Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-11-21

: LIE WHITE HOUSE REGISTER-WTO CALL
ON THE PRESlDENT-THE Senatorial
. ToGA A WET BLANKET ON FORMER DE-
5 TINGUIsHED ORATORS-MUTE SONS O
THUNDER-THE SECRET SPRINGS O
THOSE WHO POSE-BLAINE UNHORsED-
, THE IMPORTANCE OF GossGP-ETC. ETC
WASHINGTON, Nov. II.
Since the inauguration of Presidcr
Hayes | have carefully studied his vsilin
list, or what may be called the Whit
House or court register, for have bee
curious to- know the personal anin,uS q
prominent men of his own and of the den,
ocratic party. think we can rreauentl
know more of the real sentiments an
feelings of men from their reserved an,
almost unnoted actions, than from thei
= guarded public utterances or studied 20,
ings before their constituents and posterity
We are separated by an ocean from wha
we are pleased to call the ef1ete desDotism,
and we claim u new departure in our form
Of government, but we have still, thoug
under different names, the forms am
faults both in system and sentiment of tn
old powers imported duty free. We hay
a court and courliers, intrigues, plolter
and powers behind the throne The conven
fence of speech us u mask of thought is II
great as it was in the day of Taleyrand o
Macheavelli, of Seward or that Englisl
combination Of the devil and the graces-
Lord Chesterfield. have observed tina
some senators and members never 90 t.
court, while others are very regular in thei
attendance, and it is remarked that thost
who had most frequent audience with tho
late administration give the present incum
bent widest berth. among the caller,
on the President to-day were Senators Pat
terson, Spencer, Logan" etc, ETC.. wa,
an announcement Of such almost daily re-
currence in the evening paper during tho
last two years of Gen. Grants second term
that the Journal must have found it con.
venient to keep it in type. Now the daily
announcement is characterized by the
names of Hill, Gordon, Lamar, Cockrell
or Alexander Stephens. But when BEGAN
writing, WAS thinking how persistently
|
members like Thurman, Bayard, Eaton,
White, Cox, Randall, Ewing, and IL host
of others, ignore the present tenant of the
| White House; not one of them has called
upon the President nor is it propable that
they will ever call. There was but little
cordially between the society that cluS-
tered around the late administration and
the democratic leaders, and it is quite evil
dent now that in spite Of olive branches.
and eras of pecce, there will be but scanty
hand, shaking across the chasm inhabited
on one side by the President and his cab-
net, and on the other by rectangular dem
ocrats. With Lamar, Hill, Gordon, Cock
rcll, and Stephens, the case is different
their role, from necessity, has been dplo-
matte as well us political-to apologize tor
the past blunders Of their hot-headcd
constituents, and to conciiate northern
prejudice, and, | suppose, history will
recount that they played well their part.
Messrs. Lamar and Hill have been us
gentle us lambs since they have teeu in
the senate. Indeed when we remember
how easily Mr. Lamar slipped in after the
mutterings OF opposition about the black
ness of his title, 1t might not be unreason-
able to suppose that he promised Mr.. Nor
ton, with whom he was known to have
frequent and long conferences, that, if he
would let him be Il little senator, he woulo
be very good. Except in rare instances
the senatorial togA has been the sbroud Of
oratorical genius. Just think of the dumb
sons of thunder that we have in the senate
ut present Hill, Lamar, Blaine, Beck.
Dawes, Voorhees,. Blaine is the only one
that has been heard from, and, poor
Blaine! it is easy to see, has never rallied
from those three fell blows: investigation,
sun stroke, and the Cincinnati convention.
What Is IL seal in the senate to man who
has long held, and with signal ectai, the
third position in honor of the country, the
second in plcuOusncSs-anl who
mourns the loss of the presidency? There
is dependency in his gait, in his voice
lie is suffering only IL different variety of
paralysis from that which killed Morton
a paralysis of hope and vaulting ambition.
TO see that splendid energy endorsed, that
Napoleon of the House confined to the St
Helena of the Senate Chamber, to be
" guyed," hedged, and snubbed by Sir
Hudson Lowe (SGnator Edmunds) of Yer
mont, is deeper tragedy than we see on
the stage.
have omitted matters of political news
because there is this week nothing of i'm
portance, and because | know the wires
will have told you the little there is of
interest, and, unless you advise me differ
emily, will in the future conline my
letters not SO much to matters purely
passage Of bills, AMI the
action of committees-as to the episodes
of legislation and Of official life at the
capital. There are scores of reporters
and shorthand writers who record on the
spot, the public utterances or stiff cut and
dried conversations Of those who make
our laws, but | am persuaded that the !
who will tell faithfully what
be sees from his stand point, although his |
narrative may descend to the pueriIity of
gossip about men and women, will not he |
a useless work. Macauley |
was willing to endure the reproach OF |
having descended below the dignity of
history that he might show his countrymen
md women how their foreftthcrs wore
clothes, and what they ate for their din
ners. 1t would be well if we could know |
more Of the secret motives and private |
lcts of those who make our public laws
Tor the outcome of these in legislation and |
heir ulterior influence upon mIlious of |
ives are incalculablc. 1t is us difficult to
Invest our mental vision of the glamour
with which we magnify the little men that
come here, us it is to purge our converse.
ion of can't we are disposed to look upon
| senator or cabinet officer us y fixed
quantity, and to formulate him as rcpub-
lean or democrat, statesman OF dema-
,ogue, honest or "onery "-(pardon the
lang forgetting they arc men of like
PASSIONS with ourselves, and that often their
wives, or somebody else is the real senator
II cabinet officer. GAS.
The United States supreme court de-
ides the law on which Missouri town
'onds have been issued in favor Of rail
Dads to be valid
A western farmer appropriates the year
y product of one acre of his farm to the
purchase of reading matter for himself
nd family. Here is Il hint for our farm ,
rs.
Gen Sherman, in his annual report, ,
avs that the actual strength Of the army t
now 24,50l men, of whom 20,6Ol are t
valuable for war. He favors I'm increase /
the army 10 10000 men, and asks for c
least $4,000 for regiments of the line, a
hich would make the companies average c