Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-01-21

at work. Silver, Woman Suffrage.
and Polygamous Utah have been
prominent features In It's discussions.
Mormenism Is doomed so far as the
Senate is concerned, the Edmunds an
tipolygamy bill having passed the body
uy a niaJority OF thirty-one. Tile
measure Is a crushing blow at the Salt
Lake Hierarchy. 1t places oil temper
al affairs of the Mormons In the hands
of fourteen trustees, and makes the
church funds unavailable for immigra,
ton.
The delegate from Utah, Mr.. Caine.
sat on sofa in the Senate chamber
while his territory was under Senatori.
al fire, listening eagerly to all that was
said. When the final vote commenc.
ed he Strengthened up and grew
straighter aud straighter as it became
more evident that the bill would car
ry. He looked very unhappy over the
result, and when asked what the NOR
mon people would think, he said with
n sigh, "Oh, they are used to it now. v
During the week Senator Edmunds
has displayed some of his old-time
formidableness in the Senate. He
was aroused by opposition to his anti
polygamy bill. Secretary Teller. OF
Colorado. conservative in regard to
the Mormons. He thinks the evil in
Utah should be treated with a velvety
hand, and that the government is per.
scouting the Mormons. Senator Van
Wyck. of Nebraska, pictured the ex-
travagance of the present Utah com.
mission in ludicrous way that great
ly amused the galleries. About this
time Senator Gray, of Delaware, the
successor of Secretary Bayard was to
make his maiden speech, and Senator
Edmunds was asked to retire Polyga-
my for the day in favor of the silver
question. The Senator from Vermont
wanted his Utah bill sat out" and
brought to a vote. Besides he had
said these financial assertions" which
the democratic Senators were pressing
to the front for publication. to the ex-
clusion of business, were untimely, in
asmuch as there was no financial meas
ure before the Senate at present. He
yielded to the debutant however. say
ing it was so important for new Sena-
tors to make their first speeches that
they should not be thwarted by any
thing but the falling of the walls.
After this ungracious introduction Mr.
Gray read speech in favor of suspen-
sion of coinage in which he used the
current arguments. He was followed
by Senator Mcpherson. of New Jersey,
who is on the same side of silver. The
latter had been supplied with inform
alton from the Treasury Department,
and his speech was more interesting
from the fresh facts it contained.
Woman Suffrage is not popular in
the Senate. The gallant band who re-
corded themselves in favor of it by
voting against that provision of the
Edmunds bill depriving the women of
Utah of that privilege numbered only
eleven, while thirty seven hard, cruel
Senators said yes, take it from them.
Senator Edmunds declared he would
vote to grant the right of suffrage to
women whenever he thought that a
majority of the women of the United
States wanted it. At present he
thinks they do not want it, and he be-
lieves that their wishes should govern
the matter.
The House has received and heard
the titles read of hundreds of new bills,
and Members have learned where they
they are TO work on the standing COM
mittees. There were many disappoint-
ments and surprises, of course. In the
distribution of honors. the South re.
ceived twenty-one Chairmanships, the
West fifteen and the East seven. As
was expected the Committees that are
to deal with the tariff and coinage re-
fleet Western views, and the House
may be said to be organized on a
Southern and Western basis.
If nothing is done in the House
again this session, dilatory statesmen
will not have the ''old rules" to blame
for it, Some of them will regret this.
for, bad as the old ways were, they
served one useful purpose in being a
convenient scape goat of Congressional
laziness.
AT the close of the last five Con-
crosses there have never been less than
two hundred Senate bills lying on the
Speakers table. 1t was probably due
to this fact that Senator Hoar, of
Massachusetts,. has just introduced
bill for longer sessions of Congress.
He mentioned in presenting the meas
ure that the business of the country
was increasing SO fast as to necessitate
more work from Congress. For years
the Senate has been the business end
of the Capitol. 1t has piled up work
for the House while the latter has
wrangled over ''pcints OF order" and
precedence o. business"