New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-04-23
At THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
r,v AFFAIRS OF GOVERNMENT.

TIE AFFAIRS Or UON
.,,c.N SENATORS INCLINED Io w ~
wxrcrrr1vE sEssroN-THE MAIL r,,,
sc.xnAIs TO BE FULLY NVEsii" r,,
avxArE's sEssIoN-sECRETAkf D-A,'N Ill
T. ia believed that Republican senator
- in caucus early next week 10 ue'oil uA:.,o
~ .6v;sability of holding execu'iVe e'sa
g ,he Senate to act upon the Presluent' no
.n..;ors The Star Route mail contract so"n
sA,s .xc;te much gossip at WASHINGTON an"
oS;.h uA-s tbe basis for many rumors. MI Di.uy
-. al, charges against his Official ih'esiity'
~. aoss;on of the Senate yesterday was Will
-. .nv striking scenes or speeches. secretary
p,a;na Is in his usual health, not"i''s''ne ~, -
D'a' awsroner stories that he is too Ill u
certain neWsP"pOi
attend to his official duties'
AN EXECUTIVE SESSION fhVDAphn. fhVDNui- Inv,
nv c,Y,crs TO BE HELD EARLY NEAI
wvyy-No SYMPTOMS OF fIELDiN" "i
MAJORITY IN THE SENATE.
tpy TELEGRAPH To THE rRiBUSb'I $4,000
,,orov Anril 22.-Probably coniercn0o
n.',I;.an Senators will be held next luesuay
or "wednesday to consider the question " IN M
zine has arrived when the majority sha'i " -,
,hat sxecutiye sessions of the Senate shai o0 IN
in order TO act upon certain nominations io" 80
ING. Conversation among Repuplican oen''
aay aeveloped the fact that nearly, if not quite,
.;o-;,v ~ them are of the opinion that 1t VIII pe
;ss IN proceed with the consideration Oh SOME u
.,a o,;not;o,,s 70 6ll vacancies. At no previous
.-o,,oo hos Il been determined that no executive
,us;n.s- sbould be transacted until after VOC
.honId have been taken on the resolution 10 eIec'
oaecers. on the contrary, that matter has always
hssn left omen to be decided when the proper time
should arrive.
To AT the Caucus next week. il shall be concluded
h.t executive sessions shall be held, 1t VIII lndi-
..ta m abandonment by tire Republicans OF their
determination not yield one jot of the prlncpe ior
the triumph of which they have struggled during
tbe last month-that the majority i'll the Senate
.hall eontrol the order of business. Neither VIII
.ucb decision mean that the Republicans are dls-
nosed TO abandon OF postpone the struggle lot tue
control of the Senate organization Tor that VIII oe
continued with unyiedng vigor. The country If
besiuning TO understand from the admissions msde
nv the Democratic Senators that this contest Is not
simply one for the possession of few petty oiices
So far as the Republicans concerned, as Mr. Frye
observed in his speech on Wednesday, If the Repub-
Gcans were so anxious for few offices they could
sny day find as many Democrats employed in any
one of the Executive Departments as there are
Democratic officers and employees of the Senate
The contest does not mean that.
The Democratic minority in the Senate is deter
mined TO exhaust every energy In its attempt 70
punish what Democratic Senators call "Mahone's
treason In doing this they have already carried
obstructive tactics to an unprecedented length. In
the six years during which the Republicans were IL
minority in the House of Representatives many
efforts were made by the Democratic majority t.
rush through political measures without ALLOWING
the minority an opportunity to discuss then
or to offer amendments. Such efforts tn
Republicans always resisted by parliamentary
methods and always with success; bu
when they had wrung from the majority conces
sion of the rights to which minority is always en-
titled-the right Of free and full discussion and th'
right to offer amendments and have a vote upOr
them-the Republicans invariably allowed hna
vote to be taken upon the pending measure. I'm
clustering was never resorted to except Tor the pr
poses mentioned, and was never carried beyond The
limits above described.
The Democratic minority in the Senate has nov
been engaged iii ilbustering for five weeks, not fo
the legitimate purpose of securing the nsht Y
amend or debate the pending resolution, but will
the avowed purpose of preventing the majority
from performing its duty under the Constitution
As Mr. Sherman Mr. Hoar and other Republicans
have ably argued, this performance is essentially
revolutionary.