The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-04-12
CONGRESS-.


Icupcd the house for two weeks was practical
! ly brought to Il close on Friday evening Of LAS
week It is conceded To have been conducted
with an ability and dignity never before equal
| led III an equally protraccd discussion IN tho
house of a topic so inilammabc 1t is also
generally admitted that the stalwarts, who 10y
Garfield, led off in the discussion with such (;
fiery and defiant splurgc, lost ground gradual
| ly as it proceeded, not only because they had
Il bad case, but because they put it badly. Gen
Garfield in his opevng speech committed his
party to Il waste of powder over purely extra
neous issue, and in his closing speech was
obliged to give his party completely away by
the enforced confession that the measure con.
tended for by the democrats was right, and
that he would vote for the repeal of those
clauses in the military and Legislative bills
liorbidding the use OF the army ut the polls and
aboiishlng the election supervisors and mar
| shalS IF brought up separately, but not &c
make them" parts of appropriation bills "as
you propose" Saturday was devoted To vot
| ing on the various amendments to the bill that
had been proposed, all Of which were rejected
except one, that the clause torbidding the use
OF the army at elections should not be constru.
ed to prevent the Presidents sending troops
into the states to suppress instruction, nc"
as provided IN the constitutions and then the
| bill was put to II final vote and adopted AS tC
1872, ten Of the national greenbackers voting
with the democrats, and two with the Iepubli
cans, showing that even with all the greenback
ers against them the democrats would have
had SIX majority The democrats, however
are not ungrateful to the grccnbackers for the
favor, and IN return have agreed in caucus to
have sessions hereafter on Monday, to enable
the greenbackcrs to present their various meas
ures of currency reform, of winch they have a
dozen of elaborate bills in readiness As about
dozen Of eastern democrats are hard money
men, and new bills can only be presented in
the house during the morning hour on Mon.
day. this dozen uniting with the republicans
had hitherto been able to choke oil the curren
CIV bills by adjourning over Monday. The de.
cision of the democratic caucus will now
doubtless result in giving the currency reform
ers a hearing
The house, having disposed OF the army bill,
have taken up the Legislative and judicial bill,
in which the question of dismissing the super
vlsors of elections and special marshals Will
come up and lead to another discussion like
that Just closed Meantime the senate has
taken up the army bill as it came from the
| house, when the discussion of the topics worn
threadbarc by the house will be renewed. This
| is the more impcrative,!as the republican lead
ers IN the senate are not at all satisfied with
the way in which the debate was managed
| in the house Blaine and Chandler are dissat
listed with the skill of the democrats in sham
ing the republicans out of violent display OF
the bloody shirt, while Edmunds, Conkling,
&c, are furious over Garficld's actual surrend
err of the case in his closing speech.
The only topic of general interest that occu'
ped the senate during the two weeks discus
sion in the house was the question OF admitting
Bell as senator from New Hampshire, he hav
ing been appointed by the Governor though
the legislature OF New Hampshire had been IN
session after the vacancy occurred and failed
to ill ii by election. The simple question was
can the Governor fill 4 vacancy by appoint
mcnt which the legislature refused or neglect
! ed to fill. The discussion was wholly unpar
usan, several prominent republicans opposing
Bells admission, and several democrats speak
ing In his favor. The issue was that Bell wa
ladmitted-a5 to -.
The house having on Wednesday taken NJ
the legislative and judicial appropriation bill
had by Thursday evening gone over much o
it.clause by clause,and when on the point OF on
leninr the discussion ON the political clause re
lating to the election supervisors and marshals
an amendment was proposed by McMahon,
greenbacker, in the interest of initiation, az wa
alleged II directs the Secretary of the treas