The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-06-29
wAsHINeToN LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, D. c.,
.June. DC. 1899.

4
June. 26, 1882.
Congress seems to have great dit
fculty in agreeing upon a method OF
counting the electoral votes for Pres
ident and Vice President. Those
who have thought Of the matter rea-
lie the importance of such o mea-
sure, as since the repeal of the cd
joint rule there is at any time dan
ger of serious disagreements and re-
suits under the existing provisions.
To most people a satisfactory plan
would seem easy of attainment, but
somehow it does not present itself to
the minds of C~ongressmen and SEN
ators. Political checker pfa2f1g is,
however, the real diffic6ltI, an
honest purpose existed todeyise q
plan independent of anyparty con-
siderations OF advantages it would
be simple enough. The bill proposed
by MI. Updegraff of the select spe-
ciall committee on that subject was
very properly defeated this week, and
is the last of the numerous schemes
in that line to go the way ofal the
earth. The part of this bill which
aroused the strongest opposition vas
the provisitioa xHAffA6 Ysseased can
didate mightprocesaby A1orarran-
to and go intoth sHfts deter
mine the. question OF aae after the
votes had been counted aEd tho re-
suit declared. This Gontenplates
the possible busting of d gEesident
once seated, and Mr.. Hamni6nd, of
Georgia, aptly remarked that it
fought to be entited saTbilff6 raise
he'll in the United StStss.s' Mr.. Hew-
lit opposed it and said he was salts
fed that no man installed in the Of
fee of President could be ousted in
side Of his four years by any method
short of revolution. The simplest
and only practical plan is to have all
pertaining to the choice of
electors settled by the State courts
and make the decision fnal and bind
ing upon Congress.
The House Committee on Printing
have recently recommended that 10,
, 600 maps ofthe United States be pub
lished for the use of Congress. This
is at the rate of about thirty maps
per member, which may seem an ex-
travagant allowance; but when the
t alarming ignorance Of Congressman
on the subject of geography is con
sidered it is not strange that an at
o tempt should be made TO force infor-
nation upon lawmakers by the
quantity. One method of teaching
: the alphabet to Observation-Disclosures
requires that the letters, one at a
time, shall meet the eye wherever it
roams; a large letter, "a" for in
stance, greets the eye from the head
, of the bedstead, the top Of the wash
stand, the side of the plate, the desk
of the teacher, the blackboard Of the
wall, the cover of the book and even
the fence Of the playground. If, in
like manner, maps of the United
States are hung in every corridor.
committee and cloak room in the
e Capitol, in the Congressional restau.
rants, the various bar-rooms fire.
= quented by Congressman, in every
= hotel dining room and parlor, in
drawing room cars on all trains that
e enter or leave Washington, in livery
stables, gambling hens4sadimtht
Washington apartments and perma
nent homes of our lawmakers, some
s Congressman would in time learr
r something of the extent, proportion:
e and distances of our beloved coun
try. By frequently seeing maps OIL
occasional Representative or Senator
, might come to understand why al
/ outbreak at an Indian agency canno
be instantly suppressed by troop!
" that are two thousand miles Always
:, and why flour from Minneapolis to
" day cannot tomorrow be devouret
by starving Mescaleros in the South
west. They might also learn tina
creeks and marshes cannot be mad
n navigable in the interest of CONNER,
even by the expenditure of twenty
or thirty millions per year on them
. Had Senator Blair yer seen a maj
6 of the United States he might no
r have gravely proposed to make tn
Mississippi River turn backward ant
, dash up hill for severed Thousand
:. miles. In view of the possible in
IS crease of Congressional intelligence
d the public perhaps will overlook tina
1t the number and cost of the proposed
maps are ridiculously in excess o
: what they should be.
Mr.. George William Curtis, Pres
J. ident Of the New York Civil Service
IS Reform Association, has sent a cir
cular to all the Government employ
. es here, warning them not to RESPOND
:, to the forced levy of the R~epublica,
Campaign Committee, under pain o
IS being proceeded against according
l. to the Revised Statutes prohibiting
It such contributions. 1t is understood
that Mr.. Curtis has or will send
. copy of this circular to custom hous'
IS officers and Governments employee
generally throughout the country
J. majority of them would be very glat
to get off paying the assessment i
their tenure of office is not thereb,
impaired. They are placedin some
what of a dilemma. A female clerl
u in one of the departments insisted
day or two since ON making a com
y paratively large contribution to tn
If campaign committee. She place.
n her own action or the score of pa
triotism, but some of her associate
clerks said she did it with the hop
IL of making herself "solid' in her of
fee. PuoNo.
d The Cleveland Plain Dealer pre-
r sents our views exactly when it say
practically there are but two ways t.
8 deal with the liquor traffic. 1t mus
either be prohibited or licensed