Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-10-26
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

open revolt against the clearly denned
purposes of the party.
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
Correspondence of the Bulletin.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., Oct. 20, ~.
The House adjourned on Thursday
evening until Saturday, with the under
standing that no business was to be
transacted on that day. This recess
was taken to enable Mr. Randall to COM
plete his list of the standing committees
and to permit termination of the moot
ed point by the majority, whether gener-
al legislation shall be attempted during
this extra session. 1t is Mr. Randall's
wish to put the right man in the right
place, as chairmen Of these committees,
and to be relieved of all the public lab
ors until he shall have determined upon
his leaders. Some of the appointments
made by Mr., Kerr last winter were OBJ
jectionable in many respects, and Mr..
Randall asserts that he will try, in so far
as he can, not to repeat the same blum
der. He has left the city for his home
and will stay there until Monday, on
which day he will make his announce
ments.
The power exercised by the Speaker
in the matter OF committees is equal in
national Importance, in many respects,
to that exercised by the President him
SELF The chairmen of these committees
to very great extent, rule and control
the legislation during Congress. The
real work Of the Legislature is done in
fho Vho Of
! appropriation and the effect Of certain
legislation is determined to very great
extent by these chairmen. Hence the
absolute need devolving upon the Speak
err to select the best and purest men for
the positions. Mr.. Kerr, in several of
his selections, was governed more by
personal preference than by fitness of
the appointee, and whether Mr.. Randall
will rise above partisanship or personal
preference will be seen after we hear his
announcements Nearly all the corrupt
legislation of Congress is chargeable to
the action OF committees, and were hon
est, capable and vigilant men always APP
pointed chairmen, fewer frauds would
be enacted into statutes. And were the
constitution so amended as to compel a
vote of yeas and nays upon every bill
carrying an appropriation OF moneys,
not one dollar would be filched from the
Treasury, where now there are thous-
ands Members will advocate measures,
force them through the COMMITTEES i'll
charge, trusting to sneak them through
the House or Senate under the general
negligence, which permits the passage
of hundreds of acts without single
vote being cast, pro or con, for them.
We have seen score of bills at time
become laws without vote, yea or nay,
the Speaker simply reading the title,
and because OF no objection would de-
clare the bill law. We have slight
fear as regards the Offices to be filled
here in the city, that all may, like Mac
duff hens and chicks, be taken by one
fell swoop by the Ohio men. We thought
two winters ago, when the hungry horde
of office-seekers poured in upon us from
the South, that the like would never be
repeated But here's Ohio sweeping
down in our midst like an avalanche,
with innumerable candidates for every
office in the gift of the Executive De-
partments and House of Representa-
tives. The hungry legions from that
State swallowed up all that Mr. Hayes
had to dole out, and are now turning
their attention to every other Depart
ment They want everything. Door
keeper, Bookkeeper, Folder, Messen-
gers, everything from loaf Of bread to
a silver spoon, and are not particular,
the majority of them, what they get, be-
yond light, airy work, good salary, moth
ing to do, and assurance that they will
never be removed. Col Polk, the Door
keeper, takes his meals at the Metropol-
itan, and lodges in a little two story
house in one of the back streets. He
goes into the hotel by side door, slip
ping out the same way, and hides him
self in his room, assigning as a reason
his desire to keep from being overwhelm
ed by the immense hordes of place seek
ers who besiege him at every turn with
their opportunities.
We may chronicle first round and first
blood for the silverites, inasmuch as the
Monetary Commission appointed by
the last Congress, has reported in favor
of the reconciliation of silver, and ably
and powerfully argues its point. That
Congress will adopt some of its recon-
mendations is foregone conclusion.
But how far it will go towards restoring
silver to it's old basis is, of course, prob
lematical, for so diverse are the views
of both Senators and members of the
House, without regard to party lines,
upon monetary matters, that 1t Is I'M
possible now to indicate the course OF
legislation in regard to them. In fact,
party lines are so broken in Congress
that we have no distinct policy laid
down by it to be pursued in the future.
Many Of the Republicans are wrathy at
Mr.. Hayes and yet dare not attack him
openly, because the Democrats will up
hold him in his Southern policy, reserv-
ing, however, their inalienable right of
calling him ugly names. On the silver
question, it is State against State and
party against itself, and Dundreary S
dog problem is not more perplexing than
that. How will Congress be able to rec
oncile its incongruous views into such
proper shape as will give the country
wise and prudent legislation? Short
work was made by the Democrats in the
organization of the House, AS indieat,
ed in our last, Mr. Randall was elected
Speaker, the opposition being unable to
concentrate upon any one candldate
against him. Under his parliamentary
experience everything, after he was
sworn in, was soon running in apple pie
order, that is to say, the way he wanted
it.
The House, on Monday last, both on
the floor and in the galleries, was crowd
ed with people DESTROYS Of seeing an exr
citing contest over the admission of GER
tain members under the call Of States
by the Clerk, Mr.. Adams. But the
strong majority of the Democrats and
their parliamentary skill put an immor-
tai quietus on every objection, and, as a
consequence, the organization became
merely long, dull and sleepy proceed
ing of calling names of members. Mr.
Hale, of Maine, made himself at the
time a subject of intense merriment by
a blunder in supposing Mr.. Patterson,
of Colorado, as duly enrolled, and this
was nearly the only relief given to the
monotony of roll call. We are now
ready for the attacks of blood-suckers
and leeches upon the Treasury. They
are here by hundreds, with bills giving
money by the million to every conceiva
BILE form of public theft. That many of