The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-11-30
WASHINGTON T 7

6aSsiA&NG 4 S&N 42 l14bs
From Our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, D. c.,
Nov. 81, 1921
Chairman Kelly did cot find a ma
jority OF the Ways and Means Com
on hand here to indorse his
for free whisky, the abo.
lition of all internal revenue taxes
in order to cut down revenue re-
in the interest of the protec-
tive tariff. So the meeting called to
perfect this measure was adjourned
over until after Congress assemblies.
There is little likelihood that q ma
of the committee will ever be
brought to favor this proposition.-
Another reason why the committee
thought they could do nothing in adj
of the session was the lack of
a report from our absurd Tariff Com
mission, which has been rambling
about the country all summer
Hence Judge Kelly and his col
leagues of the committee amused
themselves by chatting each other IN
politics and the results of the late
elections. Well, perhaps the whole
thing is very funny to these Con
%gressmen, but it is not so amusing
to the sorely oppressed tax payers,
who want some relief from the un-
reasonable imports they are COMPEL
ed to pay-not on their whisky, but
upon the necessaries of life. There
is a memorable historic portrait Of a
Roman Emperor fddling while Rome
was in flames, to which the levity
and inaction of this Ways and Means
Committee seenst to give fresh points
as an illustration.
Speaking of the Tariff Commits
sion, that illustrious body, aside
from all the ridicule it has earned,
stands q fair chance of finding itself
a-saitor before an Indifferent Con
gress for a bill of expenses neither
provided for nor contemplated in
the act creating it. Estimates of
the expenses Of the hippodrome out
side of salaries at $40 a day each,
show that the average cost per wit
ness has been about $3.50, which even
the commission confess to be rather
steep considering that several of the
members have been pronounced in
their opinions that the witnesses
generally had nothing to offer in
their testimony of the slightest i'm
portance. This average has been
helped materially by items in the ex-
pense account of over So. 900 for pal
ace-car accommodations. A def
cheney will need to be reported for
these expenses. And then what do
we get for it all? After summering
for five weeks at Long Branch and
making a pleasure tour "about seven
thousand miles" long, through even
agreeable cities to visit at public ex
pense, it is announced that the Com
missioners will report sin favor of
making the least possible number of
changes, and none of them impor-
TAM, in the present tariff" and that
"the present probabilities indicate a
postponement of general tariff revis
ion until the regular assemblage of
the next Congress in December,
1888" This is all strictly in con
formity to the original "do nothing"
programme of the inventors of this
ridiculous and costly commission
The opinion prevails here that the
threatened shutting down of iron
manufacturers is a preconcerted
movement to bull-doze Congress in
to letting the tariff alone, but if in
vestigation proves this to be true the
effect will be very different from that
intended.
People are beginning to grumble
about tie delay in completing the
reports of the census of 1880. Two
years and a half have now passed
since the taking of that census was
begun, but no reports of the statis-
tics gather er have yet been distribut-
ed among the people. A mass of
bulletins and some special reports
have been issued by the census Of
flee, but they have been sent only to
a favored few. Last session Con-
gress appropriated a very large sum
of money for the publication of the
final reports and made provision for
their public distribution, but none
of such reports are yet accessible to
the public. 1t is now announced
that a compendium" will be ready
70" issue 'about the time Congress-
meets" AS "about" is a very elias
tic and in&efinite word it is rather
uncertain when even this compen-
uium will appear. Besides it can
dot take the place of the full and fl
nal reports. The value of statistics
depends largely on their freshness.
Those o fthe census Of 1880 are like
ly to be three yeals old before tlev
are published and may be a good
deal older. Further there has been
a good deal of talk about ~inaccura-
cies discovered not long ago., snd
which Mr.. Supt. Walker explained
as mere clerical err, rs palpable on
their face. But the census has cost
enough in its compilation to be alb
solutely perfect as far as it goes. If
it is inaccurate as well as out ofdate,
when it m out it will fall short
of a full measure of appreciation.
The second trial of The Star route
| conspirators is set down to begin
| early next month, and if the govern