The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-12-27
WASHINGTON, Dec. IS, 1888.


congressman Reside, and Ali about
POstOf:ice Chan es.
WASHINGTON, Dec. Is, 1883.
Special Correspondence to the Statesman.
1t will be seen from time to time, /
in the press kilograms, that this Con-
gress is taking steps to settle the
question as to whether the land grant /
of over 100000 acres in California,
Arizona and New Mexico will be for
feited by the Texas s. Pacific railway;
and if forfeited the second question,
of the right Of that road to transfer
the land to the Southern Pacific rail-
way, will be dead issue. The first
thing to be done is to prevent the for
felt. The law is against the Texas s.
Pacific railway. In face of this, Hunt
ington Will be here himself and has
his agents here to save the grant. The
lobby is powerful one, it is cultured
and experienced. Mr.. Sheriff., Hunt
ington's son-in-law, lives here as a
general agent for his interests in the
departments. r. S. Spofford, attorney
for years for Thomas Peirce, of the
old "Surs set railway, is the adviser
of the new corporation. He an Sher-
rill are to be seen often among men,
bers before daily meetings of Congress
and after adjournment hour, miDgling
and chatting. The issue is a grave
one, and members are cautious in ap-
preaching it. The fight, if won, will
be won after long battle. Mr.. Hunt
ington will point to his road over a
barren country and say, we earned the
land. The lawyers will point to the
law and say, we cannot overstep the
statute. Huntington will point to
precedent and say you have been hbe-
raj to other roads. Then the battle
will be joined with all incidental ques-
tons thereof. Huntington is a Wig
ororls organizer and powerful per
suader. Having been brought very
promiscuously before the country Just
now by this land grant matter, a few
points as to his personal history are
of interest. He is sixty-fve years old.
of tail presence. big head and cultured
manners. Huntington controls 1900
miles of railway and water transpOr-
tatlon lines. He carries freight from
| Boston to New York, thence to Gal
weston by water, and thence by rail to
San Francisco. He is building roads
east of the Mississippi river and will
in time have an outlet at Newport,
Mass. The recent death of his wife
left him Widower with no children.
Sabin, the chairman of the Republic
can national committee, is a great man
in politics. He made great fortune
in manufacturing reapers. His friends
recollect when he cut cord wood and
sold it at 50 per cord. He is selected
because of his freedom from schemes
and complications. The best opinion
is that he is a Blaine man, but he is
not unfriendly to Arthur.
Ii Judge Hancock, of Austin, is in
receipt of any information from any
quarter that he has been snubbed by
San Antonio people he does not allow
it to weigh heavily on his mind. He
could not from the nature of the man
of large views, of fearle and careful
application to duties in hand, he is
not to be rufied by any little petty
spite. However, it is not clear that
there has been any diScourtesy by San
Antonio towards him. l asked Sena-
tor Coke if he had received bill pro-
viding for the public building at San
Antonio with request to introduce It,
and he said he had not received such
bill. So there must be an error
somewhere, and as the San Antonio
papers say, the people intend no dis
courtesy. l have not questioned
Judge Hancock about the matter
though it is source of gossip here
to some extent among Texans.
The question OF the relative ability
of the two sides of the House-DemO-
cratic and Republicans often dis
cussed. Since the meeting Of Con-
gress the bearings have been imper-
fectly taken by your correspondent.
The men on the Democratic side who
are ambitious are Morrison, Tucker,
Blackburn, Cox, Springer, Hewitt,
Holman and Randall. With the Re
publicans there are Keifer, Calkins,
Hiscock, Hoar, Reed, Kasson and
Deuster. In Kasson, Reed and His
cock the Republicans have able men
of cool methods. In Tucker, Black
burn and Cox the other side have
quick and able but dangerous men.
Morrison is able and staid, Randall is
a cautious power, and Holman is Vir-
tually granny. Who is the coming
man for leader of the Democrats can
not be told yet. The course of events
will prove it. On the Republican
side Keller is the ostensible leader,
but no one well informed on public
affairs believes he will stand first in
the counsels of his party. The Re-
publicans have the best ability on the
tariff without doubt. Hurd and
Morrison have to meet Kasson, Reed,
Kelly and a dozen others. The Dem
ocratic majority will thus have to do
more than vote if the people over the
country are be carried along with
them.
Congressman Hurd, OF Ohio, has
begun the prosecution of a close and
sweeping investigation of the affairs
of the attorney generals Office. He
is moved to do this, he says, because
of the scraps of evidence in his pos
session showing vicious system at
| ort,1, Of IL l.,