The New York herald., 1879-02-12
ACTION or The DEAOCRATIG CAUCUS.
Opposition Of Prominent Senators
and Representatives.
TRANSFER OF THE SURVEYS.
Another Movement for the Regulation Of
Interstate Commerce.
FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.

rHOM OUR SFcClAl SONNCorONOCNI.
WASHINGTON, Feb. II. 1879.
THE DEMOCRATIC cAUCUs-BINDING FORCE OF
ITS ACTION NOT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
PROMINENT SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE
OPPOSITION TO AN EXTRA SESSION.
The binding force of last nights democratic caucus
Is to-day plumply dsowned by considerable majority
Of the democrats Of both Houses II will bind nobody.
and any attempt to base legislation on the second
caucus resolution will be resisted openly and at
by the most respectable and influential democrats
and will fail. There will therefore be no extra
sion and the real object of the secret promoters Of
the last Of the two caucus resolutions. which was
undoubtedly to force extra session, has already
broken down.
OBJECT OF THE MOVEMENT.
There is very good reason for the statement that
this whole movement, which has been simmering
Tor weeks in occasional so-called caucus meet
ngs attended by from fifty to ninety persons, and
which suddenly came to the boiling point last night
s nothing nor less than an attempt OF the
vutlers brigade to assume command of the demo-
cratic camp and rule matters in their own interest
The new Congress- whenever 1t meets. will choose
multitude of new officers and subordinatcs for both
Houses. There here number of peo
pie who hops to fall into these places
and who have more or less influence
Ut home. which they bring to bear on their
representatives Naturally they impatient for
the division Of the spols to begin and expectant
messenger doorkeeper fancies that extra
sion in May would be good thing for the country,
because it would give him chance of ofice little
earlier Besides these anxious patriots the lobby would
Also like nothing much extra session. The
present Congress has been very discouragng to the
lobby. The jobs of which it is guilty arc very few
In number and very insignificant in amount. The
Jobs it has repellcd, rejected laid the table, are
numerous and the disappointed promoters Of these
undertakings would feel much moro comfortable il
they could get early session Of q new Congress
containing many new men.
THE FEDERAL ELECTION LAWS
All these people believe that it is unendurable
outrage that the Federal election laws should any
longer cumber the statute book. They have d1scov-
ercd too that the country cannot get op.even until
next December if these laws remain. They appeal to
Northern congressman in the name of an injured
degraded and down trodden South. and they close
The mouths Of astonished Southern men by the
remark that 1t is surely not for them to
oppose delay the repeal Of bad laws about which
they have long complained. Thus this purely patri-
otto movement for extra session gained hcadway,
and last night by sudden movement it ran through
the caucus. Senator Thurman, to everybody's amaze
ment. putting himself at the head of it, probably
under the impression that he leading popular
rally. To-day, when Senators and Representatives
have had time to compare notes the subject, it is
discovered that nobody. probably not poor Mr..
Thurman. understood the machinery.
WHAT THE DEMOCRATS SAY.
The Southern men say very frankly 1--WE did not
press this thing; we are content to wait;
tanly hope the test oath laws repealed at this
session. but about that there is general agreo
ent that the republicans, it is understood will not
refuse it, As to the rest, ask nothing and wait for
our Northern friends to decide when the time is ripe
TO repeal these laws. But when Northern men get
up in caucus and tell they demand that il shall
now be done at all hazards, we may not think them
wise but it would be very embarrassing to us to
stand up and oppose what they strongly urge
Northern democrats. on their part say to-day
1--WE did not think the movement wise proper;
Il is untimely; we cannot justify ourselves to the
country IL we consent at the bidding Of Southern
men to force IN extra session of Congress by the
violent expcdlent of tacking irrelevant and need
less measure to appropriation bill at the end
Of the session. We desire tho repeal of the test
oaths, but we have to doubt that the
republicans in the Senate will grant this. If they
would also agree to repeal the federal election laws
should be happy to help them, but probably they
would not, and We certainly do not the pressing
necessity for this repeal. which be done at the
next regular session.
RESULTS OF INTERVIEWS.
These are summaries of actual conversation held
by your correspondent to-day with a number Of
prominent and influential Northern and Southern
men. They represent fairly the opinion on This
question Of almost all the democratic Senators and
OF probably nearly majority of democratic Repre-
sentstives, and this Is a sufficient commentary on the
nature and of the ridiculous attempt in last
nights caucus. No doubt largo proportion Of
those who voted for and advocated the repeal at all
hazards of the Election laws last night did no with
put knowing the precise character tho forces which
moved them to this course. for the movement was
carefully engineered and the pressure often seemed
10 come from Representatives constituents or in
his home paper. But there to be no reason to
doubt that the real object Of tho promoters
vss not the repeal Of bad laws but to forcc an extra
session.
SENATOR rnuRMAv's ATTITUDE.
Tho chief puzzle that remains is, how camc Sem
stor Thurman to lend himself to this movement II
is toersbly certain that he had not consulted with
other prominent Senators about IL. His speech In
tho caucus was q surprise to most of his friends.
Senator's Bayard and Herman expressed in opposition
10 him. the real views of almost the whole body Of
Southern we'll as Northern Senator'S, and several
Southern Senator'S last evening. after tho caucus
adjourned, openly washed their hands OF the whole
matter saying that thcy had in it, did not
approve of II, and wanted thst understood. On the
whole. II is plain that Mr.. Thurman has once moro
blundered.
INTERSTATE COMMERCE. -REsoLuTroN OF sENA-
TOR cASn:RoS, OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Senator Cameron, Of Pennsylvania to-day offered
m important Joint resolution providing for .
mission of two Senators, two Representatives and
hve experts TO consider the whole question OF inter
state and the relations and duties OF tho
government 10 the premises and inquire generally
Into tho condition Of commerce among tho states
carried by land and water routes, and particu-
lariy AZ effected by tho rates charged for trans
portation, and the system OF discrimination prac.
tsc in reference thereto in order TO ascertain what
burdens and evils now imposed thereby; whether
thc Same bc allovatcd removed by Legislation
Of Congress and II so in what particulars ana by