The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-01-31
WASHINGTON LETTER.
from Our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D. G.,
Jan. %, 1884,

WASHINGTON, d. c..
Jan. %, 1884,
The American hog is occupying a
good deal of attention in Congress re-
Gently. This does not refer to Wander
bilt or his species, as some suppose,
but to a product more valuable TO the
human race. The action of the French
and German governments in exc.ud-
our pork from their markets, is the
subject to which our statesmen are de-
voting themselves, Just what remedy
we have for this discrimination against
our meat exports, have not yet been
made clear. Senator Logan strongly
advocates retaliatory measures by
placing certain restrictions upon the
trade of these countries with us, but
other Senators oppose such q course
on the ground of its uselessness and
i~lexpediencv. The debate on this
subject is not especially interesting
but the talk of Senator Beck, Miller
and others are against the proposition
of Gen. Logan shows that the value
of reasoning power is still understood
by some of our Senators. 1t is a pity
that Mr.. Logan has been denied this
useful gift.
One Of the greatest wrongs of the
carpet-bag era was the chartering the
Freedmen's Bank, in 1865, for the use
of persons heretofore held in slavery,
and their descendants. 1t was osten-
sibly a savings bank, the deposits of
which were guaranteed by the United
| States Government. The original
trustees, who were mostly prominent
ablolitionists, gradually made wayfor
a set of financial %sharpers. They I'M
lawfully established thirty branches
in various parts of the South, and re-
ceived a large sum in deposits from
the poor, ignorant freedmen. Having
bagged q large amount of money, the
trustees became tired of investing it
in Government securities, and had
their charter so amended in 1870 as to
permit their holding, improving and
receiving NOR cages on real estate in
this District. Then came some won
derful investments. The money was
loaned to officers ofthe bank and their
friends, of the carpet-bag, irresponsi-
BILE stripe, and the paper of the "Seneca
Stone Company,"a kite flying con-
Germ, the "Capital Publishing Com
pany," conductors of the ring organ
some hotel furniture and worthless
securities, with a lot of personal notes
not worth the paper they were writ
ten on, soon represented all there wa:
left of the banks capital, deposits an6
all. This of course is an. old story
but its results are not yet passed. Con
gress has wound up its affairs in the
most expensive manner, paying Mr.
Creswell, of Maryland, and othel
commissioners large animal salaries
+ and there is naturally a great deficit
, Hundreds of the depositors hav,
never received anything, and it will
, be no more than just if Congress
should pay every BONA FIDA deposi
f tor, as now asked to do, the full
amount of what he or she invested
> in the saving bank. The officers O
the bank managed to get hold of som
of Mr.. Summers money, but his sus
picions were aroused and he secur
) himself before the bank went to smash
Senator Van Wyck, of Nebraska, i
: a perpetual thorn in the flesh of hi
Republican associates, in that he i
: constantly offering resolutions of in
t quiry into matters where oficia
s crookedness is suspected. His las
call is upon the Attorney General
. office for information concerning Ger
tain unsavory transactions in connec
ton with the Star-Route trial. NJ,
Van Wyck's resolution brought som
of the Republican Senators to thei
feet to ask why that gentleman wish
"a - attach fI,o A fFa,,o- (o,1,I I
: makes the average Republican yer
: mad to think that one of their ow
party should lead off in exposin
i official wrong-doing or delinquencie.
1t is not bad enough, they say, to hav
the wicked Democrats always nosin
q around? Speaking of nosing, til
House Committee on Accounts
turning up more crookedness, it
!, said, on the part of an official of tn;
g body in the last Congress-, and whe
the facts are all out it is intimate
. that the Republicans will be orr
e they had the responsibility for the la!
y Congress. Keifer and all that cam
in his train was a big load.
y The Hon. r. T. Merrick, whoi is d.
livering a course of lectures on tt
], Constitution before the Gcorgetow
College law school, spoke last nigl
before a large gathering Of the stl
dents on the powers conferred by t.
Constitution upon Congress to tax IL
IS people. Under the Constitution,
), maintained, the people can only
- taxed 'to pay the debts and provii
c for the common defense and gener
lie welfare of the United States" I'll
le power granted to raise money is limi
ed by the purpose to which it is to |
u applied. To go beyond that and in
G pose duties, taxes, or excuses for tt
d benefit of IL part of the people
against another was, as in the Topel
ease, Goth Wallace, p. 1861 decide
in the Supreme Court, Mr.. Justi,
# Miller writing the opinion, to |
nothing but robbery. The time w
D. fast coming when the legislatiN
power would be confined to its col
~ stitutional limits, and Congress woul
, no more think of imposing duties
enhance the projects of persons or
assist giant monopolies, than an hor
> est trustee would think of using
y trust for anybody but the right ben
6 ficiaries. PHoNo.
~ M