Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1884-02-22
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our regular correspondent

FEBRUARY 16, 1884.
The Senate has discussed the fine
arts and literature during the week
in an indirect way at least, for it has
voted nearly million of dollars for
the improvement of the Capitol, and
discussed the oft discussed Congress
sional library bill Senator Ingalls,
had also something to say abcnt the
marble group of statuary, represent
ing Fame and Memory, placed by
Admirable Porter in front of the
Capitol, to be perpetual reminder
of the achievement of that American
navy, which, in the language of
President Lincoln, could sail any
where that the ground was a little
damp. Mr.. Ingalls, thought the mar
BILE pile, funeral in appearance and
out of place in setting of beer shops
and boarding houses. He wishes to
have it removed elsewhere, and as
his wishes seem to have the approval
of other Senators, the probability is
that the statuary will go. The group
may be out of place, and its locus
offensive to strait laced sticklers for
artistic propriety, but if revolution
of artistic reform is to be sprung on
Washington City no man can tell
where 1t will end. 1t will certainly
sweep from their pedestals half the
bronze equine monstrosities that
have been mounted in the last ten
years, and raze the flimsy architec-
tural piles that have gone up under
Republican rule. All that is really
substantial and noblo i'm architecture
in Washington was built before the
war under Democratic auspices. The
capitol, the treasury, the patent Of
flee, the post Office, of white marble
and simple, solid architecture, be-
long to that era that closed with the
spring of 1860. Since then the bu-
reau of engraving and printing, with
its state prison airs and many little
generals on bronze horses, have been
built by Republican Congresses. Re-
publican statesmen, it is true, have
built elegant private residences out
of their thrifty politics, but these
are public Improvements only in the
sense that they have been built in
directly from the public treasury.
The House calendars show that
175 bills have been referred to the
catacombs of the Capital, after due
inquest by a committee. Nearly
5, 900 bills, most of them of a pri-
vate nature have been introduced in
the House during the present session.
OF this number less than 200 have
received the action of committees
and been reported to the House.
The committees of the House have
a number of important measures on
their dockets for consideration this
week. The ways and means COM
mittee will hear arguments of busi-
ness men on various phrases of the
proposed tariff legislation. 1t is be-
lieved by members of the committee
that Mr.. Morrison's bill will not be
reported TO the house for three or
four weeks. The public lands COM
mittee expects to take action this
week on the bills which provide for
forfeiting the alleged unearned land
grants of the Northern Pacific and
Atlantic Pacific Railroads. The
coinage, weights and measures COM
mittee will probably report bill
providing for the withdrawal Of the
trade dollar from circulation. The
foreign affairs committee has resolv-
ed to insist that the House should
refer to it the correspondence re-
ceived from the state department
last week relative to the prohibition
of American pork in foreign coun-
tries, on the ground that the question
is one of treaty obligation.
During the morning hour in the
Senate today Mr.. Riddleberger's
concurrent resolution calling for an
investigation of the civil service of
both Houses came up, and lead to an
extended and animated debate. The
bill to provide for the erection of a
Congressional library building has
been made special order for Tues
day, and the MCPHERSON banking
bill-now on the calendar, with q
favorable report from the finance
committees set down for ccnsid-
GRAFTON, as a special order, on We'd
nesday. The discussion of the last
named measure and of the various
important amendments already pro-
posed as substitutes, for it will
doubtless run throughout the remain
| der of the week.