American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1881-06-18
The Lesson Of the Extra Session.

BY the purchase Of Malone the Re-
publican Senators succeeded, directly
after the 4th of March, in attaining a
numerical equality with the Democratic
Senators. The casting vote of the Vice
President gave them the control of that
body. The session was called by the
President for the purpose of consider
ing certain specific business. The Re-
publicans insisted that this specific
business should not be done until they
had emptied and refilled the Offices Of
the Senate SO as to protect the "Star-
route plunderers who had helped buy
Indiana. by making Brady's man Cor
ham Clerk. and SO as to strengthen the
homes man Riddleberger Sergeant at
Arms of the Senate. For six weeks
they obstructed the efforts of the DEM
ocrats to do the public work for which
the Senate was convened. They did
not succeed in electing Gorham and
Riddleberger. They did succeed in
committing themselves and their party
to the support of Brady and Ma
hone, of public plumber throughout
the country and of reputation in
Virginia. After they had succeeded in
doing this completely and in talking
more different kinds of cant and twad-
die than were, perhaps. ever heard be-
fore in like period from Senators of
the United States, they have been
finally shamed into acknowledging that
the Democrats have all along been
right and that they have all along been
wrong. Dawes seems to be the only
one among them who can muster up
enough folly and impudence topretend
that their defeat has been anything but
kxro he fhn
Democratic programme has been car
ried out. For about week the Demo-
Gratis had clear majority in the Sen
ate through the secession of Conkling
and Platt. During this single week the
Democrats have done all the business
the Senate was called to do, confirmed
all the Presidents nominations which,
like that of Robertson, ought to be con-
firmed, rejected all the nominations
which, like that of Chandler, ought to
rejected-and adjourned! 1t was in the
power of the Democrats to reorganize
the committees of the Senate, as the
Republicans had attempted to reorgan-
ize the offices of the Senate; and the
Republican Senators would have been
estopped by the position every one
of them had taken from objecting
to such a reorganization. The Demo-
cTatS, OF course, are euLltleu 10 no
special credit for peremptorily refusing
to stultify themselves. But who can
imagine that, if the Democrats had been
led by such men as Dawes and Hoar
and Logan instead of by such men as
Bayard and Beck, any consideration
that they were stultifying themselves
would have restrained them from grab
bling at whatever power they could getP
The net result of the extra session is
that the six weeks during which the
Republicans attempted to carry out
their programme were worse than
wasted in foolish and mischievous
"gabble;" while in the two weeks dur
ing which the Democratic programme
has been carried out all the business for
which the session was called by the
President has been promptly done. The
"business classes of the country are
invited to reflect on this instructive
comparison, and to consider whether it
would not be well that the Democratic
majority in the Senate should become
permanent.-M y. World.