The New Orleans bulletin., 1875-11-23
THE FORTY.FOURTH con-
GRESS.
Organization os the House-No Lack of Can.
aidates for the Omces-The Polss.rnI Bpb-
BILE Beginning to Boil In Washinston-
The speakership and Clerkship-The Com.
ing Men, Etc.
From an Occasional Correspondent

From an Occasional Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 1875.
The sounds of preparation for the ap-
preaching session Of Congress are beginning
to be heard in Washington, and although but
few Senators or Representatives are, as yet,
in the city, the political atmosphere is filed
with rumors of what may be expected when
Congress shall meet The question upper
most at present is that of the organization of
the House OF Representatives, as that body
will elect an entirely new set of officers from
the Speaker down to Postmaster. Several OF
the candidates for the minor positions Clerk,
Sergeant-at-Arms, DOOrkeeper, etc.-are al
ready in the city, and their presence tends to
infuse considerable life into the discussion of
the prospects
For the first time in sixteen years the DEM
ocrats will have control of the House, the
last Democratic Speaker having been James
L. Orr, of South Carolina, who was Speaker
of the Thirty-ftth Congress from December
7th, 1857, to March 4th, 1859. With Dem
ocratic majority of 78 in the House-the
figures standing, Democrats 178, of whom
about 81 are from the South, Republicans
1O8, and Independents 6-the officers to be
elected will of course all be Democrats Of
approved good standing in the party. What
ever hopes the Republicans may have had
that their minority could be made available
/
arising from the October and November elec-
tions have been pretty thoroughly abandoned
by this time.
1t being certain, therefore, that the officers
of the next House will be Democrats without
any admixture of the Republican element, it
becomes interesting to glance at the names of
| the candidates who are mentioned with more
or less favorable comment for the various po-
| sitions.
For the Speakership we find, from the
Northern and Western wings of the party,
Randall of Pennsylvania, Kerr and Holman Of
Indiana, Fernando Wood and Cox of New
York, and Sayler and Payne of Ohio; while
| from the Southern ranks are ex-Gov. Walker
OF Virginia, Knott of kentucky, and Lamar
of Mississippi.
OF the candidates from the North and
West-and it is generally conceded that the
| Speaker will be a Northern or Western man,
as the South is willing to grant the presiding
officer to either of those seclions-Messrs.
Randall and Kerr, as claimed by their friends,
present the best chances of success. The
friends Of the former aver that he has
| fully one hunired votes secured to him.
They point to his able adership of the
| Democratic party in the House last ses-
sion as the most conclusive evidence
| of his fitness to preside over The next House.
| There is on the other hand very marked op-
position to Randall among some of the Demo-
cratic press. 1t is alleged that the Republi-
| cans desire his election, and dissatisfaction is
expressed with him as a protectionist and
high tariff man. Kerr's friends claim that he
can control seventy-fve votes among the
Southern members. and that if he deveiopes
fair showing of strength at the start he will
secure large vote from the West and North.
The difference between these two prominent
candidates is that while Randall has been for
/ A. IL L
cured large following, Kerr has come into
prominence only within comparatively re-
cent period, and that his strength is daily
growing.
Messrs. Wood and Cox have many friends,
but at this stage are not much talked of. The
strength of Messrs. Holman, Payne, Knott
and Sayler is not suffi GENTLY developed to en-
able me to speak with any confidence on the
subject OF their prospects. Walker and Lamar
are frequently mentioned, especially the for
mer, in connection with the position but it is
not clear that either is, strictly speaking a
candidate, and if either should be brought
forward for the SPEAK ership, it will be as
compromise candidate. Should the Speaker
come from the South the choice would lie
between these two.
As regards the Clerkship, ten or dozen
gentlemen are mentioned for the office There
are several ex-members of Congress among
the number, and the very fact that there are
SO many of this class threatens to destroy the
chances of all of them, for the reason that
members, unwilling to vote against any one
of their old colleagues, will compromise the
matter by voting for some "third man, who,
in that case, would probably be Mr. George
G. Wedderburn, of Virginia, the Democratic
caucus nominee for Clerk at the organization
of the last Congress, and who on that occa-
sion was supported by the entire party in the
House against the Republican nominee, Mr..
Mcpherson.
philanthrophic gentleman and distinguished
physician, the late DR.. Alexander j. Wedder-
burn, of your city, one of the founders of
the Medical College of New Orleans and for
long time the associate of Drs. Riddell,
Cenas and other equally well ll-known physi-
clans in the faculty of that institution. This
fact and the additional fact that he has many
friends in New Orleans, should naturally
cause your citizens to feel something OF per-
sonal interest in his success He was Con-
federate officer during the war, and for several
years past he has been active in Democratic
journalism in Virginia. Ia 1873,
the Richmond Enquirer, under his
management bore prominent part in
the i'm portant political campaign Of that year
in Virginia, which resulted in the election of
Gov. Kenper and the triumph of the Con-
servative cause in the State. AS in the case
of the Speakership. it would be premature,
perhaps, to attempt to estimate the probable
strength that any one of the numerous can
ddates for the Clerkship will command at the
meeting of Congress-, but present Appearances
indicate that MIR. Wedderburn will 60 into the
Democratic caucus with very strong and in
fuential support. The clerk receives salary
of $4,000 a year, and perquisites to the amount
of $1,000 more, and has the appointment of
some seventy assistant clerks, messengers,
ETC., with salaries ranging from $4,000 to
$1,000.
Besides the ex-members of Congress pre-
viously referred to, among whom are DuBose,
Of Georgia; Adams, of Kentucky, and Archer,
of Maryland, other candidates for the clerk
ship are Gov. r. W. Mitchell of Ohio; A. d.
Banks, of Mississippi, and Richard Vaux,
of Pennsylvania. All these gentlemen have
many friends for the position.