The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-12-02
The Last Session of the F0rty-See0nd
Congress,


m lnicatlons that are not used
The Last Session of the Forty-Seeond
Congress,
If the forty-second Congress can get
through its last session, which begins next
Monday, without committing serious errors,
its record will be very fair one. So far, lis
sins have been mostly negative. 1t has not
been good Congress for lobbyists. Land
grabbers and monopolists havnt known
where to have it. Subsidies of all kinds have
not found favor in the eyes of Representa-
tives, though the Senators have considered
good many doubtful schemes. The taxes
have been cut down, tine expenses of the gov
ernment have been somewhat reduced ana a
beginning of civil service reform has pceh
made.
But this Congress has yet to undergo its
greatest temptations. The lobby, attracted
nv the pleasant order of the fifteen million
dollars that are to be paid into the Treasury
in pursuance of the Geneva award, will now
muster in full force. On the one hand par
ticipation in this fund will be claimed by ship
owners who have already received full in
demnity from the insurance companies, and
on the other hand by underwriters who have
also been Unidentified by the large premiums
they exacted when taking war risks. OF
course individuals of the shipowning class
who met with losses not covered by insurance
are entitled to consideration, and we hope
that the suggestion of the New York World
that such claimants be referred by Congress
to the Court of Claims, will be needed. The
bulk of the money awarded at Geneva I'M
doubteily belongs to the people at large.
Another inroad ON Congress will be made by
the commercial interests which desire to buy
cheap tonnage abroad. If this point should
be yielded, of course there would at once be
an end of American shipbuilding. With our
deprecated currency and high wages we
could no more compete with England on
equal terms in shipbuilding than we could
with China in raising tea. 1t
il said that the President will make
no special recommendation in regard to com
mercial interests, but will suggest that fur
ther encouragementbe offered in addition to
that afforded by the drawback provided for,
last session. Mr.. Lynch, to whom the coun-
try is indebted more than to any other single
individual for the agitation of the revival of
commerce, and for the suggestion of practi-
cal methods of attaining the desired end, will
for the last time take his seat in the House.
If the question which he has investigated SO
conscientiously and pressed SO earnestly on
the attention Of Congress and the country,
is not now satisfactorily settled, his loss will
be severely felt in all future deliberations on
this topic.
There are two measures which have passed
the House and are now pending in the Sem
ate, and which have so far attracted very lit
tie popular attention, that are in our opinion
of greater Importance than any others that
are likely to claim the attention of Congress.
One of these provides for the appointment of
three commissioners to investigate the labor
question and report what legislation, if any,
is needed to promote more equitable divis-
ion of the prooucts of toll between capitalists
and their employees The other devotes the
future proceeds of the public lands solely to
the education of the people. Half the rev.
enue from sales is to be Immediately distrib-
uted, to the States, reference being had to
their illiteracy, and the other half is to con-
stitute permanent fund, the interest of
which is alone to be used tor the same pur-
pose. 1t will be seen that the greater part of
this magnificent fund will go to the Southern
States, and certainly there is no intelligent
man of Northern birth so narrow-minded or
SO unpatriotic as to object to this des-
tination of the nations bounty. In
this way we should obtain security against
future rsvolts and disturbances in the South
such as nothing else can give. Both of these
bills have for their most prominent champi-
on Geo. f. Hoar of Massachusetts, and both
Of them, strange to say, are bitterly opposed
by the Democratic party in Congress and
outside of that body. 1t is like opposing air
and sunlight!
The people are extremely anxious that
Congress and the Executive should agree
upon some plan for removing that abomina-
ton, the collection of tie fag-end of the ex-
else tax by an expensive army of collectors
and assessors. If at the same time the great
er part of those industrious loafers employed
in the revenue service as Especial agents.
and detectives could be weeded out, the in
terssts of both honesty and economy would
be greatly promoted.
They tell strange stories of an immense
lobby that has been organized to secure the re-
payment of the cotton tax. The fable runs
that the lobby is to have half of the seventy
millions total in case of success. This ru-
NOR is extremely doubtful, but if it prove
true, the forty-second Congress has repeated
ly shown that it has honesty and vgor enough
to resist the pressure.