The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-03-29

1hFCO nays ~" w. 80
observation-disclosures OF Excitement that
Gr.w ont of Ii-had Hood Between
aIneE nurn and Conroth.
WASHINGTON, March q.
In my last letter, in pursuance Of an ei.
fort to speak of the distinguished men at
the National Capital" l alluded at the
close to Acklen, Of Louisiana, and Towns
bend, Of Illinois, who, as l remarked, are
lust now filling considerable space in the
newspapers. Tho former is very weak
brother, indeed, and most people here are
really puzzled to determine whether he Is
most knaye or fool. Hehas had Sc
ries Of dirgracetul women scrapes, and has
an established bad reputation in that
wav. and as a climax to that reputa-
tion he is now before the Judiciary
Committee Of the House for investigation
asto whether he should be expelled Tor
beipe knayc, OF censured and suffered to
remsin. because be Is too idiotic TO be
considered really responsible for his at
tsmut some months ago to foist upon the
House pretended report from the Com
mittee on Foreign Relations that he him
self had concoCted, and that the Commit
tee had never acted upon. The latest
probabilities arc that he will simply be
eensured by the House, on recommended
tiop of the Judiciary Committee, and thus
Ia, Oft nm the ground OF imbeciity.
Acklen is a rich young fellow from
Louisiana, whose father was "nigger
trader" before the war. One could hardly
e,pect n man engaged in that occupation
TO transmit any moral sense 10 his OIL
Rpripg, and this may account Tor the sons
notorious lack in that particular.
The other man who is just now notorl-
ous Ia Townshend, OF IllinofsTa Maryland
or by birth, who moved out to the Shawnee
country in Illinois, some years ago, and
by an unaccountable streak oil luck that
nobody here pretends to understand, was
sent 10 Congress. Somebody seems to
have mt him up to the idea OF playing q
smart trick on the House, in the interest
OF the Free Traders, and so on Monday
last he introduced resolution referring
certain sections Of the Revised Statutes to
the Committee on Revision Of Laws. No.
BODY suspected the trick at the time. On
bill day everybody almost fires oil some
sort OF q resolution. At least they have
the opportunity 80 to do, and the practice
Is 20 c0mmOn, and 80 many OF said reso-
buttons are purely for buncOm6e pur-
poses, that nobody pays much attention to
their subject matter. And so the purport
and scope OF TOwnshend's resolution es-
capped notice at the moment. Before the
day closed, however, it was found that the
sections that be proposed TO refer to the
Committee on Revision OF Laws, embod-
led certain important features Of the tariff,
and inasmuch as said committee is notori.
ously q free trade committee, it was seen
at once that the whole tariff question
would, as soon as that committee should
report, be thrust upon the House in the
shape OF free trade report. This dlscov.
cry thoroughly alarmed the House, Dem
cIats and Republicans, for II there is any
one sui jeCt that has been tabooed by the
common consent OF both sides it Is the
tariff question. In view Of the Presiden-
tial election, they avoid it more religious
" than the orthodox Hebrews avoid pork.
II is well understood that discussion on
the tariff would not produce harmony on
either side, while it would be agenuine fire.
brand in the ranks OF the Democracy,
The butt end OF the Democratic side are
strong for free trade, but the
Pennsylvania Democrats mine in
in number) OF whom Sam. Randall
is one, (aud very prominent and infu-
entail one, too as well as scattering DEM
ocrats from other States, would set their
faces like flint against any change in the
Tariff, knowing as they do that it would
cost them their seats In Congress. 1t is
openly charged, In the shape OF curses
loud aud deep on Randall's head, by the
free trade Democracy, that he so organ
lied the Committee on Ways aud Means
that all resolutions, memorials, petitions,
or other documents relating TO the Tariff,
should be smothered TO death in that COM
mittee. Blackburn, OF Kentucky, and his
followers call 1t "Randall's Graveyard
Committee" And yet the committee con.
tajns some OF the most pronounced free
traders in the House, as, for instance,
Fernando Wood OF New York, Tucker OF
Virginia, Morrison oil Illinois, Carlisle OF
Kentucky, and Mills OF Texas. In fact, 1t
has only four or five known protectionists
on IL, viz: Garfield, Frye and Kelley.
The other two Republicans, viz: Conger
and Dunnell, have not very well defined
status as to the Tariff. Randall Gibson OF
Louisiana (Democrat) is free trader, pro.
yided the duty on sugar is not reduced,
and that duty Is one OF the highest on the
list, viz: 60 per cent, and Is laid more
directly upon the poor, perhaps, than any
other duty. And yet this committee, thus
organized, Is called Graveyard Com.
miltee," so far as revenue reform" is
concerned. It will not even reduce the
duty on steel rails from S2S to $40 per ton.
It may reduce the duty on newspaper,
simply because the newspapers are clam.
oring for it, and the average Congressman
is not going to incur the hostility OF the
newspapers II he can help 1t. need not
stop to moralize on the consistency or de.
cency OF newspapers that want reduc-
ton OF the tariff on pulp and paper, and
paper chemicals, while never saying a
word for reduction in any other direction.
will only say that 1t Is very selfish. and
ought to disgust their readers.
But, TO return to my mutton Towns
hend), II seems that the man from the
Shawpesecounty, was ambitious to be con.
sidered smart Alec" despite OF the fact
that natures otamp OF weakness is con.
spicuous all over his face, and who shyly
introduced his resolution to refer one Of
the tariff sections Of the laws as they exist,
to the Committee ON the Revision OF the
Laws (Saia committee being, as / said,
well known ireetrade committed, and thus
get round the positive rule OF the House
which requires that all questions affecting
the revenues shall go to the Ways and
Means Committee, He did not succeed,
however, and when his purpose was ex.
posed and understood, he was the recipi. |
ent OF some very plain spoken and any
thing but complimentary remarks FROM
various members, especially from Garfield
and Kelly. The latter said 1t was part Of
every members oath to obey the rules Of
the House, and one OF those rules was
rule which the man from Shawnee had
sought 70 avoid. Conper. who Is AlMayal