Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-12-07
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.
PEN PICTURE OF THE OPENING
OF THE SESSION.


to be Watched.
WASHINGTON, Dec. "a duller thing
than the opening of Congress could not be
imagined. 1t was dead as drift wood.
The unusually large number OF members
who have failed of reelection was calcu-
lated to cast gloom over the whole of
the surroundings: and it did. The House
resembled a body of men in which there
is a large sprinkling that is disappointed
with life and which needs something to
/ shake it up before anything like life or
activity can be expected. The call of
/ States for the presentation of bills drew
! out instead Of the usual opening avalanche
/ but minor measure here and there.
/ Many States in rapid succession were
/ called without a single able member get
/ ting on his feet with bill in his hand and
| "a ''Mr. Speaker" in his mouth. Sam Cox
! made two remarks of mediocre wit. but
| even they failed to get more than a slight
/ laugh RObesOn made himself prominent
to show that nothing, not even an over
/ Whelming defeat in a Republican district
/ could disturb his etfrOntery. KassOn did
some Turveydrop gesticulating and enun-
citation, and HiscOck, in his conscious-of-
/ place voice, had something to say about
nothing.
There was wait for the Presidents
message, which, when read in Clerk Me-
PhersOn's weak voice, was not listened to,
and could not have been heard had Con-
/ gressiOnal ears been ever so strained to
sound catching. The message was not of
sufficient interest to break up some very
noisy conversations that were going ON
everywhere in the hall. Keifer pounded
with his gavel in all his muscle. and bade
: in TO hol in
The cavity there which he created last
I session has been filled in and patched
over.
The only thing of interest that there
was to note in the House was the unusual
/ the number of bouquets which adorned
various desks. Blount, of Georgia,
/ had a very pretty one, Holman, of Indi-
/ ana, received very pyramid of flora, and
| did not once ''Object" to it. But the ma
/ jority of floral offerings were upon the
/ desks of men who have chosen to be pri-
Yate citizens after the 4th of March next
/ 1t reminded me of the tube-rOses at a
funeral. Robeson had a big nOsegay,
Keifer had flowers to the right of him and
| flowers to the left of him. On his right
was an anchor in blue and red
/ immortelleS. The anchor is the
symbol of HOpe-a hope in Keifer's
case that never again will such small
man as he become Speaker by virtue
of such men as Robeson, Chandler and
Don Cameron. Civil service reform bills,
and bills for building up our shipping in
terests, and cutting down the internal
revenue, were prominent among the few
put in. There was not even the suspicion
of tariff bill evolved Only the report or
/ the Tariff Commission was submitted,
cutting down duties twenty per cent, and
it was thrust aside for the printer to print
4 That's all there will be of it. To make a
fitting winding up the House adjourned
upon the formal announcement Of the
death of two of its former members
Lowe, of Alabama, and Updegratf, of Ohio.
In the Senate there was even less life.
/ 1t is very unusual when there is any life
in that body. The opening was even
worse than usual. The quiet tones in which
every one spoke, the way the Senators
! eyanished themselves when the message
was being read, and the final adjournment
when Senator Brown announced the death
of the lamented Benjamin II. Hill, of
! Georgia, was solemn and dreary. Only
one thing out of the common occurred.
was walked up before President
Davis and sworn in. Senator Brown
then took him around and introduced him
| to his fellow Senators. We do not know
much of Mr.. Barrow here as yet. But he
! had to undergo scrutiny when sworn,
/
/ favorable to him, The swearing in of Mr..
Reese, Governor stephens successor in
/ the House, possessed not the individuality
of the formal induction into office Of Sena-
! tor Barrow.
/ 1t was universally commented on, how
ever, as a rather queer coincidence
that Mr.. stephens, as Governor of
Georgia, should have in the
course of the law given the
certificate himself to the man who is to
fill his uneXpired term in the House.
! There were-befOre | forget it--fOwers in
the Senate as well as in the House. The
government hOt-hOuses did not forget the
pOnderOus presiding officer Of the Senate.
| And eight or nine other Senators had
floral adornments in front Of them. Take
/ it all in all, you could motif you had
worked to that end for years-haye sue
ceeded in bringing about such an un-
| eventful and sOmbre opening Of Congress
as we have just had
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
The annual communication of the Pres
ident to Congress has not attracted much
attention. Mr. Arthur's stronghold is GER
tainly not in state paper literature. But
very comparatively few members of Con-
gress have read the document. 1t is more
| plain record of government business and
events since last Mr.. Arthur wrote a mes
| sage, with recommendations in regard to
revenue and the public debt. The readers
of the News have, of course, perused the
document. They will doubtless agree, as
the general impression here is, that Mr..
Arthur has clear head on him when po-
liticaI economy is brOached and the proper
conduct of the larger affairs of the govern
ment comes under his discussion. There are
no fireworks in the message-nOthing
sensational. 1t is just such a document
as any man of ordinary intelligence who
! had taken pains to acquaint himself with
the matters treated might have written.
1t cannot be said that there is general
| concurrence in Mr.. Arthur'S views, but it
| can be said that no man-ditfer he ever
so widely from the President-can hold
that there is anything dangerous or ultra
partisan in what the message contains,
/ 1t was noticeable fact that Arthur's first
message differed from a long line of
its predecessors, in that it contained
no reference to Southern ''Outrages" and
''so-called elections Arthur was sharp
enough to see that such matter belonged
to the '"dead galley" And although he has
| been advised to the contrary he has ad-
| hered to the line of his first message in
| this particular. There is no reference in
| it to the South as a section. The message
! is a commonplace, sensible paper that will
! die with its ntterance,
There will be no general river and har-
! Dor bill this session of Congress. The
! President is against it, Secretary Lincoln
is against it, and the country has shown
pretty well that it is against it. But
| this is no evidence that the points where
\ improvements are necessary and import
ant will have to suffer. About the gist of
| it is that the days of mud creek and frog
| pond improvements are over. Individual
bills for the improvements that are based
on sense will be put through There will
be no Jumping of the mass, however, and
consequent log rolling of it through Con-
| gress. Members of Congress i'm whose
States there are Improvements that
are 'healthy'' and which need
money to carry them on. can
/ by work secure money for them
at this session, But those Improvements,
/ like Casar's wife, must be above sus-
nicion. Representative Cox, who has
ALWAYS fought the omibus river and har-
Dor Job, is going to lead in the attack upon
foOt=deep streams and outlets that shut in,
BUSINESS,
| notice that all members of Congress,
| in private conversation and in the general
tenor of their public talk upon the floor,
tend to the conviction that the present
session is to be one Of business and not
/ of nonHsanse-One of action and not so
much talk. of course tner6 SS!l he more
talk than is necessary, It could not
no OtborUisa where human hpin OS