New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-03-26
his folly and of course reap the disastrous fruits Of
their suicidal policy
FEEBLE FLICKER OF SERIOUS RESOLVE.

No better illustration of the fatality of the Demo
| cratic party for making blunders has been given
| than IS furnished b. the proceedings Of the House
Of Representatives during the present week.
The fourth month of the session is drawing to
close. II was preceded by nearly four months of
extra session last year, during which the House
was organized and all the special work that has to
be done at the beginning of a new Congress, and
which necessarily DELAYS legislation was performed
Yet, III nearly eight months almost nothing has
! been DONE Not single one of the great annual APP
preparation bills has been passed and the most OF
them are understood not yet TO have taken definite
| form I'm the committees. Legislation dragged badly
enough when the Democrats controlled only one
| branch of Congress. and the middle of August
! 1876. found them still ct work on the necessary
money bills but to-day after nearly eight months
of session. with both houses Democratic, the cor
responding measures are in much more backward
conditiOn than in the last week in March four years
| ago.
So serious had these unnecessary delays become
that at the beginning of the present week the
Democratic majority in the House seemed to have
made up its mind to pull itself together, tackle an
appropriation bill and pass it. An hour or two was
spent on Monday afternoon in general debate " on
the Consular and Diplomatic BILL and it was given
out that nothing was to be allowed to interfere with
its continuous consideration until final vote upon
II had been reached and that was the last OF IL Tor
| the present week.
TOwNsHEND'S CRIME
! Mr. Townshend. OF Illinois. belongs to that class
of statesmen whose nonsense would not be toler-
ated by any parliamentary leader who is fit to serve
his party in that capacity, and he undertook TO play
| a smart trick the House.
! A considerable majority of the members are op-
posed TO any radical changes Of the tariff laws at
this session. On this question at least the Ways and
| Means Committee is organized to represent fairly
the dominant sentiment of the House. majority
of the Democrats, however, free-Taders who, If
! they had their way would not only repeal the
tax on whiskcy and tobacco, and so make trade in
these necessities of the Democracy free. but they
would reduce or abolish the import duty on every
article which we are prepared TO manufacture in this
country. The decision of the Ways and Means
Committee not to bring in any bills on these sub
jects this year has caused great dissatisfaction
among the men OF the South and West. They
pOwerless, however. They are in minority and
minorities have TO submit. At this junctuIe, Mr..
TOwnshend conceived the idea, or what is more
probable, some one else conceived ii for him. of set
ting a trap for the House and getting n tariff bill
before 1t in spite of the wishes of Il majority of tho
members and in spite of the Ways and Means Com
mittce
The rules require that all bills relating to the
shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means" II Mr.. Townshend had introduced tariff
BILL and had asked TO have it referred TO any other
committee. it would at once have attracted atten-
ton Objection would have been made. and unless
he yielded at once the House, by n majority VOTE
would have sent the bill where II belonged. Mr.
Townshend, therefore, disguised this measure He
wrote title fort which would not attract attention,
or If it did would be unlntelligbc to members. BY
this disreputable trick he got the bill sent 10 the
Committee on the Revision of the Laws. which hes
no ur sdiction subject whatever but which.
having such bill into It's possession, would act
upon 1t at once.
PERSONAL HONOR INVOLVED.
1t in vain that Mr.. Townshend's political friends
land some Republicans, am sorry to say) soft
words in describing this disgracefu performance.
1t was an attempt deceive the House. and to make
il do an act which it would not have consciously
performed. Much Of the business of Congress is
based on the personal honor Of members. Measures
of great importance referred TO committees for
reports They pass into the hands Of sub-cOmmit
tees aud finally man makes the Investigation
concerning them. The majority of the committee
has to accept his word TO the facts as
he has found them. and the House acts
in the light of the committees report man who
will deccivothe House by making false report, or
who by means of trick will attempt to lead the
its eyes open, Is unfit to be member of Congress.
He would be Indignantly rebuked by every honest
man. no matter whether sympathiZiug with The OBJ
iect to be attained or not. To cOuntenance de-
fend such acts would be to make Legislation mpos-
sibe, because IT would destroy chat confidence in
the honor of members upon which all have to rely.
The Democratic party IN the House instead of
censuring Mr.. TOwnshend, as he deserved, aud
assisting to undo what he had by his trick led the
body inadvertently TO do. adopted the fraud its
own 1t resorted to all the parliamentary tactics
employed by mnorlcs to defeat or hold majorities
in check in order to perpetuatc it. The apprOprla-
ton bills were forgotten. Public business came TO
dead halt for days The House. which barely sits
four hours out of the twentyfour for the transac-
ton of legitimate business, remained in session un-
Ill after midnight, when an attempt made to
undo o fraud. score of members were arrested in
their beds and brought in custody to the Cap
itOl, in order that this dagraccful farce might
proceed. Aud thus II IS that anything takes prece-
dence of the necessary business simply because the
party which controls III Congress feels bound to fol-
low the lead of every idiot who does disrepuable
act If he happens to he member Of their party.
as most of them are and is utterly devoid OF honest
discreet and able leadership.
This last performance is not the only example of
tho lack of power in the Democratic party 10 do J
public business or, in other words TO practice the
art of government but it is, perhaps, of The most
striking to which the country mas been treated this
Winter H. L. w.
MR.. TOWNSHEND TO BE WATCHED.
A GUARD To BE SET TO PREVENT DECEPTION |
HEREAFTER IN THE REFERENCE OF BILLS.
lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUSEl
WASHINGTON, March 25.-Now that the House Of
Representatives has, after three days struggle
extricated itself from the difficulty into which it
was plunged by Townshend trick it has be-