Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-03-30
Our Washington Letter.


Editor Rutland ld:-How peril
nent the remark made to your correspon
dent by an eminent member of Congress
from New England. Referring to Con
gress he said that everybody seemed tc
have plan of their own and that plan
seemed to be to differ as much as possible
from everybody else. AS literal fact the
statement may be overdrawn, fguratively
it just expresses the prevailing spirit
Whatever virtue there may be in har.
mony of views and action, the dominant
party are fast becoming possessed. A
consistent, healthful opposition that is
calculated to fairly represent all sides OF
a question, is absolutely indispensable to
a fair and just proceeding in all cases, but
when opposition passes beyond the point
of honest consistent differences of opin-
ion and becomes characterized by per-
sonalities and logged persistencies, a
deplorable condition is reached, one which
cannot long continue without working
great harm if not total ruin to the gener-
al cause. Since the first general engage
ment upon the San Domingo question in
the Senate, it required no prophetic
vision to see a breech effected which I'M
til to-day has continued to widen. The
inharmonies Of the Senate have been re-
sponded to by the Blaine-Butler contest
in the House. In close examination of
this contest there appears much to excuse
each gentleman in their individual action
in the matter, but the general fruits of the
quarrel will be anything but advantage
GUS to the party to which both belong
There are a great many in the country
who will never take the trouble to analyzs
the muss, to see just what honorable mo-
tive actuated this or that one, what great
good was intended to be accomplished by
the commission of the little wrong in
question, but will look upon the broad
naked face of d quarrel and draw conc1u-
sions therefrom. OF course the party can
survive one quarrel, it is not in this par
ticular one that we see clouds and dark
ness but the camels back was broken
by the accumulated weight of little
straws, and as we note one dissent ton after
another, and more particularly the prone
ness to differ upon the Republican side of
the House, we remember that dssention
in camp is more disastrous than battle at
the front, and as we see the other side
moving in solid phalanx as one man, we
conclude that the strength of unity is
theirs
Public men should be willing to be-
come anything and everything for the
public good, but at present it is manifest
that many of our public men are willing
to become leaders and rulers, this much Of
self will they sacrifice to the public and
no more. The query is how long will the
honest, liberty-loving people tolerate this
state of things. Will they take this lit
tie political "bull by the horns" and cast
the whitening frown of the righteous in
dignation upon the would-be leaders and
rulers who unchecked will sacrifice the
country's interest to self or party agran-
disement2 When Titus planted the in
vading army before Jerusalem he found
that otherwise impregnable fortress a,ily
reduced because of the faotious divisions
and quarreliug and bloodshed of the gar
risons within. In the repetitions of his
tory this destruction is often repeated,
and must from the nature of things con-
tinue to be while houses and parties are
divided against themselves. Like the
doomed city they are easily overcome.
LEGISLATION
during the week has been characteristic
of the times All attempts at Ku-Klux
legislation $50 termed) has been futile. In
many parts of the South the condition of
life is most deplorable. In North Caro-
lima the number of the 'K. K" organiza-
ton ia stated upon the floor OF Congress to
be as high as forty thousand, who are
bound to carry their point and drive Car
pet baggers and Unionists from the soil
BY rapine and murder, If need be. The
great cry of trouble from the South seems
lot to come so much from those States
where either the Democrats or the Re-
,ublicans have the entire sway, but from j
hose States where political sentiment is ,
more equally divided, comes wall of i
voc from a "dance of blood" Nearly i,
very mail brings accounts of assaults ,
md often murders of Union men in these :
disturbed sections, but SO conflicting are ,
he reports and causes rendered by each
'olitical party in debate that candid and Z
reasoners may be excused for ,
landing where Dawes, Farnsworth and 3
be other fifty-two Republicans of the +
House do who propose to wait until
commission can be sent to spy out the !,
md and know for certainty what the
rue condition of the country is. Debate l.
pom this subject is apt to become heated, o
artisan, and often bitterly vindictive. r
his is matter of the greatest impor-
ance to both parties-one which no party il
an seek to perpetuate or refrain from II
wing to correct, and hope to succeed = =
18th any civilized candid people. How /,
nportant, then. that in the consideration VI
this matter in Congress, legislators q
,ould be guided by something higher Ii
IAN mere party clap-trap and personal e
'stigations. The other day, Mr.. Beck, E E
no Is an able but vehement Democrat v
ON Kentucky, stated that a certain mail