Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-05-20
WASHINGTON LETTER.

WASHINGTON, u. u, May II, looO.
DEAR CHRONICLE-WashingtOn has
assumed its summer garb-howers, foil
age and verdure. Her numerous parks
and open places, her wide streets and
avenues lined, in many instances, with
double rows of trees; her vacant build
ing lots, all together embracing nine
tenths of the entire area, do not only as
sure US that summer is upon US, but
stretching out into magnificent dlStan-
ces give the appearance of a succession
of towns and villages, interspersed with
woodland, parks and lawns. The heat
is becoming excessive, and the people,
too, have taken on the habilimentS of
summer. The auditoriums of the church
es, theaters and other places of amuSe-
ment, do not present that appearance of
a flower garden as much as do similar
places in country villages, though
enough of flowers and ribbons are seen
here to give variagated appearance to
public assemblages. Nor does Wash
ington lack the outdoor amusements
that usually characterize this season
DAILY BOAT EXCURSIONS
down the river, to Mt. Vernon, and 9th
er points Of interest; horse racing on
the several tracks near the city, base
ball games, pic-nics, fishing excursions
and plank shad bakes, are among the
number. BoyntOn, too, is here, giving
exhibitions of his aquatic skill and pow
ers of endurance, and it is shame to
our civilization that he is permitted to
ply his trade, for gain, on Sunday, thus
4, DO Il
vicious. The city is all agog in refer
ence to the
ROWING RACE
between Hanlon and Courtney, for the
$4,000 Vinegar Bitters Prize, which
takes place on the Potomac on Wednes-
day. Immense preparations are being
made for the accommodation of visitors.
Fully fifty thousand strangers are ex-
pected to arrive in the city to witness
this three-mile race between these two
men of muscle and skill. If no serious
accident befall the vast crowds which
will surely be present, these sculling
fools will have less cause to regret the
occasion than many people now antiei-
pate.
CONGRESS
drags "its slow length along" making
occasionally spasmodic efforts at busi-
ness, but apparently, like the woman in
Johnson's Rambler, "afraid to go for
ward for fear of going wrong" A DEM
ocratic Congress is given to blundering.
That party in and out of Congress, now
fully realizes this fact. On the ques-
tion of an early adjournment they are in
q 70. ft1l 10 do NJ fn 10 Is no
question. Some contend that to ad-
journ on the S1st inst, as agreed to by
the resolution that passed the House on
the 18th, without any further legisla-
tion than the passage of the Appropria-
tion bills, would be a bad record to go
before the people with-no general leg
islation having yet been had. Others
argue that to push forward the general
legislation now contemplated, would en-
danger the success of the party at the
polls next fall. Notably among the
bills referred to is one
MODIFYING THE TARIFF,
delicate subject to legislate upon, as
may now be seen by the fiutter among
the wool-growers of the country on ac-
count of the menace to their interests
contained in this bill. The bill is yet
in committee, and 1t has been the con-
Stant effort of Hon. J. I. Updegraff, our
wide awake member. and other friends
of the great agricultural and Industrial
interests of the country, to keep it there,
and not have it presented to the House
at all. So far they have succeeded, but
the fact that a Democratic committee of
Democratic Congress have agreed to
report such bill, has depressing effect
on this great interest, particularly. One
thing the farmers of the Sixteenth dis
trict may rely upon; they have friend
in DR.. Updegraff. He is one of them,
but even were he not, his sense of right
and justice and duty to his constituent
cy, would prompt him to the same
course of actien. 1t is very apparent,
that for a Iew member no one has more
influence in the committees of which he
is member, nor has any new member
been more successful in obtaining the
attention Of the House, and when on
the floor no one is listened to more at
tentiyely. lie speaks right to the point.
indulging in no buncombe, and never
turning aside except to pierce the bub-
ble some Democrat has blown with his
confederate blOw-pipe-as witness his
tilt with Gen. Warner ON the pension
matter. In honoring him with sec
ond nomination and election, his dis
trict will do credit to herself and prove
that she yet knows how to appreciate
merit and worth, as in years gone by,
and that she still has the disposition to
see and have fair play. | have never
dreamed that any one would seriously
question the Doctors right TO a renom-
lnation, much less have | thought that
any one seriously intended to question