New-York tribune., 1885-03-05

tional banking system, encouragement VI .
merchant marine and provision for iore.sn
mail service. and relief or reorganization OF 'ho
sunreme Court. In addition. there were Dy q
LARGE majority of the members thought apso-
Iutelv necessary to the public welfare revision
&c the tariff. a modification OF the internai
revenue laws, regulation OF Interstate COM
merce. the forfeiture of unearned land grahts'
nrovision for carrying out the Mexican tre"9'
and provision for veterans OF the Mexican wal
The inter incompetence OF this Congress Is
illustrated by the fact that the Important
measures which ought not to have passed. pu'
ware nv the members believed to be absolutey
necessarv. failed indiscriminately with thoso
which were most necessary to the puDhc
welfare. but by the majority of members were
rooordad with indifference or aversion. Nothlng
b,s beon done about the coinage or the banking
svs,em nothing about the merchant marine or
Tho foreign mail service, nothing about National
education or National bankruptcy, nothing
about the counting of electoral votes OF pos'i-
BILE vacancy in the offceOf President, nothihs
to relieve the Supreme Court, and no adequate
nrovision has been made for important internal
imnroye ments. On the other hand, 1t Is equaiiy
significant that four -ffths OF the Democrats
were upable to pass tar bill, and more tlai
four-ffths were unable to legislate regarding
Interstate commerce.. Most OF the attempts
r, declare land grants forfeited were defeated
with the bill to carry into effect the Mexican
tre,tv The Mexican Pensions bill sleeps in
Tho same crave with the bill to abolish the tax
On whiskey, and the provision for female
suffrage goes over to the future with all 'i'e
other desirable and undesirable measures
which this Congress deemed important. Inc
things which actually got done were the unim
portant things, and not many OF them
Some bureaus were created. Perhaps TINS
country stands more in need OF additional
functionarics, departments, and DIVISIONS oi
the public service, than of getting any thihS
done bv public servants when appointed. Inc
R,,reau of Labor ought to be useful, but there
is reason to fear that the provision made for 1t
will prove painfully inadequate. The bureau
of Animal Industry may by some chance prove
more useful than can now be anticipated. Inc
Dingley Shipping bill, merltorious measure
does not prove quite as efficient as was hoped
and in dealing with the question of ffehch
spolation, Congress only yielded to It's hohor-
able impulses SO far as to provide that some
body else might investigate the matter. INC
South American Commission and the Missouri
River Commission, like the three new bureaus
will afford new places for somebody. lhe pro-
vision for the prevention of cholera was
palpably inadequate, and the suppression OF
printed trade reports was simply step toward
barbarism. The Contract Labor bill un-
doubtedly seems of value to many persons VINO
do not yet understand how difficult 1t is Tor any
Government to regulate or restrain the action
of it, citizens in such matter. Something was
done to preserve the medical records, but
nothing whatever to preserve from destruction
by fire the enormously valuable Library OF
Congress. Two bills for the forfeiture of land
granted Ito railroads were passed, while many
Others, including some of merit and some of no
merit at all, sleep in pigeon-holes.
Such was the work of the XLVIlIth Congress.
Work it must be called by courtesy. About
seven months last year, and three months since
last December, have been spent in thus labor
iously doing less than any second-class country
debating society would get done in month.