Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-02-19
Special Correspondence to Chronicle
OUR TKdSHLNGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, "a.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18th, IA.
Mr.. Dawes speech upon our finance.
has been subject of much comnen
this week on ali hands. Many Repub
licans are pleased, while others express
greatest dissatisfaction. The trouble
involved is, that Mr.. Dawes is in the
right in SO many Of his structures upor
the governmental expenditures of late
that the truth hurts. He is bold anO
| fearless politician, and deserves great
est credit for his care of our national
finances Sc far as his position as chair
man of Committee of Ways and Means
permits, and Instead of condemning
Congress should gather heed his war.
nings. 1t seems prepOsterouS for the
government, for instance, to expend
millions building custom houses where
not dollar of customs is paid, and in
other ways we would do well as ma
tion to take Dawes advice, and ''stop,"
at least, until an empty treasury has
been replenished without resort to re-
enactment OF odious excise and revenue
laws.
A petition was presented to tie
House praying repeal of Act of 1916
reroceJing Alexandria County to the
State Of Virginia. A determined et-
fort will be made soon 10 restore that
county 10 the District not only in ap-
peal to Congress but to the COur.s. A
test case upon the right of Virginia to
tax citizen of Alexandria county, ha
been fled in our District Court, and
between that and Congressional action
it is hoped restoration may be effected.
There is no question in regard to the
uncOnstitutionality OF the retrocession
Act 1916. t was simply Il political
measure and was done in hopes of
changing Virginia from ID Democratic
to Wing State through the heavy
Whig majority of the County. Mr..
Webster characterized the Act as
clearly unconstitutional aud declared
his intention to oppose; but though the
efforts of such men as Mr.. Hunter of
Virginia, he was induced to absent
himself when the bill was discussed
and voted upon. As a matter of mill
tary necessity alone, the county should
be returned. The trainers of the Con-
stitution intended the District to be so
isolated. as to be independent, and yet
the retrocession took away not only a
portion of the District, but left the cap
ital itself within range OF confederate
guns at the outbreak of the late war.
Georgetown was within musket shot of
rebel spies and scouts, and every fort
erected, for defence of Washington, on
the south side of the Potomac was uron
rebel Virginia soil. While rebel could
not in 1861, do as the soldiery at Phila-
delphia in last century, march into the
Halls OF Congress-, yet they had it in
their power to destroy Washington
with cannon and we wonder Why
they delayed in so doing until rendered
impossible by the crossing of our army
into Virginia. The investigation into
the aifiirs of the City Board of Public
Works will be conducted on legal prin-
ciples. Corruption has been charged
and those preferring the charges must
sustain them with witnesses and facts.
This is right. There is. no doubt but
that the Mem0rialists are simply spec
ulators who by delaying appropriations
tiepress in value all our District securi-
ties by forcing holders t. sell at low
prices. This investigation is heavy
blow OF The laboring man here, and it !
is to be Hoped that in compelling the
sharks " no are responsible for it to
1t once sustain their charges We may J
soon reach a conclusion. In conversa- |
lion recently with a well known Vir-
yinlan politician, who figured promi-
,ently in m4tter of imputed legisla-
i've corruption he informed me that
he himself wrote the bill directing in
He knew the Legislature
would pass it and if it did the delays
tc. incident to sweeping investiga-