The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-01-31
Democrats Dividing on War Claims
and Subsidies.
THE HARLEM RIVER IMPROVEMENTS
General NewtOn's Report to the Chief Of
the Engineer Corps.
FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.


GREAT POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE SENATE AND
HoUsE-How THE souED LINEN Is WASHED
WHAT SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS WANT
There is not half as much fun in the little operetta
OF Her Majestys Ship Pinafore." which was excel
lently given here tho other day by company of
amateurs as there be got out of Congress just
by faithful attendant upon its sessions. While
the republicans. alike prudent and fortunate, are
able to wash their soled linen and air their disagree
ments in private back yard. so to speak, in the
executive sessions Of the Senate the equally pru-
dent but less fortunate democrats desperately
struggling before an amused public in the House
with daily morning hour, and driven to the
furthermore parliamentary extremes to prevent o
violent eruption of furious Mississippans.
REPUBLICAN wRAsGLING.
In the Senate, if rumor does not belle them. the
Hayes and anti-Hayes factions holding kind Of
secret circus. with tho democratic Senators as
audience. and where each Hayes and anti-Hayes Sem
ator belabors in turn his honorable friend and his
honorable friends friends with the moro sarcastic
politeness for the Senators VIGOROUSLY of the
mind with the right honorable. &C., Joseph
Porter. and hold that in the Senate the seas,
1.-THE expression If you please particularly gen.
tlemanly tone implants and do their sisters and
their cousins and their aunts who go to sleep in the
galleries and wake up reluctantly when the Senate
tires into its secret session Of scandal and scoldng.
THE INHAnMoNIoUs DEMOCRACY.
As to the democrats, they arc at their Wits ends.
Ever since General Bragg, of Wsconsinfuttered the
other day, his gentle defiance of Southern claims.
eight or ten Southern generals. be the same
less, have been in state of violent fzz. They
near exploding the first day. but were very adroitly
bottled up and laid away for twentyfour hours. in
the hope that the fermenting process would be
the bottling up only increased the agitation. and
change the figure. the leading democrats have for
several days past taken turns to sit the safety
valve. in the hope that by this novel method they
would be able to prevent an explosion.
WAITING AND RAGING.
The House being what is called deliberative as
sembly, naturally has all it's rules arranged with the
utmost skill to prevent anybody from speaking, and
poor Generals Hooker Chalmers ard the other gen.
erals have in vain, but with credtable persistence
tried every day to get chance to deliver themselves
Of their rage. They have had the friendly assistance
too, Of the republicans. who. like the democrats in
the Senate would like nothing so well as quarrel
in the opposite camp. Under the rules n member
can explode promscuously and at large only during
the morning hour. and those democrats who are
afraid the Mississippi eruption will dam
age their party have managed to fill this
terrible morning hour with great variety of
motions in the middle Of which the gallant General
Hooker walks up and down the aislcs and vainly
pelts the chair with Parliamentary inquiries and Is
at last compelled to give it up until the next day.
But all these Southern generals know by their
perences in the late unpleasantness that fortress
once fairly invested must in the end surrender and
SO they persisted and they will probably receive
the surrender of their fellow democrats tomorrow
and the right to explode in the morning hour
What they will say remains to be heard. There are
rumors that some Of them going to make it
hot for General Bragg and there is probability of
such an exhibition of folly and fury as will delight
all good republicans.
WHAT GENERAL BRAGG SAID.
The gst of General Bragg's speech is contained in
these words:-
have hero time and again heard Threat thrown
to the democracy upon this side of the House. which
have thought tor long time needed answer. and it
came from Mississippi. have heard it said here,
upon the floor OF the House. that unless the democ-
racy of the North is more liberal. that unless they
would open their hands and give out money more
lavishly from the Treasury. the solid South would
go to the other side. say. as one of tho
representatives Of the democracy OF tho North that
If there any in the South who propose to
belong to the democratic party simply for the
that the doors or tue treasury are to oe opened to
the better for our party; and when the people of
this country SEQ and feel. as they beginning to
do that they can trust the interests Of the country
with the democratic party OF tho North and South,
then we can make recruits in the Northern States
that will NH mp our ranks TO the maximum.
FEELING OF NORTHERN DEMOCRATS.
As his speech has been very much discussed pri-
vately here among democrats and as some Southern
men known to be deeply rrtated at It, it is usc-
full to say that, while most of the Northern demo-
Gratis to dcplore the freedom with which General
Bragg delivered himself they entirely agree with his
sentiments. They do not support the Southern
claims whether they profess to be those Of loyasts
the reverse. The vote on the Warren Mitchell
claim the other day in the Senate shows that neither
arc the Southerncrs, rule, favorable 10 them but
they seem TO be unable to resist the demands of a
constituent with claim against the government
Possibly they agree with the Charleston Ne,c which
remarked the other day that there is excuse for
Southern democrats advocating these claims except
that the money will indirectly benefit the South BY
being spent there.
THE REAL rnQpBLE.
But the real cause Of quarrel in the democratic
camp is not, after ALL the war claims The Southern
aiscontent which is widespread aud deep tina, the
aemocratic alarm about il would be excusable If IL
were not part Of the whole absurd and impossible
political situation hero. arises out of urgent and
rrcpresble desire in the South for large appropra-
lions for Internal improvements and subsidies. Tho
Southern democrats imagine that their section Of the
country is exceptionally poor. ana they would like 1t
to DO made prosperous by large shower of govern
mcnt money. They see that thoy get no sympathy
In this matter from tho Northern democrats. who
have very persistently and effectively kept guard
over the Treasury and have resisted the persuasons
and threats Of the Southern mcn until as in General
prsggs case. they are losing their temper
''If tho Northern democratic party is not willing
TO help tho South, /. for one. do not sec why wo
Southern democrats should any longer 10 trailing at
the heels of tho Northern democrats to help them
Office" said southern democrat to your correspond
ent the other days and this Is general q feeling
that half the Southern men In Congress earnestly,
and oven vehementy. approve OF it,
Q INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT
What is meant, therefore, by all this display Of
Southern feeling is not anxiety about war claims
but determination. IL possible. 70 coerco the North
ern democrats into permitting the passage Of sub
sidy and internal improvement jobs on large scale
for the benefit of tho Southern States or of some Of
them. II Is this disposition which every carcful oh