Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1884-01-03
WASHINGTON LETTER.
The Usual Holiday Vacation Detrimental to Leg.
islation--Death OF Dudley C. Haskell
The 0'Donnell Indignation
Meeting-Lobby
Influence.

WASHINGTON, ID. c., Dec. %, 1888
! suppose one might as well whistle
against a Western cyclone as to blow a
breath of criticism against the con-
firmed habit that Congress has got into
of virtually taking whole month in
every year to enjoy its holiday recess.
Nothing is done in the way of shaping
business for the session, because in the
long session there are no committees
| and in the short session all business
stands in like allegiance in anticipation
of the two weeks recess. 1t was not
| thus before the advent of the railroad,
up to which time it was the custom of
both Houses to simply adjourn over the
two holidays of Christmas and New
Years, giving to the country the benefit
of their services all the working days
in the interim, including Saturdays,
day which again our modern Congress
seems to have adopted as its weekly
holiday. The theft of this month of
time from the people is aggravated by
the manner in which it is usually stolen.
The House adopts its resolution to adj
journ to a day fixed after the New Year
has begun, and sends it to the Senate,
well knowing that that body will extend
the time to day still more distant, to
which the House, seemingly with reluct-
ance, concurs, and so a week of the
New Year is taken in addition to the
worse than idle month of December al
ready appropriated. The cost to the
people. of this holiday business, is not
to be counted by dollars and cents, but
by the manner in which every material
interest of this great country is affected
by the failure of Congress to find time
to complete its legislation. At every
session the work of Congress is practi-
cally driven into the last few days of
the session when great and vital meas
ures touching the prosperity of the coun-
try are necessarily omitted, or legisla-
ton that may inilict incalculable injury
may be rushed through, as was the tariff
bill of the last session.
The death of Hon. Dudley C. Haskell,
OF Kansas, deprives the House of one
of its most energetic and valuable
members and the Republican party one
of its bravest defenders, either in Con-
gress or on the stump. He died with
his harness on, for he had not seen
well day since the last session, through
which he worked day and night, as
member of the Ways and Means Com
mittee, for the success of the tariff bill
A veritable hornets nest is being stirred
up over the possibility that Mr.. Bel
mont, OF New York, may be made
chairman of the Foreign Affairs Com
mittee. At an O'Donnell Indignation
meeting held here the other night Mr..
Finerty, of Illinois, who never minces
words upon the Irish question, in the
course of his speech said. that to confer
this position upon this insignificant boy
this dude, who would dance attend
ance upon a lordling-was detestable to
the American mind, and proposition
that no party could afford to consum-
mate. However, as the hand of Mr..
August Belmont, in his dual capacity of
a Democratic party manipulation and
agent of the Rothschilds, can plainly be
seen in this business, it will be surpris-
ing if Mr.. Carlisle doesn't ignore the
Irish question entirely in making his
selection.
With all the lobby influence that the
railroads have on hand at this session of
Congress to defeat hostile legislation,
there seems to be a pretty fair prospect
that at least slight step forward in the
way of regulating Interstate commerce
may be taken this winter. Several bills
have been introduced in the House al
ready, and one in the Senate which is
modelled after that under which the rail-
roads of Illinois are now operating. Of
course such legislation can only apply
to trunk lines and their immediate
branches, and any restriction upon
them, as to fixing rates of fare and
transportation of freight, must neces-
sarily give local companies an unfair
advantage. For this reason the consti-
nationality of any law prescribing limi-
tations will be tested to the bluntest end
of decree CT the Supreme Court.
JUNIrS