable. 1t is
the old trick over again, Of the Devil quoting Scrip
Gure.
The ranking privilege costs the people Of the
United States two millions of dollars annually and
this charge falls on the great mass of the people
that is to say, the agriculturists and mechanics, who
consume the goods imported Into the country, on
which the revenues of the government arc raised.
The increase Of letter postage which was proposed
by the Senate's amendment would have fallen chiefly
upon the mercantile classes, and scarcely at all upon
the masses of the people, composed of agriculturists
and mechanics who write few letters and rarely.
The Senate proposed to save the two millions which
the masses of the people are taxed, and to impose
npon those few who write numerous letters addi-
tionai hostages aggregating scarcely more than half
a million. The Tribune consents to herald Mr.. Ga,
lusha Grow as q newly-discovered prodigy, for
forcing the two million taxes again upon the masses,
and releasing the few who write many letters from
the extra postage of two cents. Two cents relief to
the lettes.griters-two millions burden upon the
masses-that is Ar. Galuslla Grows measure; that
the basis Of his title to aanonization by the Tribune!
Mr.. Grows and the Tribuae's attempt to win
popular applause by a homestead bill giving away
their lands to squatters in the West, and by taxing
the whole of them two millions in order to save a
few OF them two cents, will hardly succeed. At
tempts of TIE sort have been made often before, and
have always fai,ed. We do not know a single in
stance in which the aHthor Ct y scheme for distribu-
ting gratuitously the peoples property or money,
has been rewarded by distinguished position or even
by a moderate popularity. The efforts Of this class
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