New-York tribune., 1879-04-11
rnY TELEGRAPH TO TIE TR1BUNE.l


lBr TELEGRAPH TO THE TR1BUNEl
W.survGTON April IO.-The vote of the House
of REPRESENTATIVES yesterday amending the rules so
rs 70 facilitate attacks which the Democrats pro-
pose to make upon Resumption and National Danks'
and the decision of the Democratic caucus TO enter
at once upon general legislation,were supplemented
to-day bv direct attack upon the resumption fund
in the Treasury. If any one has doubted that the
Democratic party in the present House of Repre-
sentatives is a Greenback party, that doubt must
now be dismissed; for the leaders Of that party
have entered the race of demagogulsm, and
are irving to outrun the Nationals. The
Conservative North. which favOrs honest money,
has nothing TO hope from the Grecnback-Demo-
Gratis of the House. and very little from this Con-
Cress. The only guarantee against imitation lcgis-
laton of the widest Kind therefore, is the
fact that the President will certainly de-
feat it by his veto. 4 careful scrutiny
Of the House of Representatives fails
20 disclose more than one or two men on the Demo-
cratic side who are not in accord with the majority
of their party on financial subjects and who at the
same time have courage enough to take stand IN
opposition to the dictates of the caucus In the
last Congress there were Abram S. Hewitt and
Clarkson " Potter with half dozen Others, vino
never voted for initiation measures. No such men
nrs to be found in the present House of Representa-
tiyes
The action of the House to-day on Mr.. McMahon's
amendment was not in itself very important. 1t
was unquestiOnably the intention of Congress,
when the setting aside of $10,O00,OOo of
legal-tender notes rs fund for the re-
demption Of fractional currency au-
thorIzed, that tins fund should be paid
as the fractional currency was presented, and not
that it should remain a temporary portion of the
Government reserves. The vote therefore, that 1t
should be used In the payment of arrears of PEN
siOns to soldiers, was chiefly important, because 1t
was undoubtedly the entering wedge for leGls-
latlon of a much more dangerous character, and
because no special provision for redeeming
the fractional currency was proposed, except to pay
1t of whatever other moneys may be held In the
Treasury for the maintenance Of specie payments
From this vote, ordering the restoration to the cir
culation of the country of this ten millions of spe
cial reserve to a vote ordering the payment of the
remainder Of the Of pensions out of the re-
sumption fund.- will be only single step, and STEP
too. that Will undoubtedly be taken by the House
before the present session is adjourned.
The few hard-mOney Democrats in Congress arc
still very much troubled over the aggressive atti-
tudc of the Greenback majority of Their party, but
are powerless TO check the headlong career of the
Infationists One of the more conservative Dem
ocrats remarked this evening that the present atti
tUUc OF lut luudllONISJ luculDtlS VI tuO pdI ~
would probably turn ont TO be only temporary
craze, and that after members had had on OppOr-
tunity TO introduce the measures they had pre-
pared, and had got them before the country they
would be willing TO postpone pressing for their con-
sideTation in the House until the next session of
Congress. In any event he did not think
that Congress would enact any important
financial measures this session. unless the President
should veto the Army BILL in which case IL was pos
sIOle that the House might enter at once upon
general course of legislation on this subject A
Democratic Senator who has no sympathy with the
soft money wing of his party, said to-day III
reply TO a question that 1t was utterly impossible
for any one to foTetel what course Congress would
take in regard TO national finances He called at
tentiOn TO the fact that the Committee Finance
of the Senate was holding no meetings, but had ad-
ourned subject TO the call of its chairman, Senator
Bayard.
Ii is very apparent that settled policy Of
financial legislation has yet been adopted by the
Democrats which cOntcmplates the concurrence of
the Senate. Debate upon the Legislative, Executive
and Judicial Appropriation bill will probably be
allowed to run in the House for two or three
weeks. The present intention of the Democratic
managers being not TO send this bill to the Senate
until the fate of the Army bull Is known, the Army
bill itself will probably be discussed in the Senate
for two or three weeks that the debate upon the
Legislative bill in the House will probably continue
untl all members who desire to speak have had an
ODnprtuuItV tO do