The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1886-04-24
S. S. at
at 3 p. M.


The gossips have had great deal to
say about the Presidents rnmored mar
riage in June, and many people believe
it will take place. The alleged bride,
who is said to be selecting her trousseau
beyond the seas, is discussed from every
standpoint, and there is great demand
for her photographs. Mr. Cleveland
neither aflirms nor denies, but simply
smiles when twitted by his friends on
this subject. Should he marry, he will be
the second President to become Il groom
during his term of Office, ex-President
Tyler being his only precedent.
While the President is accused, and
may in truth be dreaming of, the soft,
sweet auroras Of love-" Congress is dis
cussing such prosy subjects as Inter
State Commerce, the fisheries question,
secret or no secret sessions, and the
House Strike Committee begins to-mor-
row the examination of Messrs. Gould
and Powderly whom Congress has sub
penaed
1t is thought by some of the wisest
men of both parties in Congress that the
new tariff bill is doomed to defeat, but
that bills involving expenditures of
money, such rs the Educational bill, the
Eads Ship Railway bill, the Canal bill,
and all sorts of Pension and Extension
bills will have chance of passing. It is
thought that these schemes will help
one another in this way, when they
come to vote; "If you will vote for my
bill, will vote for yours"
The Forty-Ninth Congress will be
famous for its generosity to would-be
pensioners, whether OR not it commends
itself to the taxpayer for economy in
the expenditure of public money. The
House has already passed the Mexican
veterans pension bill, the yearly expense
of which is estimated to be over 81, O00,-
900. The bill to increase widows pen
stems to $l2 a month has become law,
and the pensions of helpless pensioners
is to be increased. The Invalid Pension
Committee favors taking off the limita-
tion of arrears which promises an enor-
nous increase of expenditures, and the
same committee proposes to pension
soldiers who were prisoners of war
for thirty days, instead of sixty, the
term first agreed upon. Then one bill
asks that the wives and children of SOL
diers who were in the Union army and
were taken prisoners by the Indians,
shall be pensioned. The survivors and
relics of all the Indian wars ask for pen
sions, certain Congressman asks for
pensions for all soldiers, and sailors who
have attained 81 years, and deafness is
to be compensated for by higher pen
sion. That is not near all the pension
schemes, but lack of space forbids me
to enumerate.
While the pastors of this city are try
ing to have the law enforced prohibiting
BARRIERS from opening their places of bus
mess on Sunday, Congress is likely to
provide for the opening on that day of
the museums and national institutes. The
superintendent of these public institu-
tons do not favor the plan, but it is
thought if their salaries were increased
one-seventh, the proposition would be
acceptable to them.
There are many religious people here
who now favor the Sunday opening of
museums, libraries, art galleries, and nat
ural history collections. They want the
working classes thus to have an oppor-
tunity for improvement and instruction
of which they are absolutely deprived
now They think it would not interfere
time would be much more morally spent
in visiting these places than in prone
nading the streets and sailing down the
Potomac, both popular Sunday pastimes
with many Washington people.
The chief of the botanical gardens was
saying that not one in ten of the adult
people of this city had ever been to see
his beautiful collection of plants. He
wondered if many people who really
want to come had been shut out because
the greenhouses are closed on Sunday.
He thought there would be great rush
for few Sundays if the gardens were
opened on that day, and then public in
terest would scarcely be greater on Sun
day than on any other day of the week.
mo" said he, people want to come on
Sunday only because it is forbidden"
A government clerk hoped the resolu-
ton would pass. Said he 81 have been
here eight years and have never been in
the Smithsonian Institution but once
have seen only the outside of the Patent
Office, and only so much of the Botani-
cal Gardens and Agricultural Department
as may be seen on Sunday"