The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-01-25
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent

compromise with the creditors
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan %. 1884
There is great activity In congress and
between the Fitz John Porter discussion,
the Mexican treaty and the land grant
question, etc, interest in the proceedings
of both houses has been well sustained
during the past week II is often remarked
here what a quiet congress this is and how
| that heated personal and political strife
which usually manifests itself. especially
on the eve of an important campaign, has
! been kept in the background. There is
less of it this winter than have ever seen
during my ten years observation here
Can it be the calm before a storm? or are
the politicians beginning to realize that
the people are losing interest in these par
tsan wrangles and looking to their repre-
sentatives for something more important
and business like? We shall shortly see.
The secret sessions of the senate on the
Mexican treaty have no doubt been very
interesting to that body, who have re
| manned locked up several days discussing
the important commercial questions in
volved. But an old veteran in legislation
and travel says, Judging from what we saw
| in Mexico when visiting that country
few years ago he does not believe that
our exports there would amount to much
| fer some time to come, but We might ob
| tain from there several articles of which
we are in need. Sugar now costs a great
deal too much merely TO benefit a COM
paratively few owners of Louisiana plan
tati0us Then there is coffee, which costs
as much rs it did before the duty was
removed the Brazillians having clapped
| on an income tax equal to our
reduction of taxation The Mexican
coffee is far superior 10 that of
Brazil, and equal to that of Mocha Just
now almost every pound is gobbled up by
Prussian commission merchants and sent
to Berlin. The agents of the railroads
constructed or being constructed in Mex
leo with United States capital, have
worked very diligently in favor of the
treaty. 1t will be their only chance OF
getting even any small return for their
large outlay.
The report of the house committee on
public lands concerning the forfeiture of
the Texas Pacific grant is a meaty docu-
nent and- completely knocks the pins
from under the Huntington Gould com
bination. II was written by Judge Paw
son, of Illinois, who has devoted much of
his time for year past TO an investigation
OF this and other questions touching the
Pacific railways. Mr.. Huntington prac-
tically abandons all hope of defeating the
declaration of forfeiture by congress, but
boasts that he will hold the matter in the
courts for twenty years and finally come
off victorious there, the lands meanwhile
being sold by the railroad company.
Possibly this insolent corporation may
defy congress, and defeat justice and the
people in this way, but We shall see If
it is really true that these corporations are
stronger than the government, as it some
times appears, it is time the people took
measures to bring them to book. The
whole Pacific pooling combination is
severely attacked in this report, and it
certainly ought to receive some attention
from congress. The government has
voted millions of acres of land, together
with other aid, in building competing
lines of road, which when built unite in a
general combination to enforce exactions
and swindle the public. 1t is time the
| thing was stopped and the power of these
combinations materially curtailed.
The temperance question had little
run in the senate the other day when the
joint rules were under discussion. One
of the rules prohibits the sale of all kinds
of liquors in the restaurants of the house
and senate Senator Bayard moved to
strike out the words cor malt" so as to
exempt lager beer and other malt liquors
from the exclusion. Mr. Frye opposed
| this with an earncstness that would have
gladdened Neal BOWS heart and described
the restaurant of the house OF representa-
tives as having become nothing more or
less than miserable groggery, He said
| that he had seen n man with his panta-
| looms in his boots, and wearing a dirty
| blouse, stand up at a counter in one of the
capitol restaurants drinking mean whisky
out of a crokery tea cup, and if any sena-
| tor desired to follow his example he had
| but to GO down stairs and order some
| ''cold tea The joint rule was finally
passed so amended as to exclude all in
| toxicating liquors.
Petitions are daily rolling in upon con
gress asking changes in the pension laws,
and many of them bear marks of having
come through the hands of, or being in
spired by, the old gang of pension attor-
| neys, Many of the petitions sent to con-
gross are not really in the interest of or
understood by the petitioners themselves.
General Butler in speaking of this subject
day or two ago said that generally
petitions were not worth considering
They were signed in the most careless
manner and never thought of afterwards.
They were rarely read, and the signers
never intended that they should have any
influence For example" said he "you
could get in Massachusetts 10000 men to
sign petition to have me hanged, and
half the number would sign petition to
have themselves hanged, without knowing
what they were doing There is point
in this, dear reader, if you have time to
study it out. DOM PEDRO.
! Mr.. A. Nichols, of this place, says he
suffered from CatarIh for years He is
/ - o,x, oil o,,~oJ oorc 49,, On, 80