The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1886-07-23
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, July 10th, 1886

WASHINGTON, July 10Th, 1886.
From our Regular Correspondent.
Congress is lingering long this summer. Those
who know best fix the date of adjournment as
the 10th of August. But it Is understood that
there will be no agreement as to fixed time of
adjournment until the actual day, the reason of
this being that when resolution declaring a GER
tain day for adjournment is agreed to in ad vance,
the last six days OF the session are made suspen-
slon-of-rule days. AT such times some of the
worst Jobs ever known in the history of Con-
gress have been passed. The Jobs are anxious
ly awaiting this harveSt-time. Every Job that
has been knocking at the doors of Congress this
session has fastened its hope upon this annual
period when the unlocking of the Treasury vaults
is declared.
Messrs. Randall and Morrison are credited with
this plan to prevent Jobs" getting through in the
hurry Of t the last days of the session. II they
ed hopes that will fall at the heels of the Forty
Ninth Congress; Even should this session be
marked in no other way than with defense of
the National Treasury, it would have an honored
place in the nations history.
But there are other ways in which the present
session is remarkable. If the House itself has
not completed all the legislation that was hoped
for, the committees have done more work by far
than the committees of any previous House.
They have considered and reported TO the House
over 8, 100 bills, during this first session. In both
sessions of the Forty Eighth Congress, only 1886
has been poured upon the present Congress is
also unprecedented, over 10000 having been in
troduced into the House alone.
After repeated attempts and failures, the
House has succeeded in passing one little private
pension bill over the Presidents veto. Speaking
of adjournment, it is probable that the last days
of the session will be involved in heated poIiii-
cal debate at the Senate end of the Capitol, The
Senate is expected to pass Il resolution for the
organization of Congress to the present day. They
will probably be in the hands OF Senators within
week. This is the prelude to a fight
referring to the prospects for adjournment,
Representative Bland the silver man of Missouri,
declared that the Senate was moving even more
slowly than the House in furnishing prospective
''yetO material for such he claru ptpryp1 the
river and harbor bill. The length of time the
Senate consumed in pottering oyer this measure
made him think the Senate seemed more anxious
for the grab than the House. Now" continued
he, IF the President sees fit to veto the measure,
no power can prevail upon Congress TO pass the
also of Missouri, and one of Oleomargarine's bit
terest foes, has said that he strained his con-
science in voting for the river and harbor bill
when it first passed the House. and that he will
not do it a second time.
Congress has voted to reduce the mileage of
army officers from cents to cents mile. That
is about twice what it costs them to travel. But
the allowance of congressman is still 20 cents a
mile, the same as in the stage coach era. The
clamor ION what basis of right or reason is this?'
has failed, so far in impressing Congress with the
necessity of doing something for itself in this
respect. For short distances 20 cents mile does
not amount to much but on long distances it
counts up to almost criminal extravaganza.
Take for instance, the trip to the Pacific slope.
need not exceed $500, including the best of every
thing. Yet the Government allows a Congress-
man Sl,2UU ana upwards, and thus he is allowed
to make from $500 to $1,000 on a two weeks run.
The New York members are allowed SAG each to
come here and go home from Washington, and
the Chicago congressman get $40 eacn way and
travel on passes.
The gayest legislator at the Capitol, If asked to
present bill for his personal expenses, when not
travelling officially, would not dare to run the
figures up to the present legal allowance. If he
should 1t would be likely to cost him his seat in
Congress as soon as the people of his district
learned the fact. fair mileage rate, actual
necessary expenses, would probably not be OBJ
is an ineXcusable extravaganza. Democratic
economy is permeating every branch of the Gov
ernment's service, however, with slow, but sure
and steady purpose. Sooner or later it will
reach and remove this outgrowth of long period
of corruption.