The Dillon tribune. [volume] (Dillon, Mont.) 1881-1941, 1882-02-25

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WASHINGTON LETTER
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 18TH, 1854.
Ths1old question Of the relative dignity Of
the two Houses Of Congress has lately
been revived by the Introduction ofa reso.
luton looking towards an equalization Of
the salaries Of employees If the House and
Senate. A similar attempt was made In
the Forty.ffth Congress. The scheme
was tackled on to an appropriation bill by
the House and sent to tire Senate, where
II created very lively hreeze. The Sena.
tortal dignity was aroused by what was
alleged TO be an unseemly and unwarrant-
Cd interference on the part Of the lower
House Of Congress with the privileges Of
down the pay Of the Senate employees to
correspond with the same employees Of the
House. A lively wrangle ensued, which
ended In the appropriation bill being cent
back to the House. Committees Of con.
ference were appointed on behalf Of the
two bodies and were instructed to insist on
their. rights. The fight resulted in vic.
tory for the Senate. Members of the
House have not yet yielded to their ideas
on this point and propose to use their
powers as voters Of supplies to cocrce the
the Senate into agreeing with their de.
mands.
The managers Of that annual swindle, the
River and t1arbor bill. are putting their
heads together and preparing to "catch
on" an unusually large slice this year,
beginning about where they left off last
year. 1t II now said that the bill for max.
ing damp spots navigaole rivers has its
keel laid, SO to speak, with gross amour,
Of nine millions for basis. This Goes moi
include the Mississippi River improve.
ment-which Is big thing BY itsclf--and
Is pretty fair to start with. Last year the
bill as originally reported to the House
appropriated $Io,1So,Soo, including ST..
ooo,ooo for the Mississippi River improve.
ment. 1t Is expected that the total appro.
priation, this year will be somewhere
between $1I,oooooo $1,,ooo,ooo Las,
year the original amount was built upon
to such an extent that it finally reached
the sum Of $11,2so,ooo, the Senate having
We'd with the House In extravaganza and
recklessness. If these imaginative Con
gressmen arenow beginning operations
with proposition to appropriate eleven o,
twelve millions for alleged Improvement
Of rivers and harbors, It is clear that tht
lavish expenditures Of the last Congress /,
to be outdone.
About the most expensive woke Of oxer
the Government ever bought Is Sidney P
Luther's pair Of white faced steers, cor
cerning which bill has recently passee
both Houses of Congress. A similar bill
was passed by the House in the Forty. .fif,t
Congress, but the Senate did not act upor
It. In the Forty-sixth Congress the bill
was passed BY the Senate, but the Hous.
did not act upon it. Now, both House.
have passed It, and it will doubtless receiv,
the autographic approval Of the President
In August, 1870, this pair Of steers, nov
Canada, and duties having been paid OF
State of New Hampshire. There the,
were seized by an Inspector Of Custom
upon suspicion that they were smugglet
or undervalued, and Luther had to pa,
SIS to obtain possession Of his whit,
faced animals. Luther, however, provet
that the importation was lawful one, ant
the District Attorney decided that nc
cause for forfeiture existed, whereupor
Luther demanded his SSs. The Secretar,
Of the Treasury declined to refund ant
referred Luther to Congress, where he ha
finally triumphet, but the white face,
steers have occupied valuable time which
might have been devoted to some question
of National Importance, and have cost tn
country over one thousand dollars.
| The members composing the co,nmitte
on Ways and Means will be tie subject
of obituary notices and recipients OF
large amount of posthumous tatfy If tn
tariff question is not shortly settled. o.
meeting days the atmosphere OF the roor
occupied by the Committee is decided.
equinoctial, and the angry turbulence {
Chesapeake's pillows during an Angus
gale Is as nauyht when compared to III
storm Of contention which sweeps over tn
southern end Of the Capital on the day
alluded to. GRECO. r oman wrestlin
matches are the order Of the day. !
High Protectionist will grab Free Trac
or; Free Trader will clutch High Prs
tectionist, and until peace is restored b
physical exhaustion the air is iynrativcl
speaking, full OF soaring statesmen. NJ
Mckinley looks as faded as a last yea,
sunflower, and Mr.. Tucker has lo
enough hair to stuff two holsters or dis
) Of boarding house butter. The teart.
dragedy OF the Kilkenny cats will he n
peated on an appalling scale If the Hous
: does not take some action which will ave'
the catastrophe. The eulogv business
PLAYED out; the members of the Hnu'
. wish to preserve their forensic eloquent
for live subjects, and there are sever
families who are heartily opposed to wea
ing crepe wells and sombre habiliments
the present time. If Mr.. Haskell wou
only arise in his impressive manner ar
gyrate to the assembled Legislators fe
; remarks in reference to the inevitable c
lamity, he would confer favor ape
many anxious friends and anguished rel
tives, and add new lister TO IL
already dazzling escutcheon of which
is the happy possessor.
Dom PEDRO.