Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1881-02-10
Washington Letter
WASHINGTON, D. @.
February 3. 8 8

4 RStC AOOlOo ChSsO h0
| as soon as it could be printed with
the amendments proposed by the
committee. AS amended provides
| for the issue of bonds to an amount
not exceeding $500, 5000 0 bearing
81 per cent interest, redeemable-af-
ter five years, andpayable in TWEEN
ty years,and the issue of not exceed
ing $3OO,O00,0O O in treasury notes
also bearing 81 per cent interest,
redeemable after one year and paya-
BILE in ten years. The portion OF
the bill relating to the national
banks is also radically changed, IN
fact, so much so that Mr.. Carlisle Of
of the House says that that body
| will not concur in the amendments.
The conference committee likely to
be appointed will be Messrs Carlisle,
Tucker and Frye.
The democratic Senators have
proved themselves possessed of more
nucilage than their brethren OF the
House. The Senate democrats
havings.a quorum, completed their
attendance and passed the Morgan
election resolution, but the House
democrats also with a quorum,
! could not COMPEL the attendance of
anywhere near a quorum, land so the
Morgan resolution failed, and the
Senate last week had to devise a
resolution the Republicans would
vote for, and which will govern the
count OF the electoral vote next
Wednesday. Yesterday the Dem
ocratic Senators gave another exh1-
bition of their wonderful nucilagi-
naus quality by calling up and pas
sing an old resolution introduced
last June which declares that the
Vice President hasAo right to count
the electoral vote, with a view of
ascsrtaining which shall be finally
counted and which rejected. The
following amendment to it was of
cred by Senator Hoar, and adopted.
"And it is the duty of Congress
without delay to institute measures
to secure the due and orderly per
Torrance Of this duty in the future
OF course this resolution will fail in
the House, as the Democrats of that
body cannot get the attendance of
149 of their members.
The power of the caucus IN the
House is never realized until the
Democrats attempt to do without it.
They have not held many of those
lately, and as a consequence are COM
pletely at sea in regard to policy.
The other day the re apportionment
bill was taken up, and the Democrats
were sanguins of its early passage,
but not having caucused upon it,
their intentions were unknown to
each other so that yesterday when
the House voted to lay aside the re-
apportionment bill and take up the
private calendar, loud and bitter re-
examinations were heard among the
faithful, and as it will take q ma
jority vote TO call the bill up again,
there are grave doubts whether it
can pass again, especially as the
Republicans characterize it as a
party measure and are hostile to its
passage. It cannot come up any
how before next Tuesday, and it
will then be antagonized by the ap-
preparation bills and the electoral
count.
Commissioner of Pensions, Bent
ly, is a man without official friends,
save probably his Superior Secretary
Schurz. In fact, by his tyrannical
treatment of the OK soldiers having
cases before him, he has incurred
the enmity of a large majority of
Senators and Representatives. He
is now urging a bill which provides
that there shall be appointed in
each Congressional district a Sur
geon and Lawyer, who at a small fee
per head fifty cents shall at sta
ted periods, travel around their re-
spective districts, examine and pass
upon the claims of those coming be-
fore them. Ths lawyer and doctor
constitute a sort of Pension court,
and will, Of course, be governed by
tho local prejudices which agitate
all small committees. The question
is how long under such an aTran-
cement would it take these travel
ing dispensers to bankrupt the gov
eminent?
It is the general opinion here that
if Bently spent as much time in try
ing to administer correctly the pres
emit pension law, as he does in trying
to prove that all pensioners are
frauds, all parties would be better
served.
~ E 80 q