Nevada County picayune., 1886-01-21
WASHINGTON LETTER,

Shp " II IT to ignore business and deliver speeches on pet subl ects. On one day the Senate listened to three orations on totally dissimilar meas ures, Silver, Art and the Army. Senator Manderson called atten. ton to his bill for building mp the Army, Senator Blair asked that Monuments be erected to Linclen aud Grant, and Senators Pugh and Vance advocated continued coin- age of the silver dollar.
 Ex-Gov, Curtin's resignation of the Chairm anship of the Bank ing and currency Comnaittee; and Senator Iugalls, coinage resolu- ton are the prominent financial features of the week at the Cap itol. MT. Curtin's action, which was anticipated, brings an extreme silver man, Representative Miller of Texas. to the head of this com mittee, and the Senator from Kan sas, proposes to continue tue pres ent coinage of silver until a limit has been reaceed of $500, ,00O, ,O00. At the prsent rate of coinage. S2, 900, ,O00 d month, 1t would take fifteen years from date to reach this amount. In declining the DO. sition to which he was assigned, Mir. Curtin said he was not lack
 z in appreciation of the honor conferred upon him by the Speak CT, but that he could not escape conviction that the tastes and eX- periencs of his public life were not sach as fitted him to serve in that position with satisfaction to him self or with usefu lness to the House.
 The silver mon have establishe e q their headquarters here, and their work is apparent in the halls ot Congress. Scarcely a day passes without a Congressman c introducing a petition against the retirement of silver. Agitation of the silver question will probably continue through the entire session. But remarked Senator Colquit of Geor- gia, it will be only agitation, for no legislation will be accomplished. The opinion is fair reflex of the views of a majority of the Sena- tors from the South and West. and party lines would be quickly ob- liberated on a vote for the demo- netization of silver. Senator Pugh, of Alabama, in good natur' ed reference to subject, both par ties allowed differences of op inion within their ranks. On next Mon day the silver question will be formally presented in the Senate for consideration and then talk on silver, which has been given out so frnely of late, will be relevant in that end of the Capitol at least.
 The House has shown commend able alacrity in regard to..the Pres idential succession bill, which ,,has already passed the committee .and been reported to the House with out amendment. Some Members are disposed to object to certain provisions of the bill, but 1t is probable that it will pass substan tially as it came from the Senate. The feature in the bill most crit cised is that which creates Cabi' net interregnum till the expiration of the full Presid ential term. But the contingency is so remote thai this objection is rather fanciful one, it being altogether unlikely that both President and Vice -Presi dent will ever die at the begining of a term.
 The Senate, in secret session has been confirming the President' nominations, many of them almos as fast as the names could be read Among the first were the new Civ l il Service Commissioners. Whel Mir. Eaton's name came up, Sena tor Logan made the point that he was mugwump', and that the spirit of the civil service law re quired that one of the commission CTS be Republican. Several Re publican Senators vouched for Mr.. Eatou's politics, and the Commis- sion is now eretifed to the..countrY as eligible for it's duties. Very few of the nominations will be object ed to not more than one per cent of them. The Presidents position in regard to them. Is one from