The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1888-06-01
washington aetser.
(From our regular correspondent.>
WASHINGTON, MAY %, 1888.

| VII lttl vi tllt i'ttb VI
before this letter reaches You. His tenn
porary improvement on Saturday was fol-
lowed by a serious relapse. Physicians
and a priest are in constant attendance at
his bedside. and his family are quite alarm
ed. The General of the Army is suffering
from v~alvnlar failure of the heart, and al
though he has understood the gravity of
the situation from the beginning, his mind
is tranquil, and he expresses hope for the
best. But nothing can be more nnsatlsiac-
tory than the military secretiVeness which
surrounds the sick chamber OF General
Sheridan. As has been said he is the last
great figure of the war. and the thousands
of veterans who followed his leadership
and fought the fight, eagerly ask OF news
concerning his condition. Still the pnblic
is barred from all save the most meagre in
formation. as if he were surrounded by the
enemy.
The House of Representatives has given
much Of it's time during the week to the
consideration of appropriation bills, and
the Senate has been most of the time in Sc
crot session with the Fisheries treaty. The
bill to establish a department Of labor has
been passed by both houses. Senator ltea-
gan, of Texas, spoke lcngthily in opposi-
ton To this bill. He said if the founders
of the Republic conld hear the way labor
questions are discussed in Congress these
days, they would blush for shame on &C
count of the degeneracy and lack of man
hood of their descendants in dealing with
them. Upon hearing this an irroverant,
wagoish seribbler added that no doubt this
is so. If ghosts ever blush, doubtless it is
when they visit the United States Senate
Chamber.
The Senate convencs daily at twelve
o'clock NJ. On Wednesday it adjourned at
two o'clock in order to attend the funeral
of the wife of Senator Sawyer, OF Wiscon-
sin, a mark Of respect which, it is said, has
never been paid to any Senator before.
The Senate has passed a bill increasing
the militia appropriation from $500, 900 to
$500, 900.
The House has had an unusual amount
of fun dnring the week, notwithstanding
the fact that prosy Appropriation bills
have had the right of way. Just before
the Post office Appropriation bill was
passed the Western Republicans told all
the bad things they could think OF about
the new Democratic postmasters out there.
Mr.. Perkins, of Kansas, told tales about
the postmasters out in his country who
send out the mails only when they acculnu-
late n sack full. He related for a fact that
n certain postmaster called upon the Adj
ministration for some postage stamps aud
they were sent to him in large blocks or
sheets. lie had never seen them in that
form before, the two or three that lie had
had occasion to buy during the course of
his life had always been separate ones, and
when they came in that form he thought
they were circus posters, and pasted them
up on the door of his Office. He called his
wife to what the ''durned fools had sent
him from Washington, when he wrote to
them for postage stamps" He said the cir
Gus riders were all alike, and no place was
given where the show Was to come off.
Over a section of the Legislative Appro-
p~riation bill the House INDUCED in so
much laughter that the Congressional
Record mentioned, in brackets, that an hour
of the session was devoted to laughter.
Much of the fun was the proposition to in.
crease the Chaplain's salary from 5000 toa
larger figure. Mr.. Springer said the House
Chaplain was old and needed money. Mr..
Browne, of Indiana, inquired if there was
Increased necessity for prayer. Mr.. Spring
er replied that members had no idea of the
great power needed to bring salvation to a
body like this" Mr.. GrosvenOr opposed an
increase on the ground that the next House
will be a better one thar this and will not
need so much praying. Mr. trube inquired if
it was necessary to have a very able man
for Chaplain. Another fippant member,
Mr.. Allen, of Michigan, answered that it
always required a high order of ability to
deal with an immature mind; therefore the
Chaplain Of the House should be a man of
considerable ability. Then Mr.. Holman,
the old "watch dog Of the Treasury, said
$40 a day was too much for the House to
pay for prayer, and the majority agreed
with him, for it voted down an increase.
There was moro hilarity over the wage
of the employees % the Botanic Gardens.
One member proposed to abolish the whole
thing, and another inquired what would
then become of Mr.. Springer and his daily
bouquet, the latter always wears a bout
onnicre), and the latter replied that he
never got a bouquet from the Botanic Gar
dens in his life. Mr.. Cobb said that at
present beautiful flowers were sent daily to
certain favored members, but whence they
came he not know. He only knew that
they were not sent to members whose wives
were with them. Oh WESTON.
The State Treasury is at so low an ebb
by reason Of legislative appropriations that
the State authorities are embarrassed by the
demands of creditors. The situation, of