The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-01-19
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent. ]


cradle dissatisfaction was for time ex-
pressed with the bill lately passed by that
body relative to the line of succession to
the duties of the Presidential Office in
case of death, disability or removal. There
existed prejudice in favor of the old law
which made the president of the senate
and next the speaker of the house follow
after the vice president, but on further
consideration the new plan making the
secretary of state follow the vice president,
and after him the other members OF the
cabinet, is received with more favor. 1t
takes the matter more out of tue general
scramble and uncertainty of politics. Be
sides there is always the possibility of
there being neither a presiding officer OF
the senate or a speaker of the house. and
the chances are about even as to such Off
cial being or not being in political harmo-
nv with the party that elected the Presi-
dent; whereas the secretary of state and
the other members of the cabinet
would be most likely to be identified with
and inclined to carry out the policy
of the administration which they
thus succeeded to. In one respect,
however, the new Jaw WAS u6IecJIFc.
1t fails to do what shall constitute "in-
ability" 1t will be remembered that this
question painfully and forcibly presented
itself during the illness of President Gar
field, when q large element in the republi-
can party held that Vice President Arthur
should at once assume the reins of the
government.
There is said to be a set of men in
Washington-second-c class newspaper cor
respondents, women clerks in the depart
ments, and SO on-who makes q regular
business of supplying members of congress
with written speeches. If that be true they
certainly turn out some uncommonly poor
work. Twothirds of the set speechs in
congress would be worth about SO cents
column in type. The short, sharp, snappy
debates are good enough, but when sone
of these old iOng-winded and hair-splitting
individuals begin 10 argue the difference
between tveedledum aud tweedledee it Is
immensely trying. They always become
so interesting in their own oratory that
they thunder away as if they were trying
to wake up the dead. so that even the act
ing vice president can only get an &C
casional cat nap. It seems to be the in
variable rule in congress that the less
man has TO say the louder he says it and
the more Frances around and kicks up the
dust generally Uncle Rufus Hatch flies
back and forth between New York and
Washington with some occult idea in his
brain, and several other gentlemen have /
likewise vibrated like Mahonets coffin be |
tween Manhattan Island and the Potomac |
marsh lands, There is much mysterious /
talk going on about the Yellowstone Park, /
and that frightful bogic known as Giant |
Monopoly is said to be hoyerlEg-if giants /
can hoYer-Around Uncle Rufus and the |
gentlemen whom he butUonholes 10 the /
dim corridors of the capitol.
Congress has been as interesting as usual |
during the past week. and many persons /
have attended the sessions of the senate |
to WatehsJadge Edmunds poking holes IN +
the presidential succession bill. For once
too, the public felt almost sorry for Mr.
Hoar when he made his unfcrtunate alfti-
sion the other day to Senator Edmunds'
prolonged absences from the senate cham /
Der. Its grossness was acknowledged, but
Senator Edmunds' emotion was partly due
TO the implied accusation that he had neg
lected his duties Senator Edmunds does
not associate very much with the brotf er
senators from New England. As long as
Judge Thurman was IN the senate he and
the Vermont senator were as inseparable
as Senator'S Burnside and Anthony, who
were as of one flesh Don Cameron
and Senator Butler, of South Carolina, are
another pair of chums. Some people in
Washington wish that old Simon Cameron
were around" Washington now. His
pithy sayings and his amusing freedom of
language in regard to the big wigs were /
very entertaining. When he was asked at
the time OF the last census. his trade, pro
fession, calling, etc, the old gentleman
boldly announced printer" Nothing
diverted him mere than the anxiety Of
some of his fellow senators to have their |
former occupation sunk in the title of SEN
at9r. He was pretty certain to begin some
yarn about when ! was setting type.
somewhere or other" whenever he had I
chance, in order to let them know he was ! ]
not ashamed of having made his Twin q at !.
q printers case. Il
We have had snow foot deep for more
than q weak, which Ia rare thing for
washington. Perhaps some hair-splItter
will rise up and say that 1T il only eleven B
inches or six kilometers. but for the pur-
pose OF a general assertion I am near !
enough to the truth. Sleigh bells have II
been Jingling about our streets during all i
these days until we have become ouite
used 20 them. The 1ocalsupply OF sleighs
is very small and it is customary among
the livery men to send to New York and I,
Philadelphia for temporary supply in the E
case of a prolonged snow such az we had .
two years ago. when good sleighing was ,
had for two weeks. The first day after
the snow stopped falling everybody who
could raise IS for an hours fun was ont
A 1o71