The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-11-02
(From the Maine State Press Of Nov. I, 1919
History Of Seven Days.
The News for the week ending Wednes-
day Night, October 81.
NATIONAL CAPITAL.

NATIONAL CAPITAL.
The chief topic of interest at Washington
the, past week has been the appointment
of the House Committees by Speaker Randall.
The striking point about the Committees is
that the South is given great preponderance,
having eighteen chairmanships, while the
West has nine and the East only five, and
none Of these in New England. OF the finan-
cial committees, the banking and currency
goes to the West and the ways and means to
New York. The East has, besides the latter.
only the Pacific railroads, agriculture, manu-
features and mines and mining. The West
has only the banking ardl currency, public
lands, District of Columbia, war claims, mill
tary affairs, Territories, Presidential elections,
and two minor committees; all the rest go
South. The two changes causing the most
talk are the removal of Morrison from the
ways and means and s. s. Cox from the bank
ing and rules Few wonder at the selection of
another in place Of Morrison, but putting Mr..
Cox off the rules in addition to his main COM.
mittees is generally criticised. The ways and
means is a moderate-tarif committee. the
banking and currency for modification Ger.
tainly, and probably repeal of the resump-
ton act. The appropriations is economical;
military affairs against increasing the army:
coinage. weights and measures for a silver dol
lar with full legal-tender attachment.
The House was crushed under an avalanche
of bills Monday, and was actually obliged to
adjourn till Wednesday 10 give the clerks time
to make up the journal. Eight hundred and
forty-fve were introduced and read by their
titles, the reading consuming five hours. This
Is the highest number ever introduced in one
day before in the whole history of Congress.
The highest number ever reached before has
been about six hundred. One member intro
duced thirty bills The old members seemed to
think best to have their measures on the cal
andar early, and were quite prominent in pre-
senting bills. 1t is quite impossible to present
anything but general description of the bills
The majority Of the Western members seem to
feel it necessary to put in their bills for modify
ing or repeating the resumption act and for re-
monetizing silver, and the Southern members
dealt most largely in internal improvements
and claims. There were many bills to repeal
the bankrupt act. Two complete bills revising
the tariff were presented, one from Mr.. Willis
of New York and one from Mr.. Morrison. One
Of the old members of the banking and oarren-
cy committee, himself for resumption under
the present act and against silver, says the in
dications of Monday point to the certain repeal
of the resumption act, and the restoration of
the silver dollar, so far as the House can con-
troll the matter.
Maine members of the House have positions
on the following committees Mr. Hale is
placed on the Committee on Appointments;
also on the Committee on Library; Mr..
Frye on the Committed on thesJ Judiciary; Mr.
Lindsey on the CommittseRo Claims; Mr..
Reed on the Committee on Territories, and Mr..
Powers on the Committee on. Invalid Pensions.
Last week the Pennsylvania Congressional
delegation was invited by Secretary Evarts to
suggest some Pennsylvania man for the Eng
lish mission, with the understanding that the
President would heed the suggestion. There
upon the delegation unanimously named ST.
mod Cameron. This choice the President re-
fused to ratify, and Tuesday nominated John
Welsh. The nomination of Welsh occasions
much surprise and consequent comment. Heis a
merchant of Philadelphia, brother of William
Welsh, late one Of the board of Indian com.
missioners. He is about Y years of age, and
has made large fortune in the sugar import
ing business In his native city. He has never
held Office of any prominence outside of local
Philadelphia politics, and is better known to
the public az President of the Bos.d Oh I'll
nance of the late Centennial Exhibition, and
one of the most active promoters of the success
of the exhibition. In politics Mr.. Welsh has
always been thorough Republican. supporting
all of the state and national measures of that
pa rty. At the same time he has never been
identified with the Cameron division in the
management of state affairs.
The Senate confirmed the nomination of
Messrs. Stoughton as minister to Russia,
Noyes to France, Kasson to Austria, Lowell
to Spain, and several other diplomatic appoint
msnts.
The case of Senator Patterson, who was
claimed on requisition of the Governor Of
South Carolina, and who sued out a writ of ha.
beds corpus, has been further postponed by
agreement of counsel at the request of the
Attorney General of South Carolina, who is
unable to be presenton account of official bust
ness. The case will not again be heard till
sometime after the 10th of November, the ex.
press understanding and agreement that no
other requistion will be made or ne charge
preferred during the pending of the present
proceedings before Judge Humphreys.
President and Mrs. Hayes, Webb and Burch-
ard Hayes, Secretary .Evarts and daughter,
Secretary and Mrs, Sherman, Attorney General
Devens and others left Tuesday for Richmond,
where they were enthusiastically received
The national bank circulation issued for the
month was SO, 900. 900, for which Secretary Sher.
man has directed the retirement of So, ZOO
in legal tenders. A large number of orders for
the new circulation received during the month
remain unfElflled ard do not appear In this
statement The treasury will probably soon is
sue a call for bonds.
The fre-proof commission will report that all
the public buildings, with the exception of the
new State Department, are in part constructed
of such materials as to render destructive con-
fagrations possible. The commission will
therefore recommend that a fre-proof building
of ample dimensions be constructed for the
accommodation of the archives of the govern.
ment no longer required for constant use.
By care being exercised in saving all the rem.
nants of models found in the ashes in the pat
ent Office after the fire, many of the destroyed
models can be reproduced.
A Washington special says Senator Conkling
in conversation with delegation of prominent
Pennsylvanians said that many of the Presi-
dents nominations were very Objectionable,
especially those for the Southere States, and
that the Republicans in the Senate would stand
together on the question of nominations In the
South, and would not confirm any man not
identified with the Republican party in the
past
CONGRESS-.
Congress has been in session but a small
part of the past week and the business of the
sessions that have been held has been of little
Importance. Thursday both houses were in
session. In the Senate petition for the re-
peal of the bankrupt law,was referred. Also a
bill for the distribution of the balance of the
Geneva award. The House discussed the Col
orado case and finally referred it to the com