The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-03-29
Washington Letter.



have been invited to meet in the hall of
the House of Representatives on Tuesday
evening, at half past seven o'clock TO dis
cuss matters of party interest The re.
quest was signed by twenty members who
were conveniently near Mr.. Morrison
when he prepared the call, and handed il
over TO the chairman of the House Demo
cratic caucus, Hon. ;. 5. Cox. The Re.
publicans have long INDUCED in the pleas.
ant fiction that the Democratic party of the
House is divided into two nearly equal fac.
tons over the tariff in general, and the
Morrison bill in particular In anticipa.
ton of the pending conference, they wait
in hopeful suspense, saying, "now for the
CATASTROPHE" In reality il is sheer non
sense to talk of revolt in the party ranks,
for there are not two factions within the
organization at all approaching each other
in strength.
Conclusions reached by Congress during
the week have not been in proportion to
the amount of eloquence expended. The
tons, pension claims and the salaries of
District Judges The House PASSED some
private measures special deficiency BILL
and the postoffice appropriation, but whisky
has been the basis of contention this week
in the lower branch of Congress, and Ma
tional aid to public schools has furnished
the principal element of disturbance in
the higher. At the Capitol the prediction
is that the bonded extension bill will not
pass the House, and that the Blair educa-
tional bill will be defeated in the Senate.
Committee deliberations indicate that In
dian schools are to be well supported, that
the lifetime of patents is not to be limited
to five years, that postal telegraphy is to be
inaugurated, and that adulterated impolta-
tons of food and drink are to be prohibited
by proclamation of the President.
The Military Appropriation bill, the first
of the fourteen general appropriation bills,
has gotten out of Congress, gone to the
President and will become law. The
Naval, and Postoffice Appropriation bills
having been acted on by the House, have
both gone to the Senate. Three others
have been reported to the house from COM
mttees, namely: the Indian, Pension, and
Agricultural appropriations, but between
the Whisky and Tariff bills there is but
little chance for progress in the House with
appropriation bills during the coming
week
The friends of the bill for furnishing
Federal aid to establish and maintain com
mon schools in the more illiterate states
have difficulty in keeping it before the
Senate Efforts have been repeatedly made
to displace it for other measures. Within
the ten years contemplated by the bill for
extending aid, the education of practically
two generations would be secured for the
majority of children get in five years what
ever school education they get at all. The
oppose the bill on sectional
grounds although their platforms commit
them to the central idea of the measure.
Senator Plumb made an argument in favor
of each State making provision for educat
ing its own children, saying Massachusetts,,
New York and Connecticut did not need
the money. Last week the Senator from
Kansas heard that some of the cattle in Il
few counties of his own state had been
taken sick. Thereupon he prepared "A
Joint resolution asking $4,000 from the
National Treasury tor the treatment of the
COWS, and prayed the Senate's immediate
to the matter. That body voted |
$50, 900 instead of the amount first request |
ed, but Mr. Plumb did not detect the sec
tionaliSm of his demand until it was com
mented on by other Senators.
While the report of the committee of
in relation to the manner in |
which ex-Speaker Keifer used the patron
age of his office is intended to spare him |
as much as possible, it is a terrible con-
domination, and would overwhelm a less |
sensitive man. The facts which the CON-
mittee found tell enough, and it requires
no inspiration to read between the lines
the comments, which would have been
made, had the committee given utterance
to their thoughts But Mr.. Keifer does
not feel it keenly. Its humiliating to our
pride to reflect that this political
barterer stood for months in the line of
Presidential succession and filed the most
influential Office under the government.