Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-12-10
TIMELY TOPICS.
Ta1leYrand In the White House
Tee BeggarIy Compensation OF the
Star Route PrOsecutors-The Bear
Garden Opened-LightenIn Bur
denB.

WASHINGTON, December 5-President Ar
thurs first message to Congress was looked
forward to anxiousIy in the hope that it would
give some clue to the ''policy" of the admins
tration. The message,when it reached the eye
Of the politician and the public, was therefore
a disappointment. President Arthur content
ed himself with reviewing the history
of the government since the last an
nual Presidential message went to Con-
gress. and with reviewing the reports
comm ending here and there the recommends
tious made by the several Cabinet officers in
subject in his message. Nor did he give any
clue that looked the least in the direction of
politics Everybody is as much IN the dark as
far as Presidential politics officially uttered as
ever before. OF course events have shown
that he is a stalwart. pure and simple. But he
gives not any utterance to his views upon pa
per or bv mouth of his leanfngs. He simnly
acts stalwartly. He let's his actions speak for
themselves. He does not commit any politics to
paper. He is showing very conclusivelv that
he can discount Grant hv many large odds in
regard to reticeDce. Nevertheless, everyone
comedies that although his first annual message
does not satisfy public curiosity, it is an
able state paper-one that the business people
will read and digest, 1t is also politicians
masterwork. in that it conceals whatever de-
signs the politician may have.
Most people have an idea that the govern
ment has paid out immense sums of money
in the preparation and presentation of
cases against the star route thieves. It
has not. The lawyers in the cases have
not, as supposed, received fabulous sums
for their services. nor have the sums
expended in the prosecution in getting up
evidence been immensely large. In fact, the
government seems all along to have been
making a big show of prosecution without
taking any strenuous efforts to make that
show good The following. taken from tn >
books of the Department of Justice shows
what hes been paid to the prosecuting attor-
neys bv the government for their services to
date: w. A. Cook $3.50. George Bliss $2,500 ard
B H Brewster 50 500. Nothing has been paid
to A. NJ. Gibson. nor does his name appear
among the number of special attorneys en-
ployed bv the government in various capaci
ties. If Gibson gets any money it will have to
he by the grace OF a special act of Congress.
He certainly deserves pay for his work in
guilt. even if conviction of the
thieves cannot be had. The governn ent-and
the sooner the people come to know it the bet
ter-has never been in earnest, even under
President Garfield. in the star route prosecu-
tions. 1t has all along been the baldest farce,
though everybody was at first deceived by It,
FEW WORDS.
Representative King, Of Louisiana, and Rep
resentative Van Vorhis. of New York-the one
Democrat and the other Republican-mau-
aged to maintain the reputation of the House
for words and rows on the very opening day of
the session Van Vorhis objected to the swear
ing in of King. As a matter of retaliation,
King, when Van Vorhis' name was called, OBJ
jected to the latter being sworn in. Van Vorhis
walked over TO Kings desk and told him in an
undertone that his reason for objecting TO the
latter's being sworn in was that he received his
election by fraud. intimidation and murder
Said Mr.. King: "You are id liar"
Said Mr.. Van Vorhis: Il thought was speak
ing to gentleman
Ssid Mr.. King: "And you are not mistaken
but you are dirty dog, and a cur, and il it
were not in the House of Representatives, /
would slap you in the mouth"
Both Representatives having become some
what no sy-the regular proceedings of the
House were going on the meanwhile-the
more discreet members in the immediate vi
cinity threw oil on the waters. No gore and
no hash made of human hearts"
TARIFF AND INTERNAL REVENUE TAXATION.
The prediction that the questions of the re-
vision of the tariff and the reduction of the in
ternal revenue taxation would be foremost
questions in the present session of Congress, is
fully sustained. Already bills looking to these
ends have been introduced, and others will fol-
low. Something exactly what it Is difficult
to say will be done upon each of the ques-
tiopS. So much importance, however, has been
given to these questions, that President Arthur
in his annual me sage commends to Congress
the recommendations of Secretary of the
Treasury Folger, that revision of the tariff
and the reduction of the internal revenue tax
ation-except on whisky and tobacco-are
things that the interests of the people and
country demand. POTOMAC.