New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-06-22
GOSSIP AT THE CAPITAL.
BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE U. S. SENATE.
LOOKING OUT FOR NJ. 1-oLEoMARGARiNE
sTATIsTICs-wARNED BY JIM 'A"i
TONS F,rE-rELEpHoNE INCIDENTS
THE SPEAKER DESCRIBED

THE SPEAKER DESCRIBED
washinc,on lime o1.-Everv once IN VINO ule
senate resolves itself into an experience n''''
doesn't do this often, but when ~ does .'7 P.V -,
likely 10 proft by peep behind the scehes' even
thc dignity Of the senate may suH"' -"
occasion arose the other day whcn INC
cusscd the appropriation for socacd Spccia' COM
r,itteos M cour.e Won know what they arc 'ShlcS
have called them junkenG parties and they nave "'
and AGAIN. been held up to rdicuie ana 'f1Vi'i'
will admit that these committees, createu a. '"'
no other purpo,e than that Of furnishing j." 'i'''
with prctcxt for drawing salary during 'o a'''' =,
months and aGerding Senators an opportunity 10 W."
different parts of the country al the expense u Vo
Government. do sometimes collect Vaiu'o'o i"iy
marion and that their work results not inioquehtN
in tbe enactment OF intelligent legislation p"' .',
done AT an unnecessarily large OuVd| wv" " ~
and money Everybody remembers the hhse Noiu"'V'
- +oe,monv for the most part absolutely worthless
which Mr. Blair's Committee on Eductuoh anu hao''
collected few years The printing aionc o' '''
,.olrues must have cost nearly $4,000. what pnr-
nose did they serve; what good did theN 40 ""''
has teon the result Of the visit of senate commute
not long ago. 10 Alaska That unfortunate an" Sn'p
neglected domain is sim clamornG Tor an orEi"N'"
form Of government. What has bec"m" oi u'o 'o"''
,nittec which set ont with statistical drafnot III inc
diroctio, NJ Canada two years ago. What was ever
dane by the committees. in years gone ny WING"
etarted 10 take a look at poor LOT Ana Wgh1
mutipv nv inquiries in other directions were ts inc
time for doing So without getting many satisfactory
answers.
Rut must tell Won how in the brief spell Of re
morse already alluded to the Senate turned lt'1ii
inside ont and revealed some Of the secrets which,
for tho sake Of lis dignity" IL might well have dis
cussed behind closed doors Last year. IL appcar' the
senate appropriated $1,000 for the investigating com
mi,tecs There were five Of these. possibly SIN on'
I think tlc number was five. Now, you would suppose
that the sum available for the use Of these committees
wonld be distributed equitablv among them o. AZ
any rate in proportion 20 their real needs NJ SUI"
thing. An altogether different prncple-h principle
Won can call i-prcvall-. It is that Of FIRST conc
first served And under this Just and beautiful
prncple the chairman OF one Of the committee VINO
evidently was an old hand at this sort OF th'hs'
didn't permit the cTa.s 70 grow under MS icc' D"'
strachtway went TO the disbursing clerk ana drew
ont s. 900 for his committee az soon a. the appf"
prat!on became available. Tho chairman OF another
committee drew out over $4,000, so that there wa
left for the remaining three committee, only 5000
or less than 500 apiece with which 10 beGule the
weary summer months. Now. wa this just was II
decent: wa, it good fellowship Poor Nr. Vest WIN
his Committee on the Meat Product had "a he told Tie
senate. to exercise the utmost economy u carry
through the necessary investigation. Indeed h. could
not have held a single session oi his committee II j
had not been Tor Christie the late Assistant sergeant
AT Arms. who happened 10 have some money IN his
,os.c,,ion which. believe. he advanced % the com
mittcc.
of course Mr. Vest was indgnant-vcry much 50.
said he. told tic secretary OF the senate that
was an outrage that he had allowed those other com
rittecs 10 encross the whole of the appropriation FOR
speclal committees asked him the plain question
.Supposc that the chairman Of Of these committee
had come and drawn the whole Of that amount. would
Won have permitted II" lie slid, Yes. SIR. would
have. been obliged 70 have recognized hi, daf' for the
Whole amount if he had wanted it, What do you
say to thati7
And later on senator sherman told how he had been
obliged A. member Of the House Of Representatives
70 borrow from Governor Morgan Sloooo-,isning q
note for the amount-bccau,c the senate had refused
10 anpropratc the money for making the famous
Kansas Investigation.
The fact that a public man has ever been obliged,
when sent of 10 discharge an important public duty I"
horrov, money 10 beg money! or advance his own
money does not reflect great credit upon congress.
such instances. however. are rare. believe though
that Major Lacey chairman Of the llou-c sub commit
fee which recently went 10 Little Rock to take "ri
mouv i'm the CLAYTON. l}lcCMundge case was COM
relled IA 20 down into his own pocket" 70 pay wit
nc,.cs because the appropriation for the purpose of
that investigation had already been exhausted
Yon may be surprised, perhaps 10 hear that not
vi,b.tandlng the tax levied upon the manufacture and
sale Of ocomargafinc the consumption Of this article
has slightly increased within the last three year
During the fiscal year 81 l-o- the production was
3f345.527 pounds and iu the following year It rose
to n GCt O2G pounds. over 100000 pounds mor'
Mr. ingalls, seems T. thak that II the law creating
the tax was enacted 10 protect the dairy products ~
tc country and 10 destroy n far possible the pro
ductiOn OF olcomarrarinc. then II was evidently a
failure. ! think Nj. ingalls, Is mistaken. The farmers
certainly did not understand that the intention Of
Congress was 10 prevent any one from buying and
eating ocomarcarnc If he wanted do SO. but only
to protect him against the fraud and prctcncc Of
GlcOnargarinc being sold and beng called genuine
butter Mr.. Edmunds docs not believe that III com
petition with tho genuine dairy products OF the United
states the people coming gradually more ana more
to eat OcOmarg arine, but that the Increased produc
ton Of olcomarganc j. To be accounted for partly
upon the increased trade and increased population %.
the world and partly. also. upon the fact that II Is
now being used by sayaccs who hitherto have cac!
palm oil. or opossum OIL or whatever 1t may be-
The late John F.. McElhone whose death occurred
| At Atlantic City Tuesday last, was remarkable
man I'm many respects. III, career a. n parlih
! mcntary reporter covered the whole period Of yer
batim reporting Of the proceeding, Of COngrces. He
was at first stenorraphcr for year in the senate.
| then being mere boy. In 1-i9 he came To the
House as a stcnocrapher He became chief Of the
corp, about ten year, ago. Beside his Congressional
reporting in which he took The words of some Of the
famOu, Congrcs-ion debater. he has reported some
! important conventions. lie man Of crudition
and enjoyed the friendship and confidence Of many
| public men, He and Mr.. Randall close friend
both being natives Of the same city.
lie was probably the only >tcnogmphcr in the
try who could report equally Well with either hand.
In reporting the floor Of the House he often shifted
from his right 10 his left hand the without
! ntcrrupting his speed He possessed familiarity
with parliamentary usage and understood two three
| foreign languages.
Representative Nathan Frank. Of Missouri. IS Of
| the propretors of a daily paper. lie is one Of
many newspaper prOprlctOrs who III In the halls Of
| Congress. About year ago the manager OF Mr..
Franks newspaper conceived the idea of offering an
accident policy carrying 800 Insurance with cac,
copy of the paper ! asked Mr.. Frank the other day
Of what value the accident policy had proved to his
| publication.