The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-09-01
THE DEMoCxATIC HOUSE.


! Democratic members Of the present
House OF Congress at Washington, re-
nominated 10 seats in the next Bouse.
RANDALL, CLYMEK, SAYLER, HURD, and
| in our own State WILSON, and many
others of the leaders, have been unani-
mously re-nominated BY their constitu'
snts This is just tribute TO the labors
Of these distinguished representatives;
and it is the proper course for people
to pursue in order to be faithfully and
efficiently represented, This House has
been unspsringly asssiled BY the admin
istrsllon press because it was Democratic
in its constitution. 1t has been called
the Confederate House," and spoken
of as if the people of the United
States had no right to send ma
iority of Democrats to Congress to
represent them, or rs if such body OF
Representatives had no right to assist in
making laws for country IN which
loyal Republicans live. 1t was treated
as an act of etfrontery that body OF
Democratic Representatives chosen by the
people should assume to investigate the
administration Of the departments, in
quire into the legality Of the acts OF
executive officers and question the pro-
priety of extrsvsgant expenditures.
Even the President took it upon himself
to send messages to the House lecturing
it Oh its duties-ss though he were a
better Judge of its duties than itself is.
But the House kept on the even tenor
of its way to the close of the session, and
we are now able to look on its acts rs
history. 1t commands our attention for
the decorous and exemplary conduct that
marked the proceedings of the session.
1t was called on to discuss some very ex-
citing questions, and some of its debates
were marked by party feeling; but
it may be said that no Repubii-
can Congress that ever sat was
more orderly and dignifed in its
demeanor, or more fair and just
in its decisions. The mos! important of
its acts was the reduction Of approPria-
tIoas from $l77, ,663, 900 in 1876, to Sl37,-
774,OOO-a saving of nearly s40,O0O,0O0
to the people. That this saving was
effected in spite of the persistent opposi-
tion OF the Republican Senate and the
Republican President only the more
clearly shows to whom the credit OF it be-
longs, while the fact that the Republi-
cans would not make the reductions
when they had the power shows which
is the party of extravaganza.
The House has been denounced for its
Investigations; but let the facts speak for
themselves. II may be said broadly that
it did not investigate single subject
that did not need it. The inquiry re-
yesled corruption, misconduct and fraud,
in all the departments-evils and vices
which the Republican party never at,
tempted to discover, and never wanted
to discover. This process OF investlga-
tion was called a "wholesale assas.
sinatiSn of character"-a malignant
scheme to defame upright officials
for party ends. But the results
of 1t show that no upright official was IN
iured, and If many dishonest officials
some of them in high positions, have
been exposed, that is their fault, not the
fault of the body that exposed them. II
Senators LOGAN, SHERMAN and MORTON
could havs had their way there would
have been no Investigations whatever;
the secrets of the whisky ring would have
remsir.ed hidden; the frauds in the War
and Navy departments would never have
been made public; BELKNAr woald be
in the cabinet, and ScHENCK our minis
ter to London to this day.
1t is remarkable that one of the last
acts of the House was the unanimous
passage of the proposed constitutional
amendment prohibiting division Of the
school funds, and its defeat in the Senate,
fact which is remembered that the
proposition was assumed to be Repub'
licau measure. That it failed OF passage
is due to the Republican Senate.
The whole history of the session ex'
hibits the House in its true character as
the popular branch of the national legs
lsture, and the friend of the people. The
Senate was the champion of the kxHcu'
tive, the departments and the bureaus
the advocate Of extravaganza, and the
opponent of all popular measures. This
Is the beginning of new Democratic
record, and neither the country nor the
party has any reason To be ashamed OF 1t