New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-05-22
4 DO-NO7UING HOUSE.

II was TO be expected. OF course Democrats
are growing at the inaction of Congress.
| Their journals are full of complaints because
there are important matters upon which Con-
grcss has not acted. The long recital of uniln-
ished business, which there is every prospect
will remain unfinished when Congress adjourns'
fills the columns of Democratic papers, anu
fceblv expresses the disgust of Democratic
business men. There is abundant reason loi
| this disgust There is great deal of unfinished
business, and will be to the end. The pubic
interests are shamefully neglected, 1t Is true.
But what did the people expect1 why did
they elect a Democratic House
The enumeration of important matters upon
which Congress ought to act, but does not, Is
lust now a waste of time. 1t is sufficient TO say
that Congress ought to attend to public busl-
ness and does nothing of the sort. The fault,
too, is mainly with the House. The Senate has
acted upon some measures OF great Importance
which now sleep in House committees and
are likely to sleep. On other matters the
House jealously claims the right to originate
all bills land bills by the thousand IL does orlgl-
nate. but it does nothing more. 1T cannot even
act on its own tariff bill. Al appeals for the
correction of errors in the present tariff, how
ever harmful to industry those errors are
proved to be-, are met with the pragmatical
statement by the leader Of the House that
nothing can be done or will be done, until the
Unuse consents to "reduce the burdens of the
people, Because Mr.. Morrison cannot find in
the House enough support to warrant a belief
that his assault upon protection will succeed,
all other reforms of the tariff, including even
the administrative measure recommended by
the President aAd Secretary OF the Treasury,
must lie waiting.
As to other questions, the country understands
the situation quite well. The House cannot
act on the silver question, and it is perhaps Il
blessing tina. it cannot for if it should act at all
it would prob IDLY act badly. 1t cannot act for
the relief of the banks, and on that question II
it should do anything probably 1t would do
mischief. 1t cannot muster courage to take any
steps for the reOrganlz itlOn of the navy, or Tor
the building of new ships, or for TIE forllilca-
ton or defence of seapOrts. The President
earnestly recommended in his message Il rcOr-
ganiZatiOn of the courts, in order to secure
greater promptness in the decision of causes,
but Congress is unable to come to any cOncn-
sion. An important bill regarding the settle
ing of the electoral vote has been passed by the
Senate, and ought to be amended by the House,
but that body has not been able to do anything
with it, Official reports show that more than
20, 600 900 acres of | nd hive come into tie
ownership of a few foreign persons or corpora
tons, and Congress is earnestly urged to make
some provision against this growing evil, but
on that as on other questions it is incapable.
If anybody is surprised at this state of things
let him refresh his memory by examining files
of Republican journals of two years ago, more
or less. He will there find abundant reasons
given for the prediction that a Democratic
Congress would prove Do-Nothing Congress,
and that a convocation of incapables ID manage
the public business was exactly what the
country did not want. Unhappily when they
voted for members of Congress, a sufficient
number Of Northern voters joined the Solid
South to give us another Den ocratic House
The consequences are obvious, and entirely
natural.