San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1885-10-22
WASHINGTON LETTER.


Congress will assemble in six weeks
: and the election Of speaker and the
organization OF the Committees will
} probably be accomplished with less
trouble than at any previous Congress
for thirty years. Mr., Carlisle will DO
elected without opposition, and, i
have no doubt has already on paper
the arrangement OF the principal com
mittees. There il no reason why Con-
gress should not transact considers
bio business before Christmas. II it
shall succeed in getting q good start
it will have time for more deliberation
and debate on the appropriation bills.
The appropriations to beasked for by
the different Cabinet officers will be
considerably less than has been asked
by previous Republican administra-
tons. Much has been accomplished
in the direction Of economy; useless
employees have been discharged, leaks
have been stopped, and thousands OF
dollars have been saved in every De-
partment. There is no reason why
the debates on the appropriation bills
should consume more than two or three
days each. Heretofore they have
been protracted for o week or more
and then hurried through half made
up in the closing days Of the session.
The delay in the passage of the bills
has been on account of Democratic
opposition to their extravaganza and
the jobs with which they were loaded.
But the Republican minority in the
lower house cannot, without stultify-
ing tbemselve, oppose the coming ap-
preparations, for they will be for small
Ter amounts than they have often ad-
vocated and voted for.
All signs point to q smooth, bust
ness-like session, as for as the lower
House Is concerned. There is pro-
liability of considerable agitation OF
the tariff question, and possibility of
surprises in the springing of new
issues. The Chinese question is still
unsettled, and the labor question in
its different phases is sureto come up
for discussion.
The Senate will, in all probability,
be centre of greater interest at the
Capitol than the House. Several Re-
publican Bourbon Senators have re-
Gently shown their incapacity to learn
or forget. The delirium Shermans
has also a firm hold on Logan and
Hoar. They will doubtless rave and
humble in the Senate this winter.
Not even time can teach old Senators
new tricks. The Republican party is
absolutely without an issue. Sher-
man and his imitators know that the
old sectional bloody shirt romance is
more easily rehashed and is more con-
venient for their party than the hope
less task of defending it's long record
of official rottenness and corruption.
The even and conservative policy
of the President has left the Republi-
cans without even the semblance of
ground for objection, and has abso-
lutely forced them to take up again
the bloody shirt.
The President and his Cabinet af-
ford but little material now for
newspaper gossip. They are cease
less in their application to their spe-
cial duties, and are giving all their
spare time to the preparation of their
annualreports. President Clevelands
candor is remarkable, to say the least,
and it is new at the White House.
Hayes was shifting and insincere;
Garfield was a gusher, profuse in
promise; Arthur was dignifed and
exclusive, but Cleveland is what some
one has called "brutally candid
During the last week several delega-
tons have been told that it was use
less for them to visit the White House
as their wishes could not be complied
with, and a committee OF Dakota
Democrats were very bluntly inform
ed that man whom they came to OPP
pose would receive the appointment
be sought.
But the most remarkable iilustrs- =
lion of the Presidents candor is found
in the correspondence that has just
been published, regarding the tele-
phone suit.
Under previous administrations !
such mistake as the Department of
Justic was led into would have been
corrected without publicity or buried
n silence, but the President not only .
required the Attorney-General and {
lis solicitor to reconsider their action, I
put gave the correspondence about it /