The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1889-12-27
WASHINGTON Letter.
ftrom u regular correspondcnt.l
WASHINGTON. D. G.. Dec. %, 1899.

The announcement ofthe House commit
tee ch~airmapships was made on Saturday
and the comments of his friends on the in
dividual assignments are highly CON-
plimentary to Speaker Reeds good sense.
Twenty-Five ont of the fifty-six places go
to the Western States; the Middle States re-
ceiYe sixteen, New England seven and the
Pacific Slope three gets only one. The
promptness of the selection Of the commit
tees is surprising.
The first bowls OF disappointment come
from the West. where the supporters of
Mr.. Reed in the speakership contest have
been carefully rewarded, and where many
of the leaders have been uneeremonionsly
turned down in the selection OF committees.
Mr.. Reed seems to have felt an obligation
to his party to take good care of his oppo-
nents in the race, but there his self-imposed
obligation ended. lie could not be expect
ed TO take care of all the men wholiad care
fully searched his record last summer and
fall, to try 10 defeat the ret ambition of
his life. Farmer Wade, of Missouri,
secures the Labor committee. Mr.. Reeds
three Kansas supporters have received sub
stanti2l evidence of his regard. Funston
heads the Agricultural committee; Perkins
gets that Of Indian Affairs, and Morrill, re-
eeiyes the Invalid Pensions Craftsmanship.
Carter, of Montana. who cndeavored to
swing the new States into line for Mr..
Reed, gets the appropriate committee on
Mines and Mining.
On the other hand Representative
Thompson, who is believed by the Speak
er's friends 10 have pushed Mckinley's
candidacy by unfair means as against
Reed, is badly left. He is an old and
able member and ambitious for leadership.
To be practically ignored is hardly pleas
ant, and although Mr.. Thompson said moth
ing very publicly, he eornefcd the Speak
er in the members lobby and told him a
few things that fired the blood in the
Speakers face. As he walked Indignantly
away Speaker Reed looked like a mammoth
| school boy Who would like to lick the boy
he has just quarreled with were that boy
not too small TO strike.
But this was not the only disagreeable
episode of the day. After the Committees
had been fully announced, Mr.. Cheadle,
Of Indiana, in a few digniied words, re-
signed his position as a member of the Com
mittee on Claims. \ place on this COM
mittee was offered Mr.. Cheadle in the
| u 10 10Th Connrasu and tla+1v rafnSai n,J
| the repetition of the appointment was
regarded as a downright Insult. The re-
cognition of a solitary appointment to such
an important committee could not but be
regarded by Mr.. Cheadle as a rebuke for
having led the Republican bolt that re-
elected DR.. MilburD, the blind Democratic
chaplain of the last Congress, as chaplain.
Mr.. Cheadle naturally resents any attempt
to discipline him, and by this recon men
dation has the unique distinction of being
the only member OF the House who has no
place on any committee. Speaker Reed
has therefore, one more bitter enemy in his
own party.
Congressman Uarmer looks further than
Speaker Reed for the author of his sorrow.
lie believes that Senator Quay is his enemy
who has lone this thing. With a long and
honorable Congressional experience and
SUCCESSFUL SeTFlCc do d COllHiiIJecC CHAIRMAN
during the last Congress that the Repub-
lican party controlled, he naturally expect
ed, despite his friendship for Mckinley,
that he would receive something more than
assignments to fourth or fifth positions on
a few important committees. He was the
leading Republican member of the Com
mittee on Naval Affairs during the last
Congress, and naturally his friends thought
that the Craftsmanship of that Committee
would come TO him.
it'll the announcement OF COMMITTEES
Congress adjourned until after the holt
DAYS and the lObbies are deserted, for even
the lobbyist has a home, or a boarding
house or hotel substitute for one, to which
he retires once a year to pay tribute to the
domestic gods. The amount Of restitution
TO be systematically alleyiated this Christ
mas time has been materially lessened by
the mild character of the weather. Hun
ger is perhaps enormously presumed to be
quite a pleasant sensation so long as the
thermometer is above the thirties. The
display of Christmas goods is the most re-
markable even seen in this city, but the
volume of trade is not so large as during
recent years, except last year. Not even
low prices tempt purchasers.
senator Ingalls, tool occasion on Satur-
day to tender his compliments to the Tenth
Census and to express a hope that the next
one would not be a repetition Of the last in
reckless expenditure Of money and the
gathering Of useless data. WESTON.