Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1879-03-10
ADJOURNMENT OF CONGRESS-.
EXTRA SESSION.

The following from the Nev York
Herald, which claims to be independent.
but which is usually democratic, on the
political issues of the two great parties
will be interesting to all:
The necessity for an extra session and
the defaults in legislation by which that
necessity is created render it certain
that this will be the liveliest "of year.
we have ever had in our national poll
tics. Except in California only State
officers are to be chosen, but the State
elections will turn on national issues
and in great part on the new issue upon
which the recent drawn battle has been
fought between the two parties in Con-
! gress. The violent thrusting of this
issue into the foreground by the dem
ocrats may be viewed in two different
lights-namely, as a legislative measure
and as stroke of party tactics. On
the first of these grounds it admits of
no rational defence. The obnoxious
laws will be imperative in the elections
of the present year, and their repeal at
the next regular session would bring
precisely the same relief as their repeal
at an earlier date. This has been so
clearly pointed out, both in the press
and in both houses of Congress, that it
can have escaped the attention of no
democratic member. The battle for re-
peal has been precipitated and been
fought with such logged obstinacy for
the unavowed reason that it furnishes,
what the democrats so greatly lacked,
an issue for the coming elections on
which the party can be united and its
zeal infamed.
A noted republican politician, now
deceased, was fond of telling against the
democrats story of very ragged ur-
chin with half the brim of his hat TORN
off in pursuit of woodchuck. A farm-
er crossing his field in the morning to
begin his days work noticed boy who
has chased a woodchuck into its hole
and was plying crowbar and shovel to
dig the animal out Returning late in
the day the farmer passed the same spot
and found the ragged urchin still dig
ging like beaver, with great pile of
fresh earth as a monument of his indus
try. aren't you taking more trouble
for that woodchuck than he is worth %
81 must get this woodchuck,' was the
reply "the fact is the family is out of
meat This anecdote was never SO
aptly applied by the relator as it may
now be to the digging out of the demo
cratic woodchuck at Washington. "The
family is out of meat" The democratic
party had no issue on which it could
safely go before the people in this years
elections. The currency issue is worse
than spoiled by the successful resump
ton of specie payments. 1t is wors.
than spoiled, because resumption falsi
fes so many confident democratic pre-
dictions and discredits SO much formal
party action-as, for example, the at
tempted repeal of the Resumption law
by democratic House, after it had been
condemned by the last Democratic Ma
tional Convention. Besides, the curren-
cy question is ground of democratic
dissension and division, whereas the re-
publicans have become united on that
question The fraud issue, which has
recently been galvanized into life by the
laborious report of the Potter Committee,
, is too stale to excite much interest. The
democratic party was destitute Of any
potent live issue on which the party
could agree, and the sore stress of nee.
essity has compelled it to expend dis.
proportionate labor in digging out pc.
litical woodchuck. What the new issue
will be worth to this family which is
out of meat will be seen when they come
to cook it in the political canvass.
1t is not wholly without value, be-
cause it has an evident tendency to ex
; cite the public mind and kindle party
zeal. Anything is an advantage to the
democratic party which draws off atten
ton from the questions on which tn,
party differs and concentrates its inter
est on an issue upon which the who'll
=, democratic organization is likely to b
unanimous. Even Senator Bayard
who at first disapproved of making thi
fight has given in. and in the last stage
of the session acted with his party. HI
has come to realize that the family i
out of meat and must have this partic
ular woodchuck. The skinuing an
cooking of it will, no doubt, be yer
lively affair.
President Hayes seems disposed t
take time by the forelock, under tn
impression, probably, that if he give
the new democratic Congress rope enoug
! it will become its own executionel
q The democratic majority in the ne
% House is so very slight that a contes
~ of factions over the Speakership ma
h demoralize the party, especially if tn
greenbaek members should be called i