The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1876-01-09
WASHINGTON LETTER.
An Analytic Review Of the Committees
OF the House OF Representative
WAsnlNaros, Ianuary ., 1870

... ... WAanIN0Tok, January o, 1876,
special Correspondence Dallas lleald.l
1t IL singular that any one should
have seriously urged rs an objection TO
Speaker Kerr's committees, that they
gave undue advantage 10 the South.
The persistency with which this still
continues 10 be done has induced your
correspondent to make an analysis OF
the committees, and present II for the
information OF your READERS.
From the tone OF the more violent
JourDals, one would suppose that the
balance OF power had been thrown,
once for all, towards the Gulf OF Mex
leo, and the supremacy OF the North
irretrlevably lost, while most OF them
have, at least, u suspicious and qper-
ulous tone In their comments on the
organization OF the House.
That there Is no cause for this will
appear ut once to any one who will eN-
anime into the matter; nay, he viii see
how absurd the very pretence ofsnch u
grievance Is. Far from being unduly
favored the South has rather good
reason TO protest TINT she has not been
treated fairly. Considering her pres
tige in the party, the difficulty of Dem
0cratic organization In her territory
under the prevailing administration,
the need she has OF favorable leglsla-
ton, and the character OF the men she
has sent to the National councils, she
might well claim that she has beer
sighted In her Representatives. Thus,
leaving neglected Florida out of the ac-
count, Alabama, Mississippi, Louis
lana and Arkansas have but one chair
manship each allotted to them, OF
which two, Agriculture and Private
Land Claims, are ONO startling import
ance; one, on Pacific Railroads, Ia no
acquisition to the State complimented
(Mississippi), though the gentleman
himself Is decided acquisition to the
committee; and the last, Mississippi
Levees, could scarcely have been as
sigued to any other State than Louisi-
ana. Georgia has two, one OF them
being Weights aud Measures, which,
considering Mr.. Stephens III health,
may be considered as almost in the
hands of Mr.. 0'Brien, of Maryland;
the other, the influential and import
ant Committee on Enrolled Bills.
North Carolina Is better OIL with Pat
ents and Indian Affairs though what
Mr.. Vance, country trader and far
mer, knows about patents, or what the
State generally has to do with Indian
affairs although both the gentlemen
thus appointed are sensible and excel
lent men are as yet mystical questions.
ia nn1xy kuI ,nn Nn nat an ia n nnRt Ia N nd
west as Kentucky that the important
committees begin to crowd thick upon
their blushing recipients But the
most marked instance OF neglect Is
Texas. For all her vast territory,
her important interests. her sweeping
Democratic majorities, she has not
one Craftsmanship to show. IL has
not been thought worth while to COM
pliment her with even one OF the snp-
Elementary and unconsidered commit
tees on the expenditures Of the depart
ments. or the like, which have been
given to States with their quotas al
ready full, rs If to mark the inyldious
discrimination more keenly. Nor IL
this all, when we come TO consider
the representation she has upon these
committees. Texas has a long line Of
frontier on q foreign country, quite as
foreign as If II were transatlantic
(Which the word is generally taken to
mean,) Complications of the most sc.
rious and delicate nature arise between
the two nationalities. Our country
has already become involved in its
third great war by these questions.
Troubles and difficulties even
now exist, which call loudly for adju-
dication. Yet Texas, so far from hav-
ing the first or second place on the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, has not
single representative upon ID y n1fi
Again, Texas has the most extensive
Indian frontier Of any State In the
Union. She has the Indian problem
forced upon her notice by constant
alarms, raids ana depredations. On
this committee, also, she stands abso-
lutely without representation. !, Il
Finally, with a large portion of the
army within her borders, and with
paramount interest in the preserva-
ton, the movements and the efficiency
of the force, she 10 without O voice IN
the Committee on the Military. Il
II is thus apparent that she has not
only been treated without courtesy or
respect, but has been systematically |
sighted. 80
It may we'll be asked: Who, then, !
has run off with the honors If the !
South is so bereft Of them? II is oer-
tainly not New England, so famous
that way of yore. Massachusetts, and
South Carolina no longer giants
struggling for the mastery, may now
console together hfraternally. y New
England has not q single committee
The laurels have certainly not "gone
Westp and taken root on the Pacific
slope, for the rich and powerful States
there are as neglected as Texas. Cali
fornia has not even q representative
on Mines and Mining. l 80 '.'1"
II we take New York and the string
OF States-Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indi-
ana and Illinois-which We may call,
for convenience. the Grain Believe
will find that the weight and influence
Of the new Congress has all been con-
there, with what purpose we
leave others to determine. New York
has five committees, Pennsylvania no
less than seven, Ohio has five, and the
list Is Of striking brilliancy+Public
Lands, Military Affairs, Territories,
Militia and neutrality-suspicious. three,
aud Illinois four, including Ways and
Means. D If we keep ON to Missouri we
Postoffices and Post Roads, Dis
trict of Columbia, Mines and Mining,
and the Postotfice De-
partmont. Turning to Kentucky
we find the judiciary. Revision Of thei
Laws, Public Expenditures and Rail-
roads and Lands-making nine more
important committees on the TANKS of
Illinois. Leaving these out, we have,
the fact that New York