The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-06-08
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular oorrespondent.i
WASHINGTON, June 4th. lSs

From our Regular Corresponoent'l
WASHINGTON, June 4th. 1888.
The President and Mrs. Cleveland
celebrated the second anniversary OF
their marriage on Saturday at Oak
View, their suburban residence, by
having q few friends take tea with
them.
About sixty prominent members OF
both Houses Of Congress are in attend
ance upon the national convention at
ST. Louis. Many more would have
been there had they not been unwilling
to leave the pending tariff discussion
in the lower House. Three days OF
the past week were devoted 10 the con
sideration of the tariff bill by sections,
under the five minute rule, but owing
to republican obstruction there was
very little progress made. Lumber
was the main stumbling block. MIR.
Breckinridge, of Kentucky,mado an in
teresting point by reading from the re-
cord of 1858 showing that Blaine was
at that time q fierce advocate of free
lumber. But the result OF this was
that most of the evening was spent in
discussing Blaine's tariff record.
The last thing done by the House
on Saturday afternoon was to discuss
the Agricultural Appropriation bill.
1t got iu little row over the question
| of increased salaries for clerks and off.
cials of that Department, and there
was the usual fnss about the appropria.
| ton for seeds, but as usual the political
seeds men came out VIGOROUSLY
General Sheridan may be better or
he may be dead before this reaches
you. His rallies and his relapses fol-
low each other too frequently to make
any record of his condition. The bill
reviving the rank of 'General of the
Army" has been passed, signed by the
President, confirmed by the Senate,
and General Sheridan promoted there
to. He was much gratifed by the pro-
motion, and dictated, himself, a letter
Of thanks to the President. .
The republicans of the Senate judi
ciary committee are still delaying in
making report to the Senate on the
nomination Of Mr.. Fuller to be Chief
Justice.
Secretary Whitney has pulled up
Paymaster General Fulton of the Navy,
with quick, sharp jerk. The Pay
master General recently awarded con.
tract for furnishing 100000 pounds of
tobacco for the use of the navy to a
Richmond firm, in spite of the fact
that his bid was the highest instead of
the lowest. An Investigation is now
IN progress to ascertain the cause of
this seeming favortisn. Secretary
Whitney says he will go to the bottom
of the affair.
Belva Lockwood has officially ac-
cepted the nomination for President
rendered her by the equal rights party.
This will be her second Presidential
campaign.
If person has any doubt as to which
political party is in favor of the big
corporations and monopolies of the
country, just let that person keep a.
close watch upon the actions of the
committees of the Senate and House
the Senate committees representing the
republican party, and the House com
mittees, the democratic party. For in
stance, the House recently passed a
bill requiring the Pacific railroads TO
construct and operate telegraph lines
over their roads; when the Senate COM
mittee on commerce got hold of this
bill, they reported it to the Senate with
an amendment striking out the word
''construct", which virtually destroys
the effect that the bill was inten led to
have, in compelling these roads to con-
struct telegraph lines that would be
run in opposition to those of the West
ern Union Telegraph company. With
the word construct" left out of the
bill, the railroads will simply make
some arrangement with the Western
Union company, that will continue the
present monopoly. Here is another in
stance of the Senate favoring big corp
oratious. Public opinion compelled the
Senate to pass bill forfeiting all the
unearned grants of land to railroads
In order to make it as easy as possible
on the corporations, the bill only forfeit
ed the lands, through which the road
had not been built. When this bill
reached the House committee on public
lands, Mr.. Holman of Indiana offered
substitute providing that all lands
shall be forfeited that have not been
earned in strict accordance with the
original grants. These two bills give
good general idea of the policy of the
two parties in dealing with wealthy
corporations. The democrats believe
in controlling them; the republicans in
being controlled by them.
Mr.. Cleveland has been invited to
the opening of the Cincinnati exposi-
ton on July 4. He will 60 if possible.