The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1876-02-17
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb'y -. 1876

WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb'y II, 1876.
Special Correspondence.
If you take the first two hundred and
fifty men met in days walk you will
not find a more uneasy, unsatisfied body
than the Democratic force in the House
of Representatives. This, too, at time
when that party has no other depart
ment of the Government, and is, in this,
peculiarly on its good behavior. The
like discord in the army of General Lee,
or Stonewall Jackson, OF Joseph E.
Johnston, or Hood, would have ended
the rebellion in the first two years but
those earlier Democratic leaders had
ideas of discipline which Messrs. Hol-
man, Hill, Cox, Randall, and Morrison
have seemingly never thought of. In
deed, of ell these leaders in the House,
there is not one who has not, at some
time since the opening of the Session,
put himself in a position where he was
not only laughed at by the enemy, but
snubbed by his friends. The latest is
Mr.. Morrison. who went out of his way
TO call Il man scoundrel because, after
being forced into the Democratic p,
mean the rebel army, he left it and
enlisted on the other side. After Mr..
Morrison concluded, and was laughed at
all around, the relief asked for by the
man was voted without opposition. The
truth seems to be that the ruling party
in theHouse is going on blindly, with
out.
The only thing agreed upon, apparent
ly, is that every committee of the House
shall be an investigating committee, and
shall look into all the expenditures of
the past decade, and shall sit with clos
ed doors. Investigation is well, and the
Republicans hive continually investigat
position, for sessions past; and, what is
more have opened the doors of the COM
mittee room and invited friends,
enemies, and newspaper men to be pres
ent. What the new order of things
the Star Chamber investigations-m
mean, is hard to tell, unless all the COM
mittees intend to make partisan reports
at q time too late, before election, for
successful Republican refutation. With
open doors, as has been the custom, the
public could daily receive both sides of
the story; as managed by this masked
battery party, the Democrats will get
their official buncombe to the people in
time to influence the election, and too
late for the Union Ar mean the Re-
publican party-to answer them effec-
tually. Look out for frightful reports
of fraud extravaganza, whenever these
committees think it necessary
The New York World has compari-
son In the style of Johnson's Dryden
and Pope, OF Morton and Hendricks, in
the position of rival candidates for the
Presidency. Conceding the unuuestion-
ed ability of Senator Morton, the World
claims that Hendricks is the safer man
OF the two. 1t is not thought unlikely
that this ability of Senator NJ will be
strongly shown within the next week in
successful result of his earnest adj
yocacy of MIR. Pinchback's admission to
the Senate. Whatever the result, Sena
tor Morton has managed his side of the
question with wonderful shrewdness and
tact, and has certainly made capital for
his party while advocating a cause in
winch that party is not united.
Jefferson Davis has made his contri-
button to the discussion of the amnesty
question. His letter is O more damae-
ing document to the Democratic party
than even the speech of Ben Hill. What
IS any rational man-Republican or Dem
ocrat-to make of such an expression
as this:"Lee no longer lives to defend
the cause and coiaaty he loved SO WE'LL"
or this, relating to time long after
the war was over: s'Confident of the
justice or oar cause, and of the rectitude
OF my own conduct, [ declined" &c.
&. This man has not changed his mind:
he is not less secessionist to-day than
he was twelve years ago; he does not
care fur the Union-he hates it; he waits
only for an opportunity to destroy it.
Who shall pledge him-who shall pledge
the seventy Confederate officers in Coz
gress, or the people these men represent.
to future allegiance to the National
Government? National Government! not
one OF them in twenty believes there is
any nation, but simply confederacy of
sovereign States, and the war was to
them but nlomen.ary defeat. 1t Is
hoped that all Republican papers and
committees will give to every expression
OF Southern opinion, at this time a wide