The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-02-23
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspor dent.l

Congress, the Democracy have got
rather hard row to hoe in getting
through this years campaign. In
1878 the people were paying more
than four hundred and fifty millions
ofdOIlars in taxes annually. and there
was the very best of opportunities
and there was the very best ofinduce-
ments for making material reduc-
ton in the aggregate of this enor-
nous burden. Yet aside from the
repeal of the duty on quinine, and
a reduction of the internal revenue
or tobacco, of eight cents per pound,
the very last thing that they ought
to have done, they failed to reduce
this Onerous taxation by a dollar.
The Republican party from the close
of the war up to this time had wiped
out Mt one session of Congress sixty
millions of dollars of the Federal tax
alton, and with it the whole income
tax. In 1872 the Republican party
reduced the tariff ten per cent. upon
such articles az would benefit the
consumer, while it put mary Others
upon the free list, and included other
taxes in the general reduction, On
the other hand, the Democracy, in
1876, a presidential year, and with a
clear majority of 80 in the House,
killed Mr.. MOrrison's bill as dead as
do0r-inat, because it called for a re-
ducti0n of twenty millions or more
of the general taxation. In 1880, an
other Presidential year, with both
houses under their control, they went
before the people with no dollar Of
taxation reduced, and we know the
result. In 1884, with a still larger
majority in the licase, and a Presi
dental year, too, there is every pros.
pect for the conviction that this Con-
gress will come to an end with still
no reduction, from the fact that the
party leaders cannot and will moi
agree upon any basis of reduction
that will conform to the different
constructions of the party creed,
The Senate has adopted a measure
looking to the better custody of the
half million and more books and the
$50, 900 pamphlets now stored beyond
reach in the dark places and deep re-.
cesses of the Capitol. The vast ma
jOrity of the copyright books now in
the Congressional Library are simply
literary slush. of no earthly use or in
terest to anybody. The books ord
narily used for reference do not ex-
coed 10000 or $4,000, for which the
space in the present library is abun
dainty amply, and which, with Sigh,
expenditure, can be made to accom-
MEDIATE as many more. The correct
thing for Congress is to let alone the
the proposed library building and do
nate the half million books, for which
it can meyer have any use. to thu
struggling libraries scattered through
the cities and towns If the country
whose people are taxing themselves
enormously tn obtain the volumes
that lie dormant here year after year
and decade after decade. And this
would he peculiarly appropriate, now
that the Government proposes to dis
tribute $10.000,000 of the public mon
ey among the severa! States in aid OF
the common schools.
Somebody has introduced a bill in
| Congress which should he entitled
Gan Act to discourage American &c
Mus" 1t provides that no damages
shall he recovered for an infringe
ment of patent, where, upon the
| trial, il shall appear that the defend
ant used or appropriated the patent
ell article without knowledge that
the same was subject to patent. Thus
an in inventor suing for Infringement
must subject himself to Il bill of costs
in order to ascertain whet her his pat.
ent has been properly or improperly
employed by the defendant and
should the latter plead ignorance, as
in nine cases out of ten. he will, the
inventor walks out Of court barefoot
ed. AS the bill has already been
fayorably considered in committee,
it would seem to he the duty of in
yentors generally to put themselves
upon the inquiry whether this is
promoting the progress of science
and the useful arts by securing to in
ventors the exclusive right to their
discoveries"
Whatever may he the'infirmities of
our navy, the want of officers is GER
tainly not one of them. With the
handful of vessels that the Govern
ment can neither sail nor find sale for
them, there are attached no less than
630 line officers. with an appalling
list of understrappers, who are never
on water long enough to get on their
sea-lege. Therefore it is that the
House Naval Committee has cut down
the estimates sent in by the Secretary
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