Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1886-05-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our regular cOrrespondent9
WASHINGTON, May 10, 1885,

This is the day that the workingmen of
Washington propose that their demand for
the eight hour rule shall go into effect.
One of them said to me. "This is not q
strike. The workman will simply discharge
himself and leave rather than work ten
hours. He will then be an unemployed
workman and not striker. He will be
| 'iocked omr' by the employers. What we
[ pro nise to do, continued he," IS to go to
1or! ON Monday as usual. We will work
9; Iht nours. If the bosses do not choose
to urttyv US eight hours day, we will
,iek Up oeIr tools AMI leave. We will not
nr,.vent tsd.er men from working, and
,b,re will h4 no disorder and violence,
hu, W.. will pEsseat solid, unyielding
'front.'
The secrei airy 6f ttet.AifS, who has been
50 near TO deaths door for tshs past month,
is ot work again. do not meap .hat he
! is well or at his esk. He is only abe to
sit up and take a drive occasionally. But
he interests himself with affairs at has de-
nartment and discusses business questions
whit such officials as Treasurer Jordan
and Assistant Secretary Fairchild. There
is no truth in the eport that he had signi-
fed to the president ,H'is intention of retir-
ing from Office. On he contrary, II is
known that he earnestly L esIrea ana iuiiy
| intends 10 remain at the head OF the treas-
ury which re has so ably directed ior the
past year. The apprehension of his frienus
now is that he will undertake to TesnLne
his official duties before he is phys!ea'iy
able.
asked a prominent western representa-
live what he thought of the new Congress
si,onal Democratic Campaign Executive
Co umittee. He uswered that the selec'
ton ex-senator Kenn as chairman was
most excellent one. 1--WE had SO thuen
faith in the executive ability of Senator
Cor mon," continued he, that ne was 'no
choice of most of us, but shas enough "
do as chairman of the Natio, ul Execunve
committee, and declined TO S, I'VE u 'n''
capacity. He will aid us in kher wavs,
however, and Senator Kenna IS young,
active, vigorous, and capable of doing a
great deal of hard work." The West
Virginia senator made his mark first. In the
house of representatives. where he worked |
hard and spoke well. His speech on the |
currency question was one of tlae text |
books of the party during the coIIgrega-
tional campaign of 1873, and he is in
with his party now on nearly
every question.
1t is not creditable to the Republicans
in congress that it should devolve on
southern member to try to check the waste
of public money on pension appropriations.
This field of reform into which few con-
gressmen care to venture, and the action [
ofa southern man is particularly liable to I
in taking the much. h.dreai. s
I'd step. Butth northern men are afraid | i
t would mean the loss of thousands ofvotes
or them at home, and deuunciation 6
abroad.
There is scarcely subject which SO t
ests the courage and conscience Of Tie j
Iverage congressman as that of pension 8
egislation. Every member has his own s
cheme to advance. and feels that he can.
lot afford to refuse to help the schemes of s
lis associations. Consequently good and
'ad schemes are huddled together and b
lobody has the hardihood to try to assort s
hem. Every Friday evening in its special O
'ension session, the house passes from v
fifty to q hundred pension bills. Last i:
1eek, you remember the senate passed p
our hundred in a hatch without reading
ne OF them. The senators sat talking and | "
'riting while the farce was going on, ap. c
arently oblivious of the fact that the U. S. a
reasury was not inexhaustible, and that a
very dollar taken out of it had to be put | 8
nto it by tax. The pension business, as f
is carried on in congress, is a swindle of a
be worst sort, and Mr.. Tilln,an of South q
'aroliha, is the man who is credited with
be intention ofexposing it to the country i:
The senators had little tariff talk few f
avs ago. 1t was the FIRST chance they o
ave had this season Of reproducing their a
Iews on the protective tariff system, and "
be occasion was regarded with all the
Measures Of q novelty. Senator Beck was Il
aak:ng warm defence Of the course of o
he postmaster general in his dispute with is
he Pacific Mail and other steamship com. q
anies. he arose with the intention of 8
peaking one hour, but when he touched "
p on tariff topics he was so constantly ii
Interrupted by the Republican senators
hat it took him nearly four hours to finish b
is remarks, He made a bitter denuncia. N
ion Of the policy which forbids an o.