The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1870-03-03
Correspondence q tbe News.
WASHINGTON LETTER.

WASHINGTON D. @. February, 20.
Our COngressmen - Frequent
Changes q Mistaken Policy.
Wei mean the 9th District-se-
lect man from amongst us-the best
we have, generally - elect him to
Congress; he comes here, serves out
his term faithfully and honestly, and
because he does not accomplish as
much in two years as one who has
served six, eight, or ten years, he is
laid upon the shelf, and we select an
other. He does as well-about the
same-but still we only let him re-
main one term, 1.-TWO at the outside) un-
til he is superseded. Again and again
we follow up this same old practice,
and by this means we never have
man in Congress who represents US.
And why? Simply because we do
not give them an opportunity. Does
any good, sensible, honest man sup
pose, for one moment, that ner0 man;
just taken from his law Office, can come
here, green, and put himself up before
men who have been in the Halls Of
Congress until they look the image Of
1r,71 q nd o,.ryo- Q M
desire now to bring this error we
have been committing before the people,
that they may see the false steps they
have been making for so long-and to
do so, will have to be plain. The
9th District of Ohio has had some able
and honest Representatives, but we
did not keep them. The Hon.
r. w. Clarke, as able man as the
district ever had, was allowed
but two terms; ,ohtch is not enough.
The first term a member sits in the AS
sembly of Congress, he is looked upon
by the older members as a fair Repre-
sentative, and, unless he be more than
an ordinary new member, he will gain
more friends, in the end, to remain
quiet until his turn comes, than if he
began to ''show off, and try to make
those sold hands" at the business be-
lieve he came to do 'great things"
and do he will, at the risk of his rep
utation. Vide Mungen: to crafty q
few head-strong constituents at home,
who made him promise to do thus and
so, and make a speech on this subject
or that one.
There are men-and some of them
in our district-whO think, because
they vote for a man, he must intro
duce a bill or bills in Congress, to en-
hance their individual interests, while
the same bill would damage a hundred
to where it would aid one; and, no
doubt, at the time he Is a candidate
Mr.. NJ. C. makes grave prOmises-and
and honestly too-but when he gets
here he finds out he can do nothing
he can't get "cOrpOra's guard" in
the house to listen to him (unless he
proposes RepWdiatiOn) and to urge
the matter is useless, and would be ut
ter ruin.
Allow me now, If you please, to call
your attention to the Sd, 4th, 10th and
other Districts in our own State which
l might name. Then look at the State
of Massachusetts. Do they keep chang
ing their members every two or four
years by electing new ones? MOI!
You will now see the imprOpriety of
these frequent changes. When did
zoe keep a Representative here over
two terms2 There is Kelly of Penn
sylvania, Sumner and Wilson of
Mass. How long have these men
been in Congress, and how are they
looked upon? There is Robert c.
Schenck, James A. Garfield aud 9th
ers Of Ohio, bright lights In the House
to-day; and why? Because they have
been kept here until they are posted.
Our present member, the Hon. John
A. Smith, is an able man and has
many friends in Congress. Now il
we will lay aside our wild and errO-
nious ideas about changing every two
years, and stick to our present MEM
Der, in two years or less time we will
have a Representative we will be
proud to keep as long as he would
stay, Tom.