Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1876-01-29
1FiHI NOTrtr pnnHt1tt.
Our Washington Letter,
WASHINGTON, u. C.. Jan. o5,

stance DC that the O1cnSler should serve
at least one term in Congress. The legal
fallacy upon the subject is that the men,
bers are elected to make laws, hut this is
a mistake. At least, one at all familiar
with the calls that are made upon the rep
must conclude that such Is
not the view of ''the dear people" 1t is
vastly amusing to sit in Senator's or
Members room during the morning. His |
mail is brought in; II contains all the pa
pers OF bis political parties, published in
his district, and each paper generally con-
taius about column Of advice, telling !
the poor devil what bills he should iatro- |
duce, and how he should vote upon those |
to hundred every day, and upon every
conceivable subject. One man wants q
place, another a pension, another patent,
and still another some claim looked after.
The NJ. c., or L. S. S., must attend to all
these things, and answer all the letters,
or be denounced as ungrateful and lazy.
But the visitors Of every day, ding-a-ling,
goes the bell, and in comes some fellow,
whom the member does not know from
Adams off OK, and modcstly requests
that he be accompanied to the President,
or one of the Secretaries, and put into
place. Once nrsrc the signal sounds, and
the rustic of garments tells you one of
the feminines are about to appear. She
enters, is shown to seat, and produces
some one the member never heard of, tes-
tifying that the bearer ought to be appoint
cd to a good clerkshipm the Treasury, or
elsewhere. She is persistent and posi-
tive, and the poor fellow has to make an
appointment to accompany her to some
secretary and see what he can do. There
goes the bell again, and in walks, with Il
depressed gait and slightly clerical APP
pearance, an efilgy OH manhood, who has
some begging scheme on hand, that ''evcry
member of our nations councils should
encourage by subscribing to, SIR" Again,
the door swings open, and some vaga-
bond, who once knew the members wife's
aunt's second cousin, comes in, and with
drawing the victim to his private room,
with Il long prerogatiye, setting forth the
reasons which have rendered 4 step nee
eSSary, asks the loan of few dollars.
And so it goes, day after day, until the
unfortunate member is about ready to
take the advice Of Jobs friend, and would,
did not the reasons so well set forth by
the crazy Dane restrain him. Some law
should be passed relieving Congressman
from these evils perhaps an enactment
that they should not receive either letters
or visitors during the entire session Of
Congress would accomplish the object
The week from the 18th to 22nd, inclu-
siye, has been spent by the House in dis
cussing tho centennial appropriation. Po-
litical or sectional lines do not control
this discussion. All the speeches made
against it are apologies for not voting in
favor Of it because the speakers do not
think the Constitution gives the power to
make the appropriation. Some of the
Members entrench themselves behind
that instrument Oh every occasion, and
either side can prove whatever is wanted
Of it. The Senate has also had discus
sion, but so far it is only onc-sideds SEN
ator Morton has been speaking on his
Mississippi resolution, and has not yet
concluded his argument. 1t is said that
Senator Gordon will reply to Norton, in
which event Alcorn of Mississippi, pro-
poses to take hand. ChriStiancy Of
Michigan, will present a substitute, the
nature of which is not known.
The celebrated Hot Springs case, in
yelving the title to the Hot Springs of
Arkansas, is now being argued before the
Supreme Court. The contest is between
three different claimants, and our much
beloved uncle Samuel, with the odds III
favor of the latter. Several of the lead
ing lawyers Of the country are engaged
in the case.
Two hundred Indiana editors, with
their wives, who have been visiting the
centennial grounds, came here and called
upon the President, and at the Capitol;
they have been kindly received, entertain
ed and spoken of, here, in Philadelphia,
and in New York, except by the New
York World, which paper of the 10Th
''goes for them" in most savage style.
The much talked of "Spanish Note"
has been published in full; it lis three
columns of the National Republican. 1t
is i'll the shape of Il letter from Secretary
Fish to Caleb Gushing, our minister to
Spain, and after recapitulating the condi-
ton of affairs in Cuba for the past seven
years, the treatment of citizens of the
United States by the Cuban authorities,
the friendly action of this government to
Spain, and the necessity, demanded by
humanity and because of our interests in
the affairs of Cuba, Secretary Fish says
of the President:
SIN the absence of any prospect of q
termination of the war, or of any change
in the manner in which it has been CON
Quoted on either side, he feels that the
, time is at hand when it may be the duty
of other Governments to interfere, sole
Iy with the view of bringing to an end q
disastrous and destructive conflict and o.
restoring peace in the Island of Cuba.
No Government is more Interested in the
order and peaceful administration of this
island than is that of the United States
and none has suffered as has the United