The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1886-02-13

FROM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT.
WASHINGTON, Feb. / 1886.

Houses devoted one day to funeral
orations. The Senate honorcd the
memory of the late Vice President
and the House that of the late Rep
rescntativc Ellwood of Illinois.
The Senate discussed Dakota s
claim to statehood, and the House
listened to an unimportant debate
on the subject of the alleged dcfacc-
ment of monuments in the Norfolk
Navy Yard, and passed fifty pen
sion bills after listening to q speech
from Mr.. Crisp of Georgia against
extravagant pensions. Mr.. Crisp
quoted statistics to show that if the
proposed legislation in regard to
pensions were to prevail the treas
ury would be left bankrupt. He
said the people whom he repre-
sented were willing TO contribute
even of their poverty to whatever
was necessary for the grandeur,
glory and progress of the country.
They were willing to act in good
faith and libcrality with the sol
diers, but he thought it was not
right to tax them further than that.
He would not be parsimonious, he
would be just and liberal, but he
did think there ought to be a stop
ping place somewhere.
The issue between the President
and Senate is the chief subject Of
discussion in and about the Capi-
tol. The issue was joined squarely
when the Administration refused to
furnish the papers bearing upon the
official character of certain Dis
trict-Attorncy of Southern Ala
bama. There are many indications
of a bitter contest over this matter,
and unless remarkable skill is cxer-
cised somewhere, n controversy of
a thoroughly partisan character
will develop.
The Administration has taken
the ground that the only supcrvis-
ion that the Senate can exercise
over removals from office is of Il
Legislative character, and it holds
that the information now sought
has only to do with the personal
fitness of incumbcnts. 1t claims
also that the Senate can only deal
with the conduct of an Office in
open legislative session. 1t holds,
therefore, that the call for docu-
ments which bear on official changes
do not come within the province
of the Senate, sitting in executive
session, and the papers are for that
reason, to be withheld.
The Senate has no direct way of
forcing its demands short of
impeachment, but it can retaliatc
by refusing to confirm all nonina
tions until the President explains
his reasons for making changes.
You remember, we had deadlock
of this kind during Johnson's
Administration, which proved to be
IA very disagrccablc episode.
There was an interesting confer
cncc this week in the room of the
Senate Committee on Patents, the
IEawley bill on international copy
right being argued at length. There
was notable asscmblagc in the
room, authors, publishers, and
printers being present, and all par
ties Interested were heard but the
printer and book-buying public.
Mr.. Clemens Mark Twain George
Tichnor Curtis and james Russell
Lowell, ex-Unitcd States Minister
to England, were among those who
discussed the merits of the qucs-
ton before the committee. The
latter made an extended argument
for the bill, telling what proprietary
interest in ideas meant, Get. He
said there was feeling that books,
like umbrellas, were fcrp naturr.
Nobody supposed there could be
property in IN idea, but there was
property in the fashion given to an
idea. The Constitution had 'drcady
that in conIcrring the
power to grant patents. Patents
were ideas fashioned in certain
way. For instance, the Bell tclc
phone was a case precisely parallel
with books, and there were a great
many people in this country inter
ested in the Bell telephone.
Tho fret ovoninr rnccntiou Of tho