Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1884-01-09
from our regular correspondent
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington. ID, C..

WI
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington, D. c., Jan. s, '84.
The usual New Years parade at the
White House brought to close the
dullest holiday season Washington has
experienced in many years. Just why
it has been so phenominally dull is not
easily explained, but the fact remains.
1t is needless again to describe the
New Years receptions and scenes at
the Capital, for they have been worn
threadbare, as topic, these many
years. 1t is the same old thing over
and over again; rush of people to
see and be seen; a display of fine toll
cts? the formal exchange of compli-
ments, with lot of hummery thrown
in. There is music and flowers, mill
tary epaulets, naval uniforms, and the
gaudy, as we'll us strange, costumes of
the representatives of foreign lands,
who come IN court dress to make their
salaams to the American chief magis-
trate. After natural curiosity has been
gratifed by witnessing it once, the
whole performance ever after becomes
a bore to all but those who are fond of
dress parade, or of mixing with official
humbug just because it is official.
All the signs point to very active
work in Congress from the start, and
to an end of the present session much
earlier than the long session usually
closes. Mr. Rainfall has already got
his Appropriations Committee at work
and, though his object is said to be
partly to head off Mr.. Morrison and
the Ways and Means Committee, it is
expected that the appropriation bills
will, as a result, be advanced with I'M
precedented rapidity. When the ap.
preparations are out of the way Con-
gress is generally ready to adjourn, but
still l do not think there will be any
adjournment this year until some defn-
lite action on the tariff question has
been taken. where McGregor sits
is the head OF the table," is an apt say
ing which exactly fits the placing of
Mr.. S. S. Cox on the list of House
committees. SO, while no one doubts
that by length Of service and pre.em-
inent attainments Mr. Cox, if he de-
sired it, was entitled to the chairman
ship of the Committee on Foreign AT
fairs, yet there is reason to feel graft
fed that the duty of looking after the
interests of our decaying navy should
have fallen into such capable hands.
Though the Naval Affairs may nomin-
ally be the inferior committee, there is
no question that at the present time it
is vastly the more important one The
herculean task of rebuilding the navy
has just been begun, and there is moth
ing to prevent liberal appropriations
for the purpose except the fear of the
jobbery which seems to have fast
ened itself so firmly upon every re-
publican administration. Mr.. Secre.
tary"Bill' Chandler has taken occa-
sion to express himself highly pleased
with the appointment of Mr.. Cox,
which is the strongest reason the latter
could have for not wishing to serve.
Mr.. Chandler is very ELUSIVE on the
subject of new vessels. He is not
shipbuilder himself, but he happens to
be intimately acquainted with man
who is-Mr. John Roach, whose at.
torney he has always been. There is
even talk Of an investigation into Mr..
Chandler's methods, in order to find
out why Roach got all the contracts
awarded under the appropriations last
year.
The recent publication of the Hunt
ington-Colton correspondence, not only
attracts attention to this great railway
maguate, but it is not likely to help
him much IN his interests before Con-
gress this winter. Mr.. Huntington
controls altogether more than $4,000
miles of railroad and water transporta-
ton routes, and these enormous lines
are operated under his direction
and in his interest. His great feat is
to take freight from Boston and New
York by steamer to Galveston and
thence by railway to San Francisco,
beating the transcontinental freight
lines by at least week-fourteen days
against twenty-one days. In few
months the completion of his new lines
east of the Mississippi will give him
control of a complete transcontinental
line of railway, the ocean termini be-
ing Newport News and San Francisco.
Thus he will be the first of our rail-
way mllionaires to realize the dream
which has fascinated so many of them.
Mr.. Huntington spends good deal of
time in Washington, and always stops
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