The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-02-07
Washington Letter.

w ASHIN GTON, u. y. Jan. -OCl, 1O|''
Everything of political nature is for
gotten now in the excitement over the
Compromise bill which is before Con-
gress. 1t is useless to make surmises
about its passage for the result will
probably be telegraphed all over the
country by the time this reaches you.
I quote the following from one of our
dailies "a careful canvas of the two
Houses not only confirms the general
opinion that the electoral bill will pass
both branches of Congress by a good
majority, but it shows it will meet with
but slight opposition-far less, in fact,
than has been heretofore supposed. In
the Senate not more than fifteen Sena-
tors, two Of them Democrats, are deter
mined in their opposition to the meas
ure. and in the House but twenty DEM
ocrats with, at the outside, thirty Re-
peblicans, will vote against it,
A week Or more ago Congress passed
bill abolishing the Police Board of the
District, but yesterday the President
sent it back to the Speaker of the House,
in which the bill originated, with his
objections thereto, in which he says
that the Police Commissioners should
be under the control of the District
Commissioners, and under other than
existing circumstances he would not OBJ
iect to the transfer Of the duties to the
District Commissioners; but recent rev.
Citations have shown that great abuses
have been practiced by the police force
which he desires to see eradicated, and
it was expressly for this purpose that
the new board was appointed. The
President also sent an answer, yester-
day, to the House resolution passed
early in December relative to the send
ing of troops south. These are to the
effect that the troops were necessary to
the preservation of peace and the exc
cution of the laws of the United States
and they close with the words II desire
to assure both Congress and the coun-
try that it has been my purpose to ad-
minister the executive powers of the
government fairly, and in no instance
to disregard or transcend the limits of
the constitution
Tuesday evening the gay world was
divided, as is not unfrequently the case,
between two entertainmcnts-a recep-
ton given by Mr.. and Mrs. Laughton,
and German at Marini's by the Wash
ington Club. Mrs. Sartoris and Mrs.
Fred Grant received the guests at the
latter place and some of the toilets at
both were exceptionally beautiful.
Mrs. Eugene Hale, from Maine wore
pale blue silk with draperies and garn-
niture of br9caded satin of the same
shade, her neck was ornamented with a
necklace composed of successive pend
ants set with pearls in clusters of the
same style. Mrs. John Davis wore
white Jamasse over silk and her hair
was dressed high with gold bandeau
across the front. Mrs. Charles Tafts'
ivory colored silk was exceedingly rich
and Mrs. Laughton wore emerald green
satin striped with white watered silk
and trimmed with handsome white lace.
In the Congregational church last
evening, large and cultured audiance
listened to an eloquent discourse by
Henry Ward Beecber. "Hard Times"
was his subject and he spoke on its the
oretical side rather than the practical.
He went over the condition of the coun-
try from 1861, describing the causes and
effects of hard times and easy times in
his own peculiarly emphatic and unem-
bellished manner.
There has been much interest here
within fortnight concerning the sick
and destitute poor Of the District. 1t
is said that never before, in the history
Of the country, has there been such
numbers of them here, and it has been
necessary to call for an appropriation
from Congress or government for their
relief. There are over thousand fam
lilies in Washington alone entirely de-
pendent upon charity for the necessities