The Press., 1884-06-26
WASHINGTON LETTER.


 The democrats in congress are giving their time largely to discussing the pres idential situation, and consulting as to the best man to nominate at Chicago. It IS just as well, perhaps, for the record of the forty eighth congress, if indeed, it can be said to have record, is already made up, and few more feverish weeks of summer will add nothing to the sum total.
 The sensation of the week in the senate was duel of words between Senator h. gals of Kansas and Brown of Georgia, who continued to fire at each other at in- tervals for two days. MT. Ingalls, said the Georgia senator had committed @ forgery on the manuscript of the official reporter. MT. Brown said he had not, and MT. h. gals insisted that he had. Many unklnd cuts followed, and another life long feud has been established in the by no means happy family, the United States senate.
 By decided vote the senate wants to suppress polygamy in Utah. Before the bill passed, Senator Van Wyck proposed that the Utah commission be abolished. Criticising the commissioners severely, he said they were getting a salary of $5, 900 year for performing duties that justice of the peace could readily do. Before the holidays, he said, these men will visit Washington for instructions. They will have railroad fare, sleeping car fare, hotel bills, street car tickets, tickets for washing, tickets for lunch at the capitol restaurant, for lager beer at the Arlington, and wine at Riggs. Then they will have meeting at Chicago with the same round of ex- penses, then journey to Salt Lake, and long repose there. SenatorHoar, who was ln charge of the anti Mormon bill, said as the Utah commission had no bearing on the pending measures he felt in no way called upon to defend it, or attack it, and it was left unharmed.1
 The resolution providing for an inquirV into the condition of the New York nation al banks has met with some opposition in the senate. Senator Blair said if one tenth part of what is daily seen in the papers about the condition of the banks is true, he did not see how any senator could with hold his assent to the resolution. If the comptroller of currency was now doing his duty in this matter he had withheld his activity too long. Senator Vest also wanted to know what that officer had been doing while certain New York banks were piling up their swlndling operations, and making false statements under the eyes of the government officials. Senator Merrill thought no good could be effected by the investigation called for and that no mem- Der of the senate could leave Washington.
 Senator Plumb alss held that congress ional Investigating committees could not keep banks from failing and SenatorSher- man thought thefact that there had been so few failures in the last ninety days, after the instances of dedication shown by high bank officers, was compliment to the na- tional banking system. Nothing that con- gress could do, would prevent bad man having charge of money from stealing it, it could only punish him after he had stolen.
 Senator Hill of Colorado says he intends to press his bill in the senate for govern ment telegraph to vote. Many senators would prefer to avoid this question, but Mr. | Hill says he is determined to have square | vote, and to force every senator to go up on record.
 Senator Ingalls, did not want model of | Bartholdi's statue of Liberty placed on ex- hibitions in the capitol building. He char acterized the proposition as an advertising scheme for New York. He said we had already in the capitol a miscellaneous as- sortment of brie-a-brac, and what Mrs. Malap.op called ssobjects of bigotry and virtue, " which could be removed without injury to the public taste. Senator Laph- am of New York replied that this was no advertising scheme, but work of patriot ism in which many good mon were engaged without profit. The senator from Kansas preferred that the citizens of New York should draw their checks for the necessary $250, ,000, as many of them could do so without straining their bank accounts. He proposed to guard the public treasury from this demand awhile longer, at least.