The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1883-12-13
@@isfelIa'teons. g
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

OUR WASHINGTON LETT Ii
From Our Regular Correspondent.
DECEMBER, 18th, 1883.
The representatives Of fifty mil
lions of people are all here. I am
looking down from the gallery of
the House Of Representatives upon
the writhing mass-the statesmen,the
demagogues, the men Of ideas, and
the men of schemes. The hour
has not yet struck, that little tyrant,
the gayel, has not yet called the
House to order, and such a con-
fusion Of men and voices on the
floor has seldom been seen and
heard since Babel. 1t is a study
in cotemporary history to see and
know these men. They are repre-
sentatives, and representative of
every diversified interest ofa people
and a country, now known among
statesmen and philosophers, at
home and abroad, to be the greatest
and the most interesting experiment
in the annals Of nations. They are
also representative of the political
success or failure. hope or despair
Of ten Thousand individual or cor
porate interests. Never before in
the history of this planet have so
many people. so much wealth, SO
great a hetrogenety of energy,
thought and enterprise, assayed to
live and move and have their being
in harmony under one government,
and that too not of the sword, or
sceptre. 1t is remarkable and ed
flying to those who are capable
of thinking Of it. Now the sharp
rat-a-tat Of the gavel breaks upon
the confusion of voices below and
miracle Of silence pervades the
chamber, broken only by the voice
Of the chaplain in prayer. The
roll call follows, then the installa-
tion Of the new speaker and now
the House is ready for business.
The first thing that impresses an
old habitue Of the House gallery is
the remarkable changes in the from
tier line that divides the Demo
cratic from the Republican mem
bers. The Democratic line has been
extended far over toward the right,
and the Republicans have the ap-
pearance of being crowded into a
corner. 1t is time indeed for the
Republican party to be crowded
out entirely. 1t has had its day;
has worked it's ruin, and ruined
it's work. It has stolen every
thing from the Presidency to pos
tage stamps. 1t has tramped On
the constitution, packed the Su-
preme Court, debauched the civil
service, demoralized the army, and
wrecked the navy in a gulf of job.
berry. The youth and miraculous
elasticity of the country has alone
preserved it from the deathly grasp
of the destroyer. Great heavens!
to think Of the decline of party
whose history must be that it CON-
menced with Greely and ended
with. Malone. But to return to
Congress. The remnant of the Re-
publicans there will have to do
something more than wave a shirt
with counterfeit crimson spots.
The House is overwhelmingly dem
ocratic. Under the new apportion-
ment its total membership is 325 of
whom 1914 are democrats in good
and regular party standing. The
orthodox republican strength is on
ly 116, leaving a remnant of Is
without fixed party ties. Thus it
will be seen that on everything out
side Of unanimous consent or two,
thirds legislation, the democrats
have a good working majority, and
therefore they will not labor under
the disadvantage which hamp
them when last in power. of trying
to rule by majority which was
generally less than quorum.
The larger part ofthe democratic
members represent the west and
south, and party measures will be
apt to reflect the prevailing views
of those sections. This will be
particularly SO with Mr.. Carlisle in
the chair to make up the standing
committees, and direct the pro-
ceedings. Many of these measures
will excite lively opposition on the
republican side, and hence We may
look for an interesting session, in
the course of which the issues in
the now approaching presidential
campaign will be clearly worked
out.
In making conjectures as to the
Craftsmanship of important COM
mittees in the new House an ele-
ment Of uncertainty enters into all
calculations, in conversation last
night Speaker Carlisle said that
the committees would be organized
with a view solely to the fitness Of
the members for the various SUBJ
jects of legislation that would COM
mand the attention of Congress,
and without undue regard to their
relations to him in the recent con-