The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1883-10-13

WASHINGTON, October l. - Letters
were recently sent to all the members
elect of the house of representatives ask
ing their opinions of the policy and prac-
ticability of attempting next winter to
secure further tariff legislation, their
views of the repeal of the compulsory
provisions IN the silver coinage act and
the suspension OF the issue of silver
certificates, and their choice for
speaker. Many Of the congressman
were also asked their opinion of internal
improvements and river and harbor
bills, and of forfeiting land grants not
earned within the time fixed by the
granting act. Many of the persons to
whom this last question was put either
misunderstood 1t or are singularly ignO-
rant of the facts. 1t has never been
proposed to forfeit grants to companies
that complied strictly with the terms of
the grant. All that has been proposed
is the forfeiture of land grants where the
railroad has not been completed, or was
not completed within the time fixed
This is a question of expediency and
not of the sanctity of a contract, be-
cause where the road was not completed
in the time set the contract has been
broken by the grantee. The question is
whether the contract shall be construed
literally toward the grantees and the
time limit expunged, or strictly, the
government taking the fullest advantage
of the strict letter of the contract. One
| third of the congressman replied to
| these letters, but several of the replies
were entirely non committal. One
hundred and twenty-five letters, coming
| from all parts of the country, answered
some or all of the questions. A large
proportion of these were confidential.
| OF the eighty democratic congressman
who replied, ffty-two favor a revision of
the tariff and sixty-four are opposed to a
repeal of the compulsory provisions of
the silver-coinage act. Forty three
expressed their speakership prefer
| ences. OF these twenty-five are
| for Carlisle, eleven are for Cox, eight
for Randall, but all of them are from
outside of Pennsylvania, and two are
| for Springer. All the forty-tive repub-
| licans who replied expressed opposition
| to general reopening of the tariff ques-
| ton, but seven want some errors in the
new law corrected, seventeen want the
wool duty restored to the old rate, one
wants free lumber and three want
| lower duties on sugar. The repeal
of the compulsory provisions of the
silver-coinage actis opposed by only four
| republicans, and 1t Is favored by twenty
six. Twenty-One oppose silver certIti-
Gates, fifteen favor them, and six are
opposed to the present silver dollar, but
would favor an "honest silver dollar. ="
Three favor the recoinage of trade dol
lars. Eleven republicans favor the total
| repeal of the internal revenue laws, five
want the tax retained on whisky, but
reduced, and fifteen oppose any change.
Almost all favor liberal appropriations
| for internal improvements. Five would
vote for reasonable appropriations,
and eighteen would spend no money
| for levees on the Mississippi; forty
are for internal improvements that bene-
| fit national commerce. Several republi-
cans favor Keifer for caucus candidate
for the republican complimentary vote
for speaker, because 1t is only mere
form, or because it would be discour-
| teOus to refuse it TO him. OF the prefer
ences expressed, eleven are for Hiscock,
| seven for Keifer, six for Reed, one for
Reed or Keifer, and three for Robinson,
| of Massachusetts.