Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-04-20
Our Washington Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., }
ApriI 16. 1870. {


work. Never since / have had any knowl-
edge of Congresses has the work been so far
behindhand when there was such a vast
amount to be done. Every year sees the
work of Congress greatly increase. The
bills before it for consideration, which used
to number..perhaps thousand, all told, have
already nearly reached three thousand, and
will, without doubt, before the,close of the
Congress, amount to five thousand. The
effect of this vast number of bills is of course
to cause either very basty and unsatisfac-
tory examination of all, or an absolute neg
lect of the greater number for the sake of
doing justice to few. To be sure, the
greater part areiprivate bills, either claims,
or charters, or some other such thing. 1t is
a great pity that Congress should have estab-
lished SO well its reputation as protector Of
private interests, that it should so far have
gone out of its proper course as to charter
SO many private corporations for now come
railroads, steamboat lines, life insurance
companies, and every other imaginary thing,
to be chartered, and even if Congress refuses
their petition, still they consume its time
that should be devoted to other objects.
Many consider that Congress has no right to
charter any company for operation outside
the District of Columbia or the Territories,
and this is the ground on which the New
York and Washington and other proposed
railroads are fought. This objection seems
to me te-have little force, for Had not Con
gress power under the general.power to reg
ulate commerce, to. interfere to establish lines
of communication where it pleased, and to
prevent monopolies when they became dan
gerous. we must be entirely at the mercy OF
large State corporations, which, like the
Pennsylvania Central Railroad, control the
Legislature of any State. | even believe
that Congress has the right to regulate fares,
to make rules for the government of railroads,
and to exercise general supervision over the
same, which must sooner or later be done to
insure safety, comfort and cheapness in trav-
cling. The true objection is the great adj
vantage which a Congressional charter gives
a company. 1t makes it entirely independ-
ent of State jurisdiction, and gives people
more confidence in it's management. 1t is
the worst kind of protection, because it must
be extremely partial, cannot possibly be
made general, and its advantages are as lin
tied must be the companies that it bene-
fits. If Congress would at once throw out
all these applications, and bestow the time
wasted on them on the consideration of pub
lie business, they would give much less oc-
casion for the wide-sp dissatisfaction with
their work
The tariff bill is progressing very slowly,
and bids fair to last till the latter part of
May, in the House General Schenck is
poor manager of such bill. He loves to
talk himself, and allows great freedom of
debate, and the consequence is that hardly a
page day is passed in the bill. After this
bill come the tax bill of over three hundred
pages, the funding bill, three appropriation
bills, all of which are of vast importance,
and host Of other things that must be dis
posed of. In their four months and half of
session they have only completed about seven
ty bills in all, while in the next three months
they will probably have to perfect three or
four hundred more. No woPder they aSekf-
coming somewhat anxious, and hfsEmg xoye-
'ass C.. 20 has ...,:.s .ss s=sEk
ton of Mullett, the Architect OF On
ury, in my last letter. General FarnsASorth,
the chairman of the Post Office Committee,
has been most active against him, and has
sought to establish his charges of corruption
II . h. 6
York and Boston post Offices. His committee
have been making an investigation into the
matter. Farnsworth, it seems, had got just
what testimony he wanted, he had summoned
other witnesses, and the committee were ex-
aiming Farnsworth excused himself, say
ing be must be in the House, but that the
committee could continue the investigation
in mis- absence. He went into the House and
soon word was brought to the committee
that he had made a report in the case. And
truly he had, surreptitiously making a re-
port, rejoicing to make so nicely, a stab at
his victim. But yesterday his work was
overturned as it so well deserved Ii is an
outrage that such men should have the OPP
portunity to SANDER the valuable officers OF
the Government, but so it will be as long as
honest men continue to thwart the plans Of
rascals
The celebration Of the ratification of the
Fifteenth Amendment has been the occasion
for grand display of the two branches OF
the Republican party here,-one the Bowen
party, consisting of the mayor, his retainers,
and all those who depend on him for support
the other, all those who oppose his in
iquitous rule, who are determined on a
change. and who desire good government
for this city. 1t is true that this city is one
of great capabilities. 1t might with good
government be made one of the most beauti
full, as well as the best of American cities.
A prize was found here the other day
The copyright law provides that to make
valid the copyright, one copy of everything
copyrighted must be sent to the Patent Office
A recent law also provided for copy to thu
Congressional Library, which latter provis
! ion had caused the earlier one to be quit,
overlooked: Some enterprising Congssssman
however, in searching round the ether day
found collection of about 40 900 old book
in the Patent Office, slowed away where NJ
one ever saw them, and but for his curiosity
might have laid till dOomsday. Now it il
proposed to bring all these books to light, t,
put them in the Congressional Library nnc
let the copy sent there be sufficient to secure
the copyright.
1t is astonishing to zee how ignorant man,
of the Congressman are of the provisions o
the law, of Government institutions Tn,
above is an instance of the former. OF th,
latter, the following instance will suffice.
certain Democratic member of the House