Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-11-18
WASHINGTON LETTER.
rrou Our Regular cOrespOndentl

great surprise in political circles in
Washington. 1t will be necessary to go
back to the year 1874 to find anything
comparable in interest to the upheaval
in Congressional districts in many of
the states this year. The control of the
fiftieth Congress should have been Sc
cured by the party opposed to the ad-
ministration, according to the law Of
political forces, and following the al
most unbroken line of precedent in our
political history. But the fact is that
tine Democrats in spite of losses suf-
ficient to have given the Republicans
the majority, have yet made gains in
such unlocked for places, as to retain
control of the House.
The orderly and peaceful manner too
in which the elections were conducted
in the Southern States, with here and
there Republican gains in Congress
men in that section, ought to bury for
ever the last tattered remnant of the
bloody shirt. Not single complaint
of intimidation or violence has come
from any district, and Messrs. Blain's
and Sherman's occupation is conse-
quently gone.
Politicians here are still talking about
the result of the elections, and it is in
teresting to hear their various COM
ments. They all agree that politics are
uncertain. Some attribute Democratic
losses to the fact that Democrats have
not enough officers under the admins
tration, while others hold that if they
had gotten fewer officers they would
have elected more Congressman. This
last idea is upon the ground that it is
impossible to dispense patronage to the
satisfaction of everybody. The only
way to be without enemies is to be
without power. The man who has no
favors to give makes no enemies; but
he cannot bestow patronage on the few
without making enemies of the many
who expect and are disappointed.
Another common explanation of the
apathy among Democratic voters is
that they thought they had SO sure a
thing of it that they abstained from
voting. The latter is Speaker Carlisle's
opinion with regard to his own case.
He says he has frequently warned his
constituents that they would wake up
some fine morning and find some one
else elected to Congress in his place all
on account of their staying away from
the polls. "They seem to think" he
added, "that I am sure to be elected
whether anybody votes for me or not"
1t must be gratifying to the speaker to
know of the sentiments expressed by
Republicans as we'll as Democrats when
it was believed that he had been defeat
ed. Even ultra Republicans here ac-
knowledged that his loss to Congress
would be national calamity. He is
such broad, high-minded Statesman
that his political enemies cannot fail
to respect and revere him as an eXemp-
lar. While he is a straight-out, con-
sistent party man, he deals honestly
and fairly with his opponents, and all
they have even dared to charge against
him was the crime of being a Demo-
crat
Although a speaker for the fiftieth
Congress will not be chosen for more
than q year, the canvass for it will ac-
lively begin at the approaching session
and consequently it is subject of i'm
mediate interest. AS the Democrats
will have a safe working majority in
that Congress, it is certain Tom Reed,
the Republican leader from Maine, will
not name its committees as was pre-
dicted before the official counts came
in.
Amid their losses the friends of "Free
Trade" take some consolation from the
fact that one of the most eminent of
all the revenue refOrmers has received
an endorsement at the hands of the
people of New York of which any man
has reason to feel proud. 1t is to be
regretted that such man as Abram S.
Hewitt should be lost to the House of
Representatives. He was especially
distinguished for his clear and practical
views and for his readiness to accept
reasonable concessions from opponents.
Mr.. Hewitt will not resign his seat in
Congress until some time in JAN, and
he hopes even before that time to ac-
complish something towards much
needed legislation. The result of the
election in New York, he says, imposes
upon the Democratic party to talk up
the subject of labor grievances and in
augurate such reforms as will relieve
the working people of the unjust bur-
dens that result from reduction in their
earnings. He proposes to do all he can
to bring about an amelioration of those
evils, before he resigns. 1t is large
contract for him to undertake in little
less than q month, but if Mr.. Hewitt
can SOW some healthy seed where it
will take root and induce Congress to
deal with the labor question without
allowing the methods of the Demagogue
to prevail in what it does, he will have
done excellent work.
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