Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-04-05
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
tFrom Our Regular corrsspondent.)

NE IOtl OuH AbSu1s&f COEAtSpOuuSutsl
The week at the Capitol has been
marked by several important
events. Among the most prom
5Aent were the Democratic tariff
ssI; ference, and the last struggle
conlemise of the Bonded Whisky
tfnlIy The conference decision hav-
T. zen that the tariff bill shall be
6e ssed for time in committee
q re whole, subject toamendment,
aafichen put upon its passage, the
0e I8e is likely to begin next week.
1lot Indian, Agricultural and PEN
Appropriation bills are to be
81 hdily disposed of, and the tariff
will follow Immediately after.
The Whisky extension bill failed
by one hundred voters. During
the closing hours of the debate
Representative Hewitt of New
York surprised every one by MAX
ing remarkable speech in favor of
revision of the tariff. free raw
material, and free whisky. He
ridiculed the idea of taxation hav-
ing anything TO do with the moral
question, and claimed that it was
as legitimate to manufacture whis-
ky as pig iron. The Republican
Protectionists, he said, had divided
the country into the very rich and
very poor. And now wheel the
system was breaking down it be-
came necessary for this party to
invent a new gospel which had re-
Gently been announced taxation
for morality; or taxation for rev.
enue with incidental morality"
And now new whisky bill is to
be pushed forward. One of the
provisions of the new law being
that the tax on all distilled spirits
hereafter deposited in bonded ware
houses, shall be payable before and
at the time the spirits were with
drawn. Congressman Thompson
is going before the Ways and
Means Committee to urge early and
favorable action upon this meas
ure.
Both the Senate and the House
voted to appropriate $125,00O, in
behalf of the Mississippi flood
sufferers and the President signed
the bill. The House also briefly
debated the bill for the retirement
and recoInage of the trade dollar,
considered a number of private
bills and passed twenty-four pen
sion bills at an evening session.
Both Houses adjourned from Fri
day until Monday.
In the Senate the Educational
bill is still pending. Among late
and notable contributions to the
debate were speeches made by Sem
ator Butler, of South Carolina, and
Senator Lamar, of Mississippi. The
former made a strong assertion of
the South's ability to take care of
herself, even with great odds against
her being made the beneficiary of
Federal charity. Senator Lamar
advocated the measure and con-
tended that the question involved
no unconstitutionality. That be-
gan when the Federal government
interfered with the rights and func-
tions of the States. In his opinion
it was measure fraught with I'M
speakable consequences to the peo-
pie of the South. 1t would stimu-
late them to grapple with a diff
Guilty in the presence of which they
stood appalled,, and give to common
school education in that section an
impetus it had never known. The
Mississippi statesman had closer
attention from Senators than is
usually accorded to one of their
number.
The Senate has seen fit to draw
line on Judges OF the U. s. Courts.
In passing a bill which fixes their
annual salaries at $1,000, an amend
ment prohibits them hereafter from
providing for relatives within the
degree of first cousin. The people
will be grateful for this as far as it
goes no doubt but will fail to see
any point in discrimination against
the Federal Judiciary, while Presi-
dents, cabinet officers, heads of de-
partments, and bureaus, members
of the Senate and House, and army
officers are permitted to make the
patronage of the country a family |
heritage.
The River and Harbor bill has
nearly been completed in commit
tee. The aggregate of the bill will
be about eleven million dollars.
The principal items Will be appro-
priations for the Mississippi, Mis-
souri,, and Ohio rivers, and the
great IldTUOLS OA tiAC <AlAoAeAN CIVIL
ic, Lake and Gulf coasts, To the
and its Tributaries five
will be given, but it has
not been decided what part of the
shall be expended on the
itself.
A memorial has been presented
in the Senate from the legislative
assembly of Utah, protesting against
the passage of measures now pend
ing before Congress, which affect
the interests of that Territory with
out full investigation by Congress
ional committee.
The Senate committee on woman
suffrage has just reported favorably
the joint resolution proposing an
to the constition to
extend the right of suffrage to wom-
en-. This was the action of the major
ity of the committee. The minority
will present their views later.
CURRENT OPINIONS ON GENERAL