South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1884-05-16
Letter from Washington.
From Our Regular Correspondent
Washington, d. c.. MAY y.

Washington, ID. c.. May y.
The telegra, b has told you of the
defeat of the Morrison tariff bill. bu,
it never has and never Will tell you of
the many devices that were ressrted
to in order to crush out the sentiment
in The House in favor of general re.
duction OF the public burdens. Here
was a bill that provided for taking off
some 0,000,000 of our war taxes at
once, but Mr.. Randall and his protec.
ton compatriots knew that such q
boon Us this for the people would on
ly be disaster to the capitalistic nabob,
and thus it is that Randall has ut last
been as good as his promise that he
would have the Morrison bill defeat
ed or not GO home. There were o.
bout forty Democrats at Randa!l's ell.
bow in this business, some of whom
were expected to approve the bill
uron principle, and for local reasons,
but the four Members from Califor-
MIA who voted with Mr.. Randall's side,
and whose votes slaughtered the bill
and the hopes of the Democratic par
ty, went square back upon their agree.
ment with Mr. Morrison to stand by
the bill. do not know that there
eau be any change with this Congress
to undo this great wrong. or avert
thdterrible blow that the defeat of
the Morrison bill has dealt to the
hopes or the party. There was a
chance FOR the party to make n good
record for itself in this Congress, but
rather would these few men doom the
party than that pig-iron interests in
Pennsylvania be permitted to be med.
died with. If from this time out the
Democrats in Congress will harmonize
upon the other important measures
that have yet got to be acted upon,
they may yet save for themselves rec
ord enough to accomplish much to-
wards overthrowing from power the
present corrupt Republican dynasty.
1t seems after all that the old pa
triarch Edmunds is no more proof a
gainst TIE political scandal-mongers
than any other of the Presidential
candidates. In the tilt between him
and the erratic Phelps Of New Jersey.
the latter came outG good ways ahead,
and left lie incorrnptiblc Judge with
any quantity OF railroad stock on hand,
representing roads that had been cut
ting no small figure III the body over
which he now presides. The man
who can popularize himself enough
TO be talked about FOR the Presidency
nowadays, is not the man to escape
an overhauling of record, and Mr.
! Edmunds can rest assured that an
accurate rs we'll as complete history
of his political career, with all OF its
side issues and financial switch offs,
will be promptly furnished. And in
this connection it would hardly he
ont of place to say that the elements
Of opposition to Arthur and Blaine
and the other candidates OF the Grand
Old Party, who are distinctively
known as machine politicians, are
proposing to concentrate upon Ed
munds the. noDlest machiust OF the
whole pack OF them
The volume of The tenth census re-
port which pertains to agriculture, for
which there has been an unrrecedent-
cd demand, is delayed because the
maps showing the range of cultiva.
ton of the several crops have
not been engraved! ! his excuse fer
four years delay of this important
work is most ample and plausible
one, because no farmer would ever
thin< of prosecuting any branch of
husbandry without reference to
these maps, which are the refinement
OF the closeat analysis of scientific
humbuggery. The yellow and the
blue and the green and the red and
the purple spots on the map show to
the granger those meteorological con-
| d.tions, under which alone he mus
SOW and reap and pillow and hoe, an
his scientific mind will grasp at once
the simple aphorisms that got the bet
ter of LeDuc, though they fail to con
found the present head Of the A9ri-
cultural Bureau, who is veried in
both Hebrew and Greek.
Ii takes but very short time for
The average Government clerk to find
out that the country would get along
very poorly, fit got along at all, with
out his invaluable services. Webster,
who was fired out the other day az
chief clerk il the Treasury depart-
meut, had been afflicted with this sort
of maguus caput for so long time
that nc at last became intolerable.-
Indeed the head of the depart.
ment himself found it very diff
cult at times 10 find out whether
he or Webster was running things
over there, for Webster was of.
tener found on top bossing things
than in his legitimate aud subordi,
nate station The same state of things
exists over at the Interior department,
where Lockwood rs the chief clerk
has such a realizing sense Of his own
official importance that either ho or
the Government will soon have to ali.
dictate. This Caesar has grown great
merely from the long feeding at the