Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-01-15
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
Written and compiled for the HERALD.

| ed, as IL is every year, both Houses
re assembled, and the Senate went
to work. II first took up the anti
polygamy bill, and discussed wo.
mau's rights ia connection with 1t
This question brought out some Of
Senator Edmunds' Old.time fire,
gave the new Senators an OppOr
tunity to see Senator Van Wyck in
one of his antic moods, and placed
Senator Teller on record as a con-
servative when it came to handling
the MormOns' lie says it should
be done with a velvety hand.
Senator Beck attempted to exon
crate himse!ffrom antagOnizing the
Presidents silver policy, and other
Democratic Senators made what
Senator Edmunds called " financial
dissertations Among them was
Senator Gray, of Delaware, who
made his first speech in the Senate
in advocacy of the suspension of
silver coinage. Senator Gray is
the successor of Secretary Bayard
and his maiden effort was ushered
in rather inglOriOusly by some OF
Mr.. Edmunds' characteristic sar-
casm. There is no financial meas
ure before the Senate now, and the
Republican Senator did not relish
these untimely silver speeches
which were being pressed to the
front to the exclusion of the busi-
ness proper OF the Senate. lie had
the floor, and was raised to a high
temperature by an attack that had
been made upon that clause of his
Utah bill prohibiting woman sui
frage in the Territory. lie was
asked to give way to Mr.. Gray, who
was ready to read off his carefully
prepared silver dollar essay. 81
would not refuse to YIELD" said the
Senator from Vermont, " because it
is so important for new Senators to
make their first speeches that moth
ing but the falling in of the walls
should prevent them"
AS to woman suffrage, Mr.. Ed
munds declares that he is not OPP
posed to it if the majority of our
wives and sisters and sweethearts
want it. But he holds that at pres
ent they do not want it. When
they ask for it, they shall have his
vote to help them getit. There are
nine Republican Senators who ia
vOr woman suffrage, and one De
mOcrat Senator Call, of Florida.
This was shown by an interesting
test vote upon that section of Mr..
Edmunds' anti-polygamy bill TAX
away the right of suffrage from the
women of Utah. Senator Brown,
of Georgia, voted with the woman
suffrage Senators, but stated before
he voted, that he was opposed to
women voting. He did not think,
however, the Senate had any right
to take suffrage away from the wO.
men of that Territory after it had
been conferred upon them by Leg.
islature.
Senator Van Wyck, of Nebraska,
gave a comical description of the
present Utah Commission, pictur-
ing its extravaganza in way that
was highly relished by the gale
ries. Whenever the Commission
made a report, he said, instead Of
sending it by mail, they came in a
body to Washington, travelling in
the most liberal way, and even
charging up to Uncle Sam the lit
tie lunches they take in the Capt.
tOl,
The House has done little else
during the week than receive and
read the titles of new bills and
wait for the Speakers committees.
These were announced on Thurs.
day. Members listened eagerly
through the reading of the long
list, and having learned their fate
for this winter and next, voted to
rest again until Monday.
1t may be that Mr.. Carlisle has
been as conservative as he well
could be in performing his difficult
and delicate work, but the House is
organized OH a practically Western
basis. The committees that are to
deal with the tariff and silver coin.
age reflect Western views. The
Speakers local interests are with
that section, and so are those of his
most trusted advisers, Representa-
tives Morrison and Willis.
Bills have poured into the House
since the beginning Of the session
to the number of nearly three thou
sand. Most of them will die as
usual with the expiration of this
Congress, to come up again in the
next. A Congressman remarked |
that there ought to be a great bin
in front of the clerks desk where
Members could drop their bills at
any time without wasting the time
of the House to have the titles read,
and the bottom of the bin should
connect with the sewer beneath the
Capitol.
Many of the bills are duplicated,
tripled, Quadruplcd, and so on
There are at least dozen bills to
extend, amend, restrict, or abolish
tue Civil Service act. But the
most popular bill thus far seems to
10 o,,o c,r Tho oafo lI;ohrnouf 81 or