The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1882-05-10
From our Regular Correspondent ]
WASHINGTON LETTER.
A DiIatory Congress- Uncle Sam
buying Real Estate-The Sen.
ale and WlIiskey Ring.

ale and Whiskey Ring.
WASHINGTON, D. c., May 6, 1882
AS the summer approaches, the
prospect of an early adjournment Of
Congress appears to be very remote,
and the opinion among those best
advised is that there will be no ad.
journment before the middle of July.
Politics first, business last, and never
do to-day what you can do tomorrow
have been the theory and practice of
Congress for years. There is no eff.
fort to pass appropriation bills just
now, not even an effort to hasten
their passage. If these bills should
be passed, the country would want
TO know why Congress should not
adjourn.
The bill referring the tariff ques-
ton to an outside committee Of ex-
perts will probably be passed to-day,
then will come several contested
election cases, the admission of Da-
kota as a state, and the Geneva
award. After these bills have been
disposed of, there will remain the
appropriation bills, the Naval, Legis.
lative, Deficiency, and sundry; and
these cannot be passed without much
debate and conference in joint com.
mittees Of the Senate and the House.
Early this week, the House passed
bills for the erection of eight public
buildings, most of them post offices
in different cities Of the United
States. 1t will require two millions
Of dollars to start these buildings, but
no man knows how much it will
take to complete them. The log
rolling combination which has been
made up contemplates the erection
of thirty-two additional buildings,
and it is thought that bills for their
erection will be passed before the end
of the present Congress. The thing
to be deplored is that these build
ings will cost the Government about
twice as much as they would cost a
private person, but, Notwithstanding
this, the Government will probably
not lose anything by holding the fee
simple to the offices in which Gov.
eminent business is transacted. An
immense number Of buildings all
over the country owned by private
individuals are now rented to the
Government at exhorbitant rates.
There is not a business man in the
country who would pay rent for his
business place in excess of what
would be the interest on the money
required for the erection of q build
ing like the one so rented. Yet this
is the prevailing policy of the Gov
eminent. If a statement were to be
called for by Congress of all the pub
lie offices and other buildings rented
for the use Of the United States, ac-
companied by clearly proven state.
ment of the value of the property SO
leased, it would probably be found
that the money paid in rent is double
the amount that the interest would
be on the cost of construction of build.
ings to take the place of the leased
property. Here in Washington, the
owners of private property are reap
ing great benefits from this unbusi-
ness-like policy.
The Senate will soon have an in.
vestigation going as well as the
House. Yesterday, Senator Voorhees,
asked for a committee to investigate
charges that he had been corruptly
influenced to favor the House bill to
extend the bonded period for whiskey,
but the Senate thought his personal
denial was quite sufficient. Senator
Window, however, declared that he
had received information that large
sums of money had been corruptly
used to lobby the bill through Con.
gress. He will today move an in.
vestigatiou, which the Senate, under
the circumstances cannot but order.
G. A. S.
Small POx.