Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-04-22
ouR WASHINGTON LETTER.
CONTESTED SEATS IN THE HoUsE-CoM-
MISSIONER PRICE AND THE IN
DIAN-EMANCIPATION
DAY AT THE
CAPITOL

MISREPRESENTATION
DAY AT THE
CAPITOL.
(Frcm our regular Correspondent.)
WASHINGTON, d. c., April Is, 1882.
There is prospect of lively
resurrection in congress of the sup
posed extinct southern question dur
ing the present month. -Four or
five Democrats hold contested seats.
The Republican claimants are on
the ground urging their claims to
these seats, and legislative halls will
soon ring with that fiery sectional
oratory that has made so large a |
part of the congressional record dur
ing the last fifteen years. AS soon |
as the Republican majority is re-
inforced by Ousting four or five
DemocratS it is expected that the
tariff commission bill will be
passed.
The new Chinese bill, as reported
from the committee of Education
and Labor, will probably pass the
House to-day under a suspension of
the rules. If it receives favorable
consideration in the Senate and
goes to the President, the latter is
very likely to pick some flaw in it.
The Farley amendment to the old
bill, forbidding Chinese naturaliza-
ton, and the Grover amendment,
which included both skilled and
unskilled laborers in its provisions,
are incorporated in the new bill and
are not supposed to be acceptable to
President Arthur.
There is a widely prevalent inn
preston that the new Secretary of
the Interior, who takes charge of
his portfolio to-day, will introduce
a new policy in regard to the In
dians but it should be known that
he cannot adopt an arbitrary, out
and out, policy of his own. There
are bills and treaties limiting his
powers, which are ministerial or
executive. But ministerial powers
may be so exercised as to give very
decided individuality to their adj
miuistration, and it may be expect
ed that Secretary Teller will be in
fluenced by extreme Western ideas
in all the dealings of his department
with the Red Man.
About two weeks ago Bishop
Andrews penned Il letter to the
Methodist clergy, asking each one
of them to hold special services last
night in reference 10 the Indian
question, in furtherance of the
views of the society organization
for "Indian Treaty Keeping and
Protection" In accordance with
this request, Hon. Hiram Price,
commissioner of Indian affairs, de-
livered at Wesley Chapel, last even
ing an address on what the Govern
ment had done for the Indians, and
what the citizens should do. A large
majority of the American people,
said Mr.. Price, were totally ignorant
of everything connected with the
Indian question. They are just be-
ginning TO understand it. 1t was
not a part of Gods plan to create an
independent man. What hurts the
Indian, therefore, hurts the1whites.
While the Government has done
its full duty to the Indians, it yet
has done Il great deal which should
be known. Mr.. Price thereupon
gave number of statistics, in
which the Methodists made a poor
showing. AS a Methodist he was
ashamed of this and urged his hear.
ers to do better. He advocated the
giving up of the foreign missions
until the Indians were civilized and
christianized. Earnest efforts, he
believed, would bring about such
results in five years. The Indians
were growing better, making rapid
progress morally and materially.
The Government cut of their ratiOns
of whisky last year, intending new
er to supply them again with it,
and has reduced their supply of to-
bacco, both experiments meeting
with success.
This is emancipation day-the day
that the col0red population of
Washington celebrate. The streets
are full of colored military cOmpa-
MES, headed by colored brass bands |
marshalIed by colored men on
horseback, followed by colored |
women in carriages, and by myri-
ads of colored youth and maidens
on the sidewalks. Maryland and
Virginia, Baltimore and AleXan-
dria, have helped to swell the dus-
ky tide on this gala-day. No city
of the Ozark Continent" can show
as large cOlOred population as the
Capital, to-day, and certainly no
city can show so great a variety of
facial characteristics and tint pro-
duced by generations of practical