Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-07-19
fIsm suI regular serIsspoAasat
WASHINGTON LETTER,

ihp pAPSP'a''p" '""f N""e'N-" "N"''
be ready to adjourn by the end Of this
week WAS q deluslon, aud from present
indications il Is not unlikely that the
session will be prolonged into August
The chief cause Of this probable eSten'
sion Il the Revenue bill, II Is gener'
ally admitted that the Kelley bill,
passed by the House, Is a mistake from
every point Of view, and many OF the
Republican leaders are convinced that
II would be unwIse, IL not fatal, to lot
this session end without passing some
thing better, There Is, 10 the Senate
at least, q disposition 10 pass measure
that will effect q substantial reduction
Of taxation. hut the great difficulty
Is to agree upon the Items, There Is q
wide difference Of opinion as to the best
place to begin and the proper place to
leave Of, The amendments to the
Kelley bill prepared by the Senate H.
nance Committee make one step In the
right direction, but they simply open
the door far enough for individual SEN
ators to catch on and attempt % force
II wide open, Propositions are being
submitted from every side Of the cham
Der extending tho reduction TO nearly
every taxed article, including tobacco,
whiskey, railroad iron, SNUFF, cotton
goods, earthon ware, hemp, jute, silks,
wool and wooden goods, sugar, spices,
and various kinds Of machinery.
Thus the question has drilled from
one Of internal revenue proper to the
tariff and all its kindred issues. What
the end will DO there Is now little
chance to make IN intelligent guess,
Mr.. Kelley Is mad because tho Senate
won't leave his bill ~ no fixed II, and
especially at the intimatioa that the
tariff on steel rails Is threatened. He
says that the republican party in Penn
sylyania Is overloaded now with diff
culties-so called bosses, reformers and
other kindred weights, and intcrier.
cnce with the tariff would be the last
straw that would break tho ovcr-bur-
dened back of the suffering organiza-
ton. The Louisiana members arc
showing their teeth because the Senate
proposes to reduce duty on sugar 20
per cent, and altogether the unalloyed
happiness in store for our law makers
seems to be the privilege of dividing up
among themselves the Treasury surplus
in public building and river and harbor
schemes.
The brief speech Of ex-senator Conk-
ling ut his home in Utica the other
night, has been the subject Of consider
able interest and comment here. His
criticism of the lavish expenditures Of
the public moneys is more marked from
the fact that this expenditure is con-
trolled by the party with which he has
so long been associated. Some of the
political gossips pretend to see in these
utteranccs the signs Of separation be-
tween the ex-senator and the Republic
can party as now constituted. AS
confirmation in some measures Of this
view they recall the circumstance that
upon two notable occasions during his
service in the Senate, Mr.. Conkling,
stalwart as he has always been consid-
cred in his political views and ground
ed as he was in his affection for the re.
publican and hatred of the democratic
party, did contemplate taking stand
in direct opposition to his political as
sociates. But there seems scarcely any
good ground for attaching so much sig
nifcance to the speech. What Mr..
Conkling said was sentiment enter
tanned by many thinking men of all
parties, though all have not the cour-
age and independence to speak out
against the extravagant tendency of
our present law makers. Some be-
lieve that the speech may be taken as
an indication that President Arthur
will veto the outrageous River and
Harbor bill. This seems almost too
good to be true, but it is certain that
nothing the President could do would
make him more popular with the peo-
pie and unpopular with Congressman.
PHoNO.