The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-05-03
"All On Account Of Principle. "

STo-day begins The fourth week Of tie great
constitutional Struggle il tie United States
senate over the new patent device for break
ing up the ''soid South.' 1t is ali on account
of principle and who shall be sergeant at
arms. II Riddle berger should be armed with
The inace Of that august body there's an eud
OF the "lehel bri gadieTs." They are all to
take TO their heels if he is elected n0tr. 1t is
so nominated i'll the bond. The specific will
not work if postponed until December. So
il comes about that the senators meet in the
morning, day after day, week after week,
make mouths at each other, call each other
pet names" for three or four hours, and then
at four or five O'Clock daily adjourn Oh motion
OF Mr.. Dawes. What an edlfying spectacle
it all is. Here are thnMyseven democratic
senators, most of them from the South, some
OF them ''rebel brigadiers." all combined to
keep a"Iebel brigauHr' out of office. Some
OF them represent states that have been very
free in their way of scaling down state debts
and indulging in various forms of repudia-
ton, yet standing OIL compact line against
Riddleberger because lie is all unrepentant
repudator for RiddlebelSnrs great dis
tinctiOn in his record as a '.Readiuster,' the
name by which Iepudiator is to be made
sweet and wholesome from this time hence
forth forever. And here are thirty-seven re-
publican senators, with one very independent
"Readjusting' democratic ''rehel bri"adicr'
arrayed in as firm pahalanX on the other
side OF the chamber, determined that Riddle
berger shall be serGeaut-at-ar as the only
present feasible means Of breaking up the
"solid South" and Of thus saving tie toun-
try. Here are all the southern senators de-
nounclng reputation, and there are Mr.
Dawes and Judge Hoar and Mr.. HawIey ana
llt:AerOUs others from states with clean
IIaI in
debts, folding their et1ecionate arms around
the repudiator. Here is a mess generally.
In hoe signo (Riddiebcrger) is the new celes-
tial sign for all the modern Office. holding
virtues and all the potency for southern re-
demptlon. Was there ever such '.ridiculus
muss ?" Our Mr.. Law put the thing clean
cut before the Penns> wanna house the other
day when he sa.u, ''it was a struggle for
pastors and folders, and not for principle"
That is exactly what it is, and nothing less or
more, and as such ii is utterly dsyreditadle
to both sides, for this sergeant at-arms strife
is the logical sequence of the attempt Of the
temporary democratic majority four weeks
ago TO take possession of the senate commit
tees, knowing the permanent ma i0ritv, count
ing Malone and Vice-i'resident Arthur, must
be the other way III a few days. There's 10
principle in it on either side. It's all tlter-
est on both sides. The real business of the
sesSlon-to take action on executive nominal
tlons-is kept in suspense, i'll order that eV-
cry sovereign citizen who goes to Washington
shall have a proud consciousness
that the stalwalt fellows who
throw open the green-baizc doors
of the senate lobbies have been
put under the new dispensation-or the old
as the event may prove-that each Of them is
a loyal adherent Of the present sergeant-at-
arms, OF else that he is true disciple of the
fiscal gospel according to Riddleberger and
Malone.
An now when one comes to think over it in
the forum of high senatorial politics, that
must be great comfort and a full compensa-
tion for The very peculiar performances which
the senate of the United States is presenting
for the edifcation of the country and the rest
OF mankind. 1t Is all on account of principle,
you know. There can be no loftier height of
public duty than that on which senators rally
around their respective candidates for that
keystone otfice-that pivotal point of all