The Dillon tribune. [volume] (Dillon, Mont.) 1881-1941, 1882-03-04
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WASHINGTON LETTER
tPsso or ssgsias OusssaeoaAsneJ

WASHINGTON LETTER
tFsso or s~gssas cossseeaAsaaj
WAsHIxoToN, Feb. 34th, 1852.
Favorable action has been taken IN the
Senate on the Apportionment bill, a. II
passed the House, and there IL no doubt
that It will become law and that the next
Congress will have 33s members In the
lower House. The Senate regarded the
subject as one to be left entirely to the
judgement Of the House, as It effects that
body alone. The principal objections
urged against the measure a. II stands h |
that It increases body already too large
and unwieldy; that instead there should |
have been decrease. But this view com.
manded small support on the inside, and |
there Is every reason to eApect that the |
same reasons which influenced the present |
Congress will have their weight with sue.
ceeding ones and that we shall xee the |
House increased In numbers every ten
years. The strongest inducement 10 this |
IL the desire Of States and State delegations |
to acquire additional influence in Congress
and the desire ofsnemberx to secure q re.
election. Nine Congressman out Of ten
wish to be returned, and regard with |
special favor an increase OF representation
from their States beer Z that widens the
field and tends to lessen the number Of
their immediate rivals tor the position.
One reason advanced in favor Of large
membership was based upon the Theory
that large Legislative bs,dies are less liable
to corruption than small ones, and that
therefore, logically, the more numerous
the body, the safer Il i from this evil influ.
ence, because The most energetic iobbyis,
will hai dly undertake the task Of bribing
u majority Of several hundred. This theo.
~ may not have had much weight, but
It commanded few votes. The pending
bill adds thirtytwo members to the House,
and It will require some extension Of the
hall to properly accommodate them unless
the plan Of dispensing with the desks
altogether, which has been urged on
ditf.ren. occasions This plan co,.tem-
plated the location Of desks in the Statuarv
hall, where members could do their writing
and confining the hall Of :he House proper
to legislative duties exclusively. In the
English House Of Commons the members
sit upon plain benches and have no desks.
The name Of Senator Edmunds is again
freely mentioned in connection with the
forthcoming Supreme Court nomination
and there are many who expect his ap.
pointment, though do not. Although
at one time Mr.. Edmunds would have
been pleased tn 60 on to the Supreme
bench, he is said not to view the idea with
so much favor now 1t is possible the
President has forgotten one Of the episodes
Of the New York collectorship contest dur.
ing the Hayes administration, but ii he has
not forgotten It, he i, not likely tn nomi
nate Mr.. Edmunds; ut least so say some
Of the political wiseacres. When Mr..
Hayes first undertook to remove General
.Authur as collector OF the port Of New
York, Mr.. Edmunds stood by Mr.. Conk.
ling in the tiyh; made by the latter in the
Senate, and made 50 successfully. Mr..
Hayes made a second attempt to oust Con
eral Arthur, which succeeded. Mr.. Conk-
ling made as stronya fight a. hc did ,hc
first time, but some OF hi, allies deserted
him outright and Mr.. Ed.nunu> pas>ivcv
failed him by taking no interest in the
contest and ahscntiny himself when the
! final vote was ta':rn. III. Conkliny w;t>
very much cha.rincd ut the course OF the
Vermont S.tt,,", and it is very certain
that he has not for gotten it il! tn. i'rG>i-
dent has. y PUB statement i, shortly
to b. made by IA committee of the United
States Bar Association concerning their
conclusions touching mum rou> propo.
si'ions for relieving the Supreme Court
OF the pressure of business upon its docket.
OF the committee, Hon. William NJ.
Evarts, of New York. X. I. Mcrrick, o.:
| District of Columbia, and MeS>r>. Phelps.
Of Vermont and Parker, ol' New jersey,
will favor the Manning bill, which propose
to divide the present bc,cl into three >ub-
| AID. i,
The Supreme Court, however is opposed
to this. They favor an intermediate cnur:
requiring the appointment OF fifteen addi-
tiona Judges. O.' ti,e other member, of
the committee, Mc>>rs. Hitchcock. of St.
| I.o:i>. is openly opposed TO the Naming
proposition. and Rufus King, OF Ohio.
Bradley, OF Vermont, and Governor Stcv-
en>on. of Kentucky, are non-comnlittal.
Lent ha, come, and tae gay season i,
ended for Il time. The round os dinners,
par, les, receptions.ard other festivities gen
crallv cones to 4 halt on Ash "Wednesday,
and whatever of >ocia! entertainment We
| have during the season is vi Il more : p
pressed character. The hard. worked >oi
etv hacks have earned a we'll deserved rest.
| and the ind,,striou>ly CAV can rest from
their labors For this class ot prnpl.
Lent is blessed institution. II is stop
gap in the perpetual expenditure OF money
ana chance to wear out old clothes. IT
becomes fashionable to go to church, and
church. going is comparatively cheap. The
ancient Lentcn regulations were some
thing to appall the moacrn S>baritc.
Then something like a forty days fast was
practced, exclusive OF the SUNDAYS, when
gor,nandiziny was allowed, and a list cf
the indige,tiblc com.>tibles recommen-
dcd to the faithful Of former times is
enough to give one the dyspepsia even by
! rejecting on them AT a distance of five
hundred wards. But men and women had
stronger diyc>tion> then than they have
now, and the restrictions placed upon the
appctites of the pious now are in effect a
stringent as those imposed upon Our pro.
ycnitors, considering the highly artificial
life OF the nineteenth century. 10 abstain
from meat for forty days was not such a
hardship after all to a pious freebooter
who probably never had enough to eat for
| forty successive days in his life. Year b,
wear the regulations have been changed
! and modified to suit the altered times, but
always managed to forbid during Lent
something allowable at other seasons,
The week before Lent i mor> or less Ot a
carnival evervwhere-and it has been
especially 50 anon. the pleasure seekers
.it the Capital.
DON PkpHr.