Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-01-21
From tho National Capitol.
WASHINGTON, Jan. l6, 1874.

| AI"ttU AcpuottCUV. ..as
The nomination of Caleb Gushing tor
Chief Justice Of the Supreme Court, the
! disclosure made elative to his former DO
litical life, and the consequent withdrawal
of his name by the President has been the
sensation OF the past week The nomina-
| ton was, like most other nominations by
the President for important offices, a COM
plete surprise, but no less of a surprise were
some of the disclosuressand develorm ents
brought ont by the Washington Chronic le,
the eliminating one and the one that made
the President withdraw his name as mat
ter OF course being the letter "to my dear
frend," Jefferson Davis, recommending to
| him for service under the Rebel Govern
ment a former employe of the War De- art
| ment. While no one denies the learning
| of Mr.. Gushing, no one. Repub lican or Dem
| ocrat, has any very great confidence in his
stability or faithfuluess to principle. The
Choniele, one of tn e Administrative organs
in the city, has shown commedabe indie
| pendence in so vigorously attacking and
laying bare the former political life of Mr..
Gushing, and to its efforts it is mainly due
that the country is not now possessed Of a
Chief Justice without any decided princ-
plies, who has been every thing at turns and
nothing long. No new nomination has as
| yet been sent in, and it is said that none
will be, until it is known the nominee will
accept.
The salary bill, or rather the repeal of
| the same has passed the House as it came
| from the Senate. that is, cutting down all
| salaries raised by it, except those of Presi-
dent and Justices, to the old standard, to
take effect from the passage Of the bill.
To take away what WAS alread y paid and
received was of course impractcable, and the
people can praise themselves that by their
efforts alone the bill has been repealed,
| only reason why they voted for the repeal,
| that their constituents were opposed to it.
That rctrenchment will be made in many
branches of the government remains with
out doubt. That it can be done is equally
| true. Millions have every year been ap.
propriat<d for public buildings in many
places, where they can well be dispensed
| with, and to this there will probably be an
end for few years to come. One of the
heaviest appropriations for the present year
is one for the building Of the Congressional
Library--an institution that takes up
good deal of room and is of exceeding little
service. With certain pride it is said
that the Library contains SO many thousands
or millions of volumes, but why there
should be any pride about it, is not quite so
clear, inasmuch as very large number of
the volumes is the verest trash that no one
ever looks at. The only persons who can
get books from the Library are members of
the Cabinet, Justices and the Members of
Congress, and the number of books used by
them is OF course very limited and is only
law books and other official volumes. The
books can only be had on the personal ap-
plication of those entitled to them, and it
can therefore be readily imagined that it is
matter of very great difficulty for any
common mortal to procure a book-as your
correspondent can fully attest although
it is said that the, we'll, call them the lady
friends of Senators and Members, do not find
any difficulty in keeping themselves sup
| piled with novels. Before a MILL on or two
| of the peoples money is used for a library
| building, the people certainly ought to
know that the Library is of no earthly use
| to them, directly or Indirectly, except to go
| in and look through the grated alcoves.
Winter has set in quite severely at last.
After snow STERN lasting about Is hours
| the weather has turned very cold and has
been so for two or three days. Persons who
| began to fear they would melt next SUN
mer for want of ice, may now res: easier.
! at1 W.