Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1880-12-25
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From oar Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, Dec. %, 1880

Not since the celebrated row Of
good old ante-bellum days, in which
Potter, of Wisconsin, and Barksdale,
of Mississippi, literally snatched
each other bald-headed, have the
halls OF Congress witnessed such q
scene as was presented on the floor
of the house on Tuesday evening.
The Funding Bill was under discus
sion in Committee of the Whole, and
the Debate drifted away out of rifle
range of the subject into charges of
political inconsistency. on the finan-
cial question and finally into rank
personalities. The brunt of this
branch of the contest lay between
Weaver, of Iowa, late Greenback
candidate for President, and Sparks,
of Illinois. At first it seemed to be
good-natured badgering, but at last
these two got to calling one another
'fliar" and ''scoundrel" and soon
they were coming together in the
aisle with their coats off, while
members on all sides exclaimed ex-
citedly, "Hell's to pay now!" For a
time it did look little as though
his satanic majesty had come on to
/ foreclose, but the intervention of
friends on both sides soon separated
the enraged disputants. At this
point two or three other excited
members came to the front, pulled
off their coats and observed that, If
it was going to be a free fight, id
if they couldn't be counted in. But
the Speaker called upon the Ser
geant-at-Arms, and order was re-
stored without bloodshed. The whole
scene was disgraceful 1t is the irst
exhibition of real bad blood this ses-
sion. At the bottom it is party feel
ing mingled with special bitterness
against Weaver on the Democratic
side on account Of his course in the
late campaign.
The probability of an extra session
of the 47th Congress Immediately
after the expiration of the present
session of this one, is increasing
daily and an opinion prevails among
the best judges that it is now newt
able. A two weeks recess, with so
little done and so much to be done,
certainly points that way. The Re-
publicans really want it. In the
first place, they don't intend to let a
new congressional apportionment
bill be passe by the present Con-
gresss; yet it is important to have it
passed early iii the spring before the
State Legislatures adjourn, as in
many States only biennial sessions
are held, and the districts must be
formed in time for the Congressional
elections of 1882 Another point to
be gained 10y an extra session is pos
session of the House patronage,
! which amounts to about half mil
lion dollars a year. Democrats gen.
orally are berating the Indifference
and inaction of the majority, which
seems likely to cause an extra seS-
sion, and employees of the House are
especially distressed. They can't
visit watering places next season and
draw fat salaries from Uncle Sam il
the new Congress is organized now.
One bright door-banger said he sup
posed he would have to train horses
all next summer and teach school
all next winter through the usual
follies of the Democrats in Congress.
The efforts of Pension Commits
sioner Bentley to effect changes in
the method of determining pension
cases have been renewed, and will
be redoubled upon the resembling of
Congress after the recess. The Com
missioner has assigned to himself
and it is, therefore, fair to question
whether his propositions are likely
to prove genuine reforms or not. In
a former letter | gave some of the
| arguments advanced by Mr.. Bentley
in favor of his bill now before the
Senate, the passage OF which he is
quietly but urgently pressing. The
theory of the Commissioner, at bot
tom, is that large proportion of the
claims presented are fraudulent, but
in this he casts a broad reflection
upon the soldiers of the late war
hardly warranted by the facts. In
proportion to the number of claims
for pensions filed-under all the acts
of Congress about 500, 000-few
frauds have been attempted and
fewer still successful. Human ma