Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1886-07-31
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, July 26, 1886.

spent a portion of the week, one
would say that members are not an
xious to do anything important, and
are in no hurry to adjourn. They
spent one whole day in filibustering
roll calls, through an effort to give
precedence to the bill imposing a
tax of two cents a pound on oleo-
margarine. The bill slipped back
to the bottom of the calendar at the
end of the struggle, but it had pre-
vented action on more important
measures.
The bill to prevent anybody max
ing or inyenting anything that will
diminish the price of butter, or the
agreasy bill y as it is called, got up
before the House next day again by
some stratagem, and was hustled
through as it came from the Senate.
It will now go to the President.
Thousands of poor people in all parts
of the country, who for the first per-
iod in their lives are able regularly
to anoint their bread, wait with
anxiety to see what Mr.. Cleveland
thinks of it.
The people of Washington are
complaining that the present Con-
gress has done so little for the Dis.
trict of Columbia. Washington has
no legislative body Of its own like
other cities of equal proportion. It
depends upon Congress for every
thing; for the annual appropriation,
for the salaries of its special ser
wants, or the levy of an assessment,
down to an imposition of police
court penalty.
Congress finds this arrangement
burdensome at times, but so long as
it retains its present absolute con-
troll, the District will Glamour for at.
tention. Congress is about to APP
propriate five thousand dollars to
gid the Goddess of Liberty on the
dome of the Capitol, and to provide
for another new park. This is
thought to be well enough, but the
city is full of pretty parks, while it
lacks respectable Post Office build
ing. 1t is more practical than
Charles Lamb, who was willing to
live without the necessities of life if
he could have the luxuries. Just at
present Washington would forego a
gilded goddess and new park for
a Post Office.
The fall election promises to make
many changes in the House OF Rep
resentatives. There are few men,
bers who can come back to Congress
as long as they wish to, and who
avail themselves of the privilege,
but there will be a general shaking
up among the majority. Many have
declined denomination, some have
failed to be renominated already,
many more will yet fail and many
more will be beaten. The Presl.
dents order that subordinate Gov
eminent officials shall not take part
in political conventions, will, it is
said, seriously affect the chances
of several members, whose official
friends have already been chosen
for delegates to conventions.
Within the last two weeks almost
every member of Congress has re-
ceived from one to twenty letters
asking for blanks, ETC., that the writ.
ers may make application for pen.
sions under the Mexican Pension
law. The truth is, the Mexican Pen
sion bill has not yet become a law,
and probably will not this session.
The Senate and House have differed
about the bill, and it cannot reach
the President until they agree.
Speaking of pensions reminds me
that there are now more men on the
Government pension roll than were
ever at one time In the Confederate
army. Pensions are curious things.
There are upon the pension
lists over three thousand survivors
OF the war of 1912 and over eigh.
teen thousand widows of the 1912
soldiers. During that war the army
averaged about thirty-five thousand
all told, officers and enlisted men,
and the whole number of killed and
wounded only amounted to five
thousand six hundred and fourteen.
Yet on the first of July six million
dollars appropriated for pensions to
survivors, widows, minor children,
and dependent relatives on this 1912
roll became available. OF reyolu.
tionary pensioners there are a few
widows and minor children who lin.
ger still, but the revolutionary pen.
sion roll has nearly ceased to exist.
All pension lists show in the course
of fifty years a small beginning, rap.
idly increasing and slowly decreas-
ing until within century 1t is wip.
ed out. If no war occurs in the next
half century, the wealth of the Unit |
a