The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-04-27
WASHINGTON LETTER.

h1NuSe, nN the Sergeant-at-Afm =.
where they are required to give excuse
for their absence from the sessions OF
that body, has continued now uninter-
ruptedly for ten days.
I During this time there had been no
{ legislation in that end of the Capitol.
Business had been utterly stagnant
both in the House and in the House
committees. And when it is renlem-
bercd that Congress idle, is as expen-
sive rs Congress busy, aud that under
any circumstances it costs the tax pay
ers of the country at the rate Of from
5000 to $1,000 day, the situation be-
/ comes serious.
I All this trouble was over bill to re-
fund, from the federal Treasury, the
direct tax levied on the States and
Territories iii 1861, to raise money for
carrying on the war. The act of 1861
provided that tax of so, O,000,000 be
apportioned among the inhabitants of
the several States and Territories. OF
this amount about ST 100000 was coll
lectcd, leaving balance due, mostly
from the Southern States, of about So
500,00o. In some nf the Southern
States then in rebellion, collections
Were made in some instances from the
property of individuals.
Now the theory upon which the pro-
posal to refund is based, is that the un-
collected tax still stands on the Treas
ury books rs a debt, which must, in
justice to all concerned, be collected or
else the collected tax shall be refunded
to the proper States and Territories.
The opponents of the bill take the posi-
ton that rs the levies We're made on in
dividuals in the Southern states, the
only fair course would be to find those
individuals, and reimburse them di-
rectly. They also oppose it because
the cotton TAX, which drew nearly
SO, 100000 from the Southern States
the constitutionality of which is still
hotiy disputed, has never been repaid.
The senate is working leisurely as
usual. 1t has this week discussed the
question of admitting Dakota as one
State, or dividing ii in two halves and
admitting il as two States. The dem
ocrats are willing To admit her as one
State, but the republicans want to
make as much of her as possible, for
the benefit of the Senate. -Four repub-
lican Senators would vote more than
two.
Some of the delegates to the recent
International Council of women still
linger in Washington. Among them
is Mrs. Chant, of England, who is GO
ing to remain over here awhile and as
sist in temperance work She has Civ
en- several temperance talks TO large
audiences in different parts of the city.
In one of them she said: There as no
middle course; no second greand in
this fight with alcohol. The SAL
must lie closed, lis snassnufactnres resmust
De stopped It must be banished from
our homes, from our tables, from the
communion itself, before man aud wo-
man can grow into the full statue of
health and purity" Mrs. Chant is a
grand neice of Edmund Burke.
Col. Dom Piatt, who used to say
such sarcastic and bitterly brilliant
things in the Capitol, and Librarian
Spofford, who can instantly place his
hand on any book in the Congression-
al library, both appeared last Monday
before the Senate Committee on Post
offices, to advocate the passage Of the
bill to prohibit the transmission OF
cheap literature by mail at one cent a
pound. Col. Piatt said they appeared
/ in behalf of three separate interests
first, the postoffices of the United
states, which complain of being over
burdened with mercantile matter; sec
ond. the authors and honest pablish
ers of the country, who complain o
unjust freight discrimination, anC
third, the outraged conscience of TIN
country.
He said it was an insult to intelli
gence to call the Seaside Library pull
lications, for instance, periodicals, an
vet it was by the misuse of this WORD
, .speriodfcal,u - that the mails had be
: come crowded with this matter to sue
an extent that our postal cars woul
, have to be changed to freight cars if
goes farther. All that pealed TO til
lowest passions of the lowest class'
!. was being distributed by the govern
: ment in partnership with the publish
: ers, and that under the plea of dissen
i mating knowledge.
/ He mentioned the novels of Mr.
h Brandon, Ouida, the younger Dunn;
a and Zola as being especially poisono'
1 to uncultured minds, from the fa
that these writers possessed genius.
Senator Blackburn, of Kentucky,
' making an effort to get passed by Il
l. Senate before the spring races begin
n the Washington race course, a bi
"a passed by the course to prohibit po
selling and book making in the Di
trict.
e. Patents granted to citizens of the P
# cifie States during the past week, al
- reported expressly for this paper by
: :, A. Snow & Co, Patent lawyers, Was
u ington, D. c:
ii D. Baratini, Murphy's, Cal, Gre pl
ne verizer. K. A. Brigham, GiIroy, Ca
- vehicle. T. Chamberlain, Santa Cru
=. speculum. w. III. Donaldson, 5;