Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1886-08-05
From our Regular torres spondcnt /
Washington Letter.



Washington Letter.
WASHINGTON. July 26, 1856
Judging from the way in which the House
of Representatives has spent a portion Of
the week, one would say that members are
not anxious 10 do anything important and
are in no hurry 10 adjourn. They spent one
whole day IN fiIibustering roll calls. through
an effort to give precedence 10 the bill I'M
posing tax Of two cents a pound on
oleomargarine. The bill slipped back to
the bottom Of the calendar at the end Of the
struggle but !, had prevented action on
more important measures.
The bill 10 prevent ANYBODY making OF
inSen'Ing ANYTHING that will diminish the
price Of butter. or the greasy bill" as It i
called, got up before tie House mex, day
again by some stratagcm. and was hustled
through as !, came from the senate II viii
uow go 10 the President. Thousands Of
poor people in all parts Of the country, who
for the first period in their ivcsable are
regularly 10 anoint their bread. wait With
anxiety 10 see what Mr. Cleveland thinks
Of it,
The people Of Washington are complain
iug that the pIesenl Congress has done %
little for the District of Columbia Wash
ington hs. no legislative body Of IL own
ike other cities Of equal proportion |, de-
pends upon Congress fox everything for
the annual appropriation, for TIE salaries Of
II. special servants, OF the levy Or an assess
ment, down to an imposition Of police
court penalty.
Congress fnds this arrangement burden
seme at times, bu, 50 long a. Il retains IL.
present absolute control. tie District viii
clamor for attention. Congres. /, about ID
appropriate five thousand dollars 10 g.ll the
Goddess Of Liberty IN the dome Of the
Capitol, and 10 provide for another marx.
lhis i thought to BE- we'll enoAxh, but the
city IS full Of pret', parks. while Il lack, a
respectable post office building. Il, more
practical than Charles Lamb Who va. viii
Ing 10 live without the necessities Of life II
he could have the Iuxurics. Just al present
Washington would forego gded goddess
anu new park tor post office.
The fall election promises 10 make many
changes in the House Of Representative,
There are a few members VI no can come back
10 Congress as long as they wish I'd. and
who avail themselves Of the privilege. but
there will he general shaking up among
the majority. Many have declined -enomi-
nation. some have failed 10 be renominafed
already. many more will vet f.i and many
more will be beaten. The Presidents order
that subordinate Government official. shall
not take part in political conventions, Will,
Il IS said, seriously affect the chances Of
several members. whose official friends have
already been chosen for delegates 70 con-
yentons
Within the las, two weeks almos, every
member of Congress has received from one
TO twenty letters asking for blanks etc, that
the writers may make application for pen
sions under the Mexican Pension law. The
truth is, the Mexican Pension bill has not
yet become law, and probably will no, this
session The Senate and House have diff
iered about the bill, and il cannot reach the
fresIdent until they agree Speaking Of
pensions reminds me that there are now
more men on the Government pension roll
than we're ever at one time in the Confrder-
ale army. Pensions are curious things.
lnere are upon the pension lists over three
thousand survivors Of the war Of 1912 and
over eighteen thousand widow, Of the 1912
soldiers. During that war The army aver
aged about thirty FIVE thousand oil! told,
officers and enisted men, and the whole
number of killed and wounded ony amount
ed 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 revolutionary pensioners there are few
widows and minor children who linger still,
but the revolutionary pension roll has nearly
ceased 10 exist. All pension lists show in
the course of fifty years small beginning
rapidly increasing aud slowly decreasing
until within century it is wiped out. If no
war occurs in the next half century, the
wealth of the United States, relieved Of this
enormous drain on its Treasury, and Of
payment upon the National debt, will be
something fabulous.
For the sake of the people in the back
districts, it is too bad that the bill to estab-
lish agricultural experiment stations was
killed in the Senate almost without chance
for discussion, l may say. This measure
was second only to the oleomargarine bill in
attracting the bucolic fancy. Every Con-
gresham with a rural constituency has in
,roduced at least one Of these bills during
the session.