Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-02-15
MEN ANDTHINGs AT WASHINGTON

end OF the present week, so that
general legislation will soon be I'M
der way. The contested election
cases will probably take precedence,
but the various committees have
been hard at work for several weeks
and measures OF of general nature
will be promptly reported TO the
House for its consideration. 1t is
the intention of the Republican ma
jority to legIslate as expeditiously as
the same can be done with safety so
as not to unnecessarily protract bust
ness into the heat Of mid summer.
There has been n great deal Of
comment in connection with the
Louisiana lottery, and the attempt
of its friends to get loot-hold tor it
in the new State of Dakota. 1t is
a matter of qualification that these
efforts have proved futile. So far
as this lottery swiBdle is concerned
there can be no doubt that it has
made liberal contributions in aid of
both political parties, so that neither
can claim immunity from the dis
grace, but the Republicans in every
section OF the country should spurn
this great swindle. 1t has done
more to lover the tone of public
morals than any one agency in the
the land, and its protection at the
hands of the people OF Louisiana has
long cast a stigma upon the fair
name Of that State. 1t is amazing
to observe bow generally this con.
Germ is patronlzed by all classes in
this city. and it is fair to say that if
some stop is not put to the business
it will soon convert Il very large pro-
portion of the men and women in
this country into a race of gamblers.
Louisiana proposes to in some meas.
atone for the evils she has inflicted
upon the country by terminating the
lite of this scheme Of robbery in the
year 1892, and it is to be hoped that
no other State in the Union will open
its doors to these gigantic robbers.
One of the amusing phases of
Washington life is that which shows
to best advantage the individual who
suddenly emerges from obscurity
and appears in the capacity Of an
office holder. He generally comes
as a member Of Congress, and at
once gets the big head" He
lmagines that the vast burdens OF
government rest exclusively on his
massive shoulders, and with imperi-
al air and majestic stride he walks
the avenue with feeling of import.
ance UNNECESSARILY grand. To the
average country-man he bows with
great condescension. but with an air
and manner which impresses the for
mer with his utter insignifieance
and of the lattei':' greatness. These
people are light beaded, as matter
of course. and The only matter OF
surprise is that any of them get into
public life. They feed their insati.
able vanity upon newspaper para
praphs which cmanate directly from
themselves, add which are calculated
to impress upon the public mind the
vast imperative OF the individual
whose trumpet the paragrapher has
been paid to blow. These fellows
are not all confined to either poiiti
cal party, and the only satisfaction
we have is that there are compare
lively few of them and that the pub
lie has long since learned to distin
guish the fool when he places him
self on dress parade.
A Large and earnest convention in
advocacy of American shipping has
Just closed its sessions here. The
earnestness eyinced by the delegate:
clearly demonstrates large and
growing sentiment in favor of the
rehabilitation Of our merchant
marine. England has long enjoyed
the carrying trade Of the world, anG
has grown enormously rich out of it
Many millions are annually paid into
the Golfers OF her merchants by
Americans for the transportation O
American produce and manufactures
This is grlevOus mistake, and one
Tor which an early and effective
remedy should be found. We have
within our borders all the materials
necessary for the construction Of
merchantmen, whilst our skilled
labor in quantity and quality is ne
where excelled in the world. The
effort now being put forth to recover
our lost carrying trade should bt
seconded both in and ont of Con
greSs.
The sugar beet Industry is one
which deserves more attention thar
it has yet received, and the expert
ments now being made in Kansas
and elsewhere promise good results
1t is believed that thousands of acres
of land now devoted to the produc
ton of wheat and corn with little oil
no profit to the farmer, could bt
made to yield handsome returns i
devoted to the production Of sugar
beet. Claus Spreckles, the great
sugar reiiner, has recently been il
communication with the farmers o
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania
and he has given it as his opinion
that the land in that county is moi
only adapted to the growing of The
sugar beet, bur that its cultivation
by the farmer will yield Il profit o
fifty dollars per acre. The present
low prices of wheat and corn should
induce the farming community tc
greatly restrict the production o
these Two cereals, and give their at
teDtlon to the growing of other crops
This country annually sends abroad
many millions OF dollars for sugar
all Of which might be produced in
this country, 1t is idle 20 talk about
the farmer being oppressed by z
protective tariff, as this argument
is fallacious, and is made simply tC
get his vote. The Democratic poll
ticians who make these appeals tC
him fail to tell him that in the free
trade countries of Europe the agri
cult1rist is even more oppressed
than he is here. The low prices ioI
wheat and corn arise from over
production. During the last twenty