Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1872-02-29
0GGr T7-oshflgtcr Hotter.
WASHINGTON, D. O., Feb. 20.

To say that the campaign Of seventy
two has opened, would be to chronicle
an item too OLD to pass for news. More
than year ago we saw il opening,
Men, cliQues. rings end parties, were to
be seen preparing foundations for plat
forms -citidals Of power strongly in
Grenched and mounted with heavy guns
70 below forth its impreguagability, po-
litical forces being aassed and batteries
planted by ss7ailiug forces, all in antic-
ipation Of the final day Of contest. 1t
was then that tho campaign commenced
and 1t is only tho careless observer, who
starts at tho booming of heavy ordnance,
and awasens to the conclusion that
war has just buguD. Nominally the
county is at peace. yet it is the
peace that follows dreadful war-a
war that has left It's spirit still lurking
whore it so recently held carnival in
blood, regardless of law, and in utter
contempt Of truth and justice. If, as
has been said, civilization will not regain
In fifty years the Generalization of one
years war in France, then we, as peO-
pie, have reason to rejoice that we suf-
fer no more than we do in this respect.
We are charged with the double duty of
roofing out the tares sown by this hid
eous monster, and of remaining true to
our governing principles. In this our
duty and our interests are identical.
Happy shall we be if we remain true to
both, and remember that to do so is to
ply the pruning knife at home as well
as abroad, to pick the beam from our
own eye, and remember that men of a
generation are as naught before princi-
Piles that live forever.
Summers Franco-P russian war resOlu-
tion has been the one prominent feature
of Congressional action, or rather mac
o ton, and talk. Sumner is in his element
when he can find some wrong, magma
ry or real to combat. He seems happy
In his new espousal against corruption,
fraud and an unwarrantable grasping of
power. Having introduced the resolu-
, ton and opened the debate, he quietly
falls into the background, while Others
draw their weapons and fall to. The
weeks engagements have been conducted
by Sumner, Schurz, and Trumbull in fa-
vor of, while Conllling and Morton,
prompted by other Senators, have OPP
o. posed the resolution.
Tho resolution proposes the appoint
ment of committee to investigate, etc,
and the question properly before the
Senate is the acceptance or rejection of
the proposition, but debate assumed such
q O hot political aspect that not only was the
merits of the question tried, but every
body and everything connected by cir
cumstance, or implication with the OBJ
iect aimed at so that the work that was
designed to be done by the committee
has, in great part, been done by Sen
ate discussion. Conklings speech on
Monday was a labOred yindication of
the President and Secretary of War, a
savage criticism upon the motives of
the "Senatorial Cabal,' especially Sum
ner, for offering the resolution, Charg-
ing them with no higher motives than
political tricEery, andofferingan amend
ment empowering the committee to in
vestigate Senators, to see if any had
been in collision with emissaries or
spies Of France This was pronounced
by Mr. Sumner as an indignity to prove
and the language was changed and the
amendment adopted
Schurz took the floor and the Senate
adjourned. This is the parliamentary
mode Of advertising ones self to speak
on the following day. Still we have
known men to change their mind and
dissappoint the public.
On the following day Schurz was on
. hand and 50 were the public. The gal
leries were packed Ike fg-boXes, and
eager hungry-looking crowds Of Wash
ingtors best stood in jams about the
door, At the instance Of Mr.. Fneton
the ladies were admitted to the cloak
rooms and doors thrown open. The
inch thus given only served as a base
from which to act and the lawless fair
enes soon found the "cll' in the most
conspicuous part OF the Senate Chamber
took seats on either side Of the presiding
officers stand, lined the walls with their
costly apparel, and some, tired Of stand
ing, took seats on the rich carpet Ia
Turk. The waves OF applause which
ran through this intelligent audience in
dictate one of two things, that Schurz is
lao, fDp /,
else investigation is in strong public
favor here, perhaps, indeed, it indicates
both.
The speaker begun by saying that the
senatorial ''cabal' had done good ser
vice in the past. 1t had forced the alb
andonment of the San Domingo job -
il had forced the investigation of the
New York custom house and exposed
It's systematic robbcries, and it proposed
topress forward in obedience to the up
rising sentiment for reform and expose
and stop corruption wherever found.
Schurz held the audience in enwrapt
silence or smothered applause. The
previous speech Of Conkling and Nor
ton In reply to Sumner had taken strong
political grounds, to these he briefly re-
piled with burning eloquence and with
ering sarcasm, expressing the most elo-
quent contempt for the political cant
used in opposition to every reformatory
measure. The conclusion Of his speech
was the resell Of a stampede from the
galleries. Morton took the floor in re-
ply and held over until the next dav.
In conclusion he was followed by Conk-
ling. He entered the arena "all fitted
for fight Debate had already swung
from the legitimate question at issue to
that Of party politics. Veering again it
took q nersonal charactnr Tic char,