The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-05-08

THE AGGREGATE avoirdupois of the u. S.
Senate is about to be greatly reduced. On the
4th March ensuing the state of Illinois with
draws 400 and odd pounds of its live stock
from that institution. 1t is considered by the
suckers that David breaks more national
chairs than their patriotism can warrant, that
he is distantly related to the crank family, that
he suffers from general unfixedness, which,
all together, make him an awkward mess of
politics to handle. The press will miss the
great senator. For six years he has been one
Of its stand-byes and journalism feels be-
reavement of that kind more than any one but
scissors man and paragraphist knows. It's
hoped that some party that likes variety in its
politics, or is given to change will get David
Davis out for president. The presidential is
not jockey race, and weight is no hindrance.
IT IS amusing to man of common sense to
watch the bi-metalic delusion in financial
politics. This absurdity of regulating the value
of gold and silver by act of congress began
with Alexander Hamilton at the beginning of
the government, and has been persisted in, in
the face of repeated practical proofs of its
absurdity, ever since, is still persisted in. The
silver dollar is now found to be 4 and mills
per cent. less than when it was coined simply
because the market value of silver as COM
modify has deprecated that much. And this
is not understood. The depreciation is
ascribed to the fact that the late International
congress failed to fix value upon gold and
silver as standard. And here the Austin
Statesman exclaims: cit is now believed that
both England and France will have to aban-
don their resistance to the double standard
because of pressure from this side of the At
tantic." We would suggest to our respect
able contemporary that what England and
France will be more apt to do, send the fool
killer over here. Is it not astonishing that
common sense should be so much more rare
than any of what are called the rare gifts, as
eloquence, or genius, or learning?
| CONGRESSMAN RANDALL who is often dis
turbed by cobwebs, though he don't mind be.
ing kicked by mule, the other day unwound
in fuss over the proposition to grant con-
tinuance Of pay for two years to members Of
life saving crews disabled in the service, or to
their families when losing their lives in the
discharge of their duties. Mr.. Randall eject
ed good deal of blatter about ''thus creating
privileged class" and ''thus establishing
civil pension list" and about its being Sun
justihable under our system of government"
Now the pay of these members in the coast
guard is $33 a month, while the surfmen at
the stations get $40; not enough to live in
the absence of disability and imposing actual
starvation in the events contemplated by the
bill. Seen in the light of such Legislation as
''under our system of government is con-
stantly expending millions on privileged
classes and civil pensioners, often wasteful
gratuities. and, sometimes upon unworthy OBJ
jects besides, this captious legislator appears
to be very little bug, and rather curiosity
Of the insect world. The House sat down on
Mr.. Randall and these poor and deserving
men, engaged in arduous and hazardous pub
lie service, will have the little, miserable relief
the bill offers.
| THE proneness of legislation to interfere
with private business, and of its privileged
corporations and classes to run to it for its in
reference, are shown by the bill now before
the New York Legislature called the penal
code which, among other unwarrantable acts,
proposes to suppress class known as ticket
brokers, who buy and sell railroad tickets on
; commission, or secondhand tickets, or buy at
wholesale and sell singly, the proposed code
! making this traffic highly penal. What
grounds exist upon which this can be pretend
ed to be justified we are not informed and can
not imagine. There is no aleatory feature
or feature Of fraud, in this traffic. Nothing
but the legitimate properties Of an open and
fair trade, as that in clothing, books, or other
merchandise. In New York one half the rail-
road tickets for western travel are said to be
sold by these outside brokers. The wonder
is that people submit to this sort of encroach-
ment on their rights. All such violations of
personal right are everywhere unconstitutional
There are no constitutions that do MT bolJ