Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1881-02-08

Congress- has done scarcely anything
.;,ce the session opened. The debate on
,hs method Of counting the electoral vote
=. -nostponed for the holidays and to
make way for the Funding bill. The
latter had all the life talked out OF it,
and was allowed to go through In sheer
,vear;uess. in the expectation that IL
,vould he amended to death in the Sem
.te The Electoral Count bill came up
Cor another fusillade of talk. There wa
a long and bitter wrangle over a con.
tsstsd seat. The Apportionment bill
draes and is likely to go over. Inc
Eaton Tariff Commission. which during
.he campaign Speaker Randall said was
the first bill on the calendar to be taken
mn. has not been touched. The senate
has heard a strong speech in favor OF a
repeal Of the Navigation laws, which SEN
ator Beck made, but has done nothing IN
the nremises. The session hastens to It's
close with appropriation bills to be acted
mon. and the most important business
unattended to. =,
Why this disgraceful inefficlency ana
do~-nothingism in a Congress supposed 10
be Democratic? The explanation is not
hard to find. The Democratic majority
is very small, and utterly unorganlzed.
It has able men, but no acknowledges
leader: MI. Randall is a protectionist'
a Cameronized Democrat, with interests
and ideas and schemes of his own, when
no true Democrat can find out and ne
has not been willing that the Democratic
majority should be led by anybody but
himself. Mr.. Fernando Wood, an able
and experienced man, is too old and in
firm to take charge Of affairs, and, IN
deed, has been obliged to go TO
Arkansas to recover his health. The
caucus is demoralized. A h~alf-dozen
Democratic members like Alexan-
der H. Stephens get no end OF
compliments and dattery from the Re
publicans by posing as independents, n
embarrassing the Democratic majority by
their egotistic eccentricities. A number
of members who were not reelected take
no interestin the proceedings, and muchof
the Republicans actually control the floor.
They are thoroughly organized and well
trained, and, without responsibility OF
any sort, are able to embarrass the ma
iority and obstruct the public business.
The spectacle is lamentable, and must
fill every true Democrat with sorrow. 1t
is not strange that business men hesitate
to trust the affairs Of the country in the
hands of a party whose management In
Congress has been so inefficient and bad.
It is useless to blame the Republicans
for playing the part Of obstructionists;
they are in the minority, and are justi-
fed in resorting to that means to some
extent in order to prevent the passage of
measures they oppose. 1t is the business
Of the Democratic majority to control
both Houses and do the business of the
country in such a prompt. energetic,
statesmanlike way as to gain the conf
dence and command the respect Of the
people. This has not been done. One
of the influences that led to the defeat
Of the party last Fall was the fact that
this Democratic Congress had done moth
ing. And if this Congress fairly repre-
sents the Democratic party, the one
it retires from business and leaves politics
to a more capable and patriotic organiza-
tion the better for the country. Fortu-
nately it does not represent the party,
which has in it all needful elements for
its own recovery, and has a number of
able men competent to lead it who will
come to the front when some of the
present mismanagers and mountebanks
are retired.