Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-02-04
What Congress is Doing.

What Congress Is Doing.
The weekly reports of congressional az
ton of course show best of anything VIII;
the legislators of the country are engage
in, but the statements of correspondent;
give some light on the relative importanc,
of these doings and upon the great things
great ut least in the minds of their promo
tiers. that Congress is besought to do.
Since the profitless debate on and profit
able ending of the salary matter. the two
houses have been forwarding business witt
q speed, fully up to the average work O
their sessions. The proposed amend
ment of the bankruptcy law will Civ
some relief. and its best features are said to
be owing in great measure to the labors o
Senator Edmunds who notwithstanding il
health, remains one the steadiest worker,
in the Senate. The whole country ough
to hope for full share of good health fOl
him, as his immediate constituents do, fol
we remember hearing prominent Sena
tor say that the jobbers watched for his
absence with some eagerness, when il
hopes to smuggle their little items
through the Senate. This same Senator
who halls from outside New England ano
whose love of economy is not his mos
distinguishing characteristic, also related
with some glee, Il story of how a thirt,
thousand dollar item waited some days fol
such an absence that was known to b.
coming, and slipped through smoothly
when it came, to the great delight of the
good fellows - of the Senate, and to the
disgust of the temporary absentee.
Perhaps the work of preventing that
kind of Legislation does not properly come
under the head of this article, but when i
does it is the most profitable of any, anC
those who engage in it deserve the goo;
will of taxpayers. There is who'll
batch of projects that ought to be fought
down, such as the schemes of the initiation
lists, who would bring prosperity anC
wealth by working the government print
ing presses, the plans for government
trunk lines Of transit that are to give
cheap transportation to western products
and put into the hands of government off
cials the business that belongs appropri
ately to the private citizen. and the appro
priations for - ones district - that so man,
members, who are in favor of economy OF
general principles, are eager to make ex
ceptional cases to the somewhat rare ma
MIA of saving
There have been many good word
spoken on the matter of finance in favo
of speedy return to resumption, ant
against the vagaries of the ready-maG
money advocates, and none have been bet
ter spoken than those in the early part O
the session by Senator Morrill,. When tn,
doctrines he enunciated then shall b.
taken as the rules Of action, we shall grad
ually and steadily reach safer and more
profitable business activity.
The Louisiana muddlc is too thick to b,
seen through ut this distance, but there cal
be as little sympathy for the Kellogg re
publican government as for any rotten an,
corrupt thing. If everything could b.
wiped out there and begun over, it woul.
probably be the healthiest solution posi-
BILE. 1t may be very unconstitutional +
do this, rs Senator Morton says, but it /
hard lines when State government, wit
no honest pretext of existence, stands i'm
movable, because it has been " recogni2
ed - by itself and a drunken federal Judge
If Senator Carpenters bill for new cleo
ton is not the right thing, then, mean
ought to be taken for the immediate liftin,
of the judicial ermine from Judge Durell
and the establishing of a judge there VIII
will recognize " the real character G
Pinchback and his fellows.
The efforts making to make the pension
laws give more complete justice to on
soldiers is one deserving all success, an
Congress seems on the whole willing t
do Justice here when it shall be foun
what justice is. Indian affairs, too, com
in for full share of attention, and til
peace policy of the commissioners, oppos
ed by such eminent men as Sherman. vii
be all the more likely to be persevered i
if attacks like that of Nesmith of Oregon
are to be in order. What shall be don
with the civil service is question appar
emily not much nearer solution for tn
better. How long Mr.. Wizards resolu
ton for retrenchment will be allowed t
sleep in the committee of which he is
member, is a problem that would be easil
answered if that committee had been mad
up of men like him in favor of reform, in
stead of being blocked by such eminen
reformers as General Butler. We hav
faith, though. that it will be heard fror
sometime, and that it will bear good fruit
Among the things to be done, is ev
IDENTIFY further investigation into the a
fairs of the District of Columbia, wher
millions have been expended, and wher
very likely the operations once so famili;a
in New York. may have been trlnsplante
to Washington. The very fact that Gov
ernor Shepherd thinks the District govern
ment has already been sufficiently invest
gated, is pretty good evidence that MOI
investigation is needed, let it hit where
will.