Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1886-07-29
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular correspondent.
WASHINGTON, july 10, 1885,

WASHINGTON. july 10. 1886
Since it is understood that congress
must be prolonged into the dog days,
the senate proposes to make the re-
of the session as lively and as
hot as possible. Something must be
done during these torrid days to elevate
proceedings into harmony with the
thermometer. Preparations are being
made for heated political debate in
connection with the vetoed pension
bills. All presidential veto messages
from the organization of congress to
the present day are to be printed and
sent to the senate in few DAYS.
Several republican senators expect to
make violent assaults upon the presl-
dent. and one New England senator in
particular is making elaborate prcpara-
tons for his speech. If he carries out
his intentions. that particular senator
VIII be attacked from the democratic |
side and great sensation is promised |
1t is said Il case will be presented charg-
ing him with eXacting from Il widow
$500 for procuring her pension since he
came to congress. That is terrible
grave charge. Senators and repreSen-
tatives are forbidden by statute to re-
ceve fee or gratuity for any service
before the department. The penalty
for violation is not more than two years
Imprisonment in the penitentiary or
not more than $4,000 fine, or both fine
and imprisonment. They also render
themselves subject to expulsion from
congress.
On these warm sultry mornings there
are three congressman who can be
found in their seats at 10 o'clock. That
is considered a very early hour as the
house does not convene until l2 m.
These early birds are Warner of Mo-,
Lyman, of Iowa, and Ellsberry, of Ohio
Regularly at that hour Mr.. Warner
may be seen at his desk with a pile of
books before him. He seems to be the
hardest student in congress. But Mr.,
Lyman has more pressing business to
attend to. His district has more PEN
sioncrs and claimants probably than
any other in the United States. Each
mail brings him heaps of documents
which he must put together and form
ulate into bills. In order to keep up
with his work and retain the good will
of his constituents, therefore, he has to
be at his desk while his colleagues are
at breakfast. Mr.. EllSberry completes
| the trio who reach the house before the
pages and he makes use of the time by
answering letters.
The tendency towards ruflianism in
congress has been quite marked of late.
! Scarcely a day passes that some men,
Der does not call another a hard name
! or utter some coarse threat. 1t was
generally conceded a few days since,
| after the disgraceful encounter had oc-
| Cured between Representatives Cobb,
of Ind, and Laird of Neb., that it was
time tor the house to assert its dignity.
The collision took place just outside the
| hail of the house. and was the result of
acrimonious words used in side dis
cuSsion of question then under de-
bate. Both men had gone outside for
the purpose of Fighting it OUT In
Sulting language was exchanged and
Mr. Laird, who is young man, struck
MIR. Cobb, who is about twenty years
his senior, a severe blow. A ring on
Mr.. Laird's finger cut Mr.. Cobb's face
making it bleed, and but for the inter
ference Of friends, a rough and tumble
fight would have ensued.
And then, later, the dignified senate
chamber was the scene where two pres
idential candidates exchanged opinions
of each other and of the sections they
complimentary. General Logan want
ed to increase the appropriations for
several Illinois improvements and SEN
ator EdmundS opposed it as unfair to
other sections. Logan, with some
warmth, retorted that Edmunds had
got for Vermont more than her share
and was now fighting everything that
Illinois asked for. Sarcasticallv he ad
ded that Burlington, Vermont, was 8
much larger and more important place
than Chicago.
Mr.. Edmunds replied that as the Hi
nois senator never told an untruth
Burlington must be larger and more
important than Chicago. He accused
Gen. Logan of carrying chips on eacf
shoulder and asserted that they have
social order and execution of law il
Burlington which do not exist in Chi
crgo. This slur upon the Lake city ar
reused Mr.. Logan's ire. Said he. "th
people of Chicago are just as good a
the senator from VT; just as law-abid
ing and certainly they are not so pesti
, ferrous at home as he is in this body"
, Pestiferous was felt to be fearful
word to use IN connection with the dig
! nitied, reserved, astute, elderly senate
from Vermont. st. Jerome Edmund
/, as he is called, because his profile j
said to resemble strikingly the pic
; lures of st. Jerome. But the episod
broke the monotony of business pre-
ceedings and the senate indulged in
laugh at Logan's Characterization.