Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1865-01-07
SATURDAY MORNING. JAN. Z. Isi5.


The 0ulhfeAoon Law N the House.
II VII be remembered that On the - III ul;.
tho Drrnoera,ie" members Of the lower
House Of the Legislature rushed through the
Special Contract bill in such indecorous haste
that they themselves were ashamed of il, and
the next day carried . reconsideration. and
made i, the special order af the 4,h inst. 1t
was evident, even to . very casual observer.
that the more shrewd members IF the REPTILE
party were aware that they stood upon the
verge Of precipice. over which the rotten
carcase threatened to topple every instant
Their action on Wednesday. when the bill
came up for final consideration, strips the
mask from the objects of these wise men, and
shows how much is poor, mortal man the
creature Of circumstances.
When Mr.. Dug an introduced the bill-thc
gentleman himself states-he was led to be-
lieve that many of the Union men would sup
port the law. This would have been very
fortunate for the Copperhead party, but the
sequel shows that the plan didn't work. The
Union men were, with single exception,
opposed to the bill. Had this been otherwise.
the act would nevertheless have been all that
could be desired by sympathizers with trea-
son, while the few loyal men in the party
could be effectually slenced by the reply,
"Why, even Union men voted for tho law"
1t was hoped by this means to etfectually I'm.
barrass the Administration. and at the same
time shit the responsibility from their own
shoulders. But alas the best laid schemes
Of "mice and men" sometimes fail. 1t was
found that Union men could not be induced
to take the blind trail to JeG.'s domains, and
it could never be hoped that the Copperhead
party could stand up under this additional
evidence Of disloyalty without support from
the Union ranks. How to avoid assuming
this responsibility was the question which re-
manned undecided until Mr.. Clymer, Union
Representative from King county. inadver-
family afforded the loop-hole out Of which the
snake made it's escape. ..:t
BY referring to the proceedings Of Wednes-
day, published in another part of to.day's pa
per, Mr.. Clymer's amendment will be found,
which reads as follows: This act "shall not
BE- so executed or construed as to contravcne
the act Of Congress making United States cur
rency legal tender for tho payment Of all
debts, public and private, except duties on
imports and interest on the public debt"
This amendment received the unanimous sup.
port Of the Union members, and three votes
from the opposition, including that of Mr.. Du.
gan, who claimed that the amendment was
merely advisory. and would be SO considered
by the courts, and could not, therefore impair
the force and intent of the law. That three
Union men anticipated tho construction of the
courts would be otherwise. is apparent from
their votes upon the final passage Of the bill.
1t only afforded plausible prstext for two or
three Democratic" less honest than their
colleagues. OF dodge the question. We
regret that any attempt was made to patch up
or repair the bill. It is illegal with or with
out the amendment. and the only object of
the move was. we presume, to indicate more
clearly the ;ase~s Of those voting upon the
bill. This was well enough known without
any test vhatsoevsr.
The bin has yst TO pass the Council and
the receive the signature Of the Governor BE-
foe i can b placed upon the statute book
BY the side Of that other dead-letter act Of q
foenw session. making it . criminal ofIenss to
discount Tssssafy notes. Hit passrs. it may
put few fees into the pockets Of hungry
lavy ers, and give few practical i!lsssrasioas
a the prcvcrb. "A fool and his money soon
part" II is no better than can be expected
Of Tssri;osy rrpseseasrl 1t washingsOn By
. CYPaAead Ihelsezae. Ard nth majority
q de n.sav saA TernsriA s6esrs slsesed
issa the s.ae sknra. Il esPP<s s.Ai verdi
eFial
We d - hssrvr he bN es.,A - sver
sAs vsas q ~ Gssswsw. russrsur - 4
v~A ssvs-skisl vus< N sssS-r k-.nrA- Al
sh~.gb svs0 dDs s~s~~ s>-~ esvsn - -
- 49, - Mgs.i.s ihua ~ snsuAnsns
sss.asa ~ vA~ss 81. 49, On pssA.hsy
ouoi4<x q - - - 49, srwun<. suuAfv
80. - ~1> ses14 - III d rue>.s
- hsv 0Rl ~ 81 - y. 90 - pa-iu,v
u ouesss@s ~ 81 = C0rsxo. & - k
- - c1hsay ~ sss.r exs<u - S,<.srv
90 tsrs q . sslA no. - seia 5wsns lss-
srsa<~ III f.ansss Il I'm eu~r