Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-01-04
From our regular correspondent
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WlhhInglOn, Dec ~, 1881,


has been going on ever since they
were announced, has not yet abated,
and the more the subject Is discussed
aud examined the more aud greater ARE
the causes found TO exist for this upi'
yesal disapproyal. Many Republican"
aud all the Democrats find abundant
reason 10 dcnouncc this piece Of work.
II Is not altogether that this or that
man has been favored or overlooked.
or that any particular State has secured
undue consideration, but it is the gross
partisanship manifested and the base
schemes advanced, against which there
is so much indignation, II is true that
certain interests in Pennsylvania have
such liberal representations on the
Committees as amounts almost to con-
troll of legislation [; but when Don Cam
eron swung the Keystone delegation
around by the tail and landed it on the
Kicier side, it was expected that I'M
limited pledges had been made. SO
there was no surprise in that. But
that the entire layout is an Adminis'ra-
ton Stalwart organization, there is no
reason to doubt. When Kietcr's
friends appealed to the President FOR
Administration support. they promised
everything; and when Mr.. Arthur told
them to "sec Cameron" it was bar
gain. And in pursuance to this bar
gain the committee have been fixed.
Neither Mr.. Kasson nor Mr.. lliscock
would ever have appealed to the Presi-
dent for aid, and Mr.. Kictor was the
only candidate having any strength
that the President could have bought.
Few people not personally acquainted
with the method of legislation under
stood the full power of Committees or
the Impotence of their construction.
AT present it may be said that the
standing Committees control legislation.
1t is next to impossible to get through
the House of Senate any bill that has
not secured the approval OF the Com
mittec to whom it properly belongs.
A bill may be introduced and put on its
passage without reference to Com
mittec. But this almost never hap
pens to any measure of Importance.
If the committee to whom it is referred
report against it, it is as good as dead.
The instances of a successful defiance
ola Committees disapproval are so
rare that an escape of this kind be-
comes historical. And it is, also, not
common for a Committees recommend
atoms to be disregarded. The weight
of a Committee for or against a bill,
is generally considered conclusive. 1t
will be seen that the power of the
standing committees is wholly due to
what may be considered their moral
influence. 1t would be perfectly COM
potent for the House to vote down any
Committee, to disregard its recon-
mendations, to destroy the bills which
it has perfected, and to reconstruct, in
open House, the schemes of law report
ed from the Committeeman but this
is almost never done. Hence there is
every reason why all interests and all
sides of question should be fairly
represented in the make up of these
Committees.
To illustrate the unparalleled partisan
ship of the present organization let us
take the Committee on Elections, one
which passes upon questions of the
highest privilege-the right of Mem
Der to his seat. All parties have
right to expect that such Committee
will be so constituted as to inspire con-
fdence that it will give at least some
show for fair play but in this Congress
that Committee has been ''organized to
convict" GUST several Democratic
members from the South whose cases
are already prejudged. Two-thirds of
the Committee are straight-out Repub-
licans, and of the other third one is
Virginia Readjuster and another a
Greenbacker with decided Republican
affiliations. The Committee has met
during the recess and already the Re-
publican Members are intimating that
they will make short work of certain
Democratic Congressman, though the
contests are mostly trumpet up cases on
the old-time carpet-bag order-only
thought of after it was found that Con-
gress would be Republican. And SO
tho "a 40 stands with other Committees