Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-03
THE FORTT-SETENTH CONGRESS.

The Forty seventh congress will expire
by constitutional limitation when the clock
tolls the hour of midnight tonight. 1t
will pass into history unmOurned, union
ored and unsung. It has been, perhaps,
the most extravagant, wasteful, and incom
petent body of men that ever assembled at
the national capital, utterly disregardful
of the interests of the people they were
chosen to represent, the tools of monopo-
lists, and the slaves of party. Scarcely
any of its acts will bear scrutiny, or can
be defended by honest men.
The river and harbor bill OF last year
was so monstrous a specimen of wastefui-
ness if not downright corruption that it
called for universal condemnation. The
President felt it to be his duty to condemn
its provisions unreservedly, and the press
and people of the country with scarcely an
exception denounced it in unmeasured
terms. Notwithstanding the fact that it had
been denounced by the President in his
veto message as the result of corrupt bar
gaining, the bill was passed over the ex-
ecutive veto. Then the people took the
members in hand, and at the elections last
fall left the majority of those who voted
for the measure out in the cold-buried
them so deep that they are nowbeyond the
reach of resurrection.
The civil service had become so corrupi
and inefficient that there was loud call
for reform from every quarter. That cal
was unheeded until after the election, when
sham reform was patched up, principally
calculated to keep the present ineficien
officials in place and keep out new ant
more competent men. The effects of TN
bill have not yet been felt to any great ex
tent. but it is cumbrous, expensive, anC
will unquestionably fail of accomplishing
the reforms which its promoters hayt
claimed for it. 1t has been appropriated,
and expressively called the SWIVEL seryic
reform bill, and such it is.
The tariff trickery with which the clos
ing weeks of the congress has been char
acterized has been repeatedly referred {,
in these columns. Suffice it to say tina
from first to last the proceedings in tina
regard have been marked with downright
dishonesty and desire to deceive. Will
pretending to be anxio US for tariff reform
the majority has all along been onl.
anxious to defeat revision, and have S,
, acknowledged on the open floor.
The blackguardism that has character
/ lied the proceedings has been disgracefu
in the extreme. 1t has not been unusua
for members to call each other liar:
; thieves, cut-throats, gamblers, and t.
apply other undignifed and ungentle
, manly epithets to each other. The ses
sions have been turbulent and disorder
I to the last degree, resembling more tn
proceedings of lot of bar-room loafer
3 than of body of grave Legislators.
t 1t is gratifying that but few of the mem
. bers of the present house have been re
! turned by their constituents. New me
will take their places-men as yet untrue
in congress, yet as rule men who bea
excellent regulations for honesty, INTEL
E gence and sobriety. The public will e.
: pect much from the next congress, perhaI
d more than is just, yet of one thing all ca
h rest assured: the Forty -eighth congres
5 cannot equal its predecessor in dishonest,
9 wastsfulness or ribald black-guardism. TIL
t new members are fresh from the peop
a and understand the peoples wants, and "
= believe they will strive to do that which
e necessary and to avoid the errors, extravi
5, gances and crimes that have dIsgraced IL
y body that is about to quit the capital, it
/ | 10 ha boDed fOrevar