Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-06-19

to the House and they are approved by
vote off-hand. Many members, however,
do not take the trouble to leave any
such memorandum for the Speaker, but
merely go without saying anything. 1t
makes no difference really; no objection
has ever been made to liberties of this
sort There is nothing, in fact, to pre-
vent man from being absent for a
4 Whole session from his duties in Con-
1 gress. On the contrary it has happened
reEeatedly. Joseph Pulitzer, editor of
the New York World, while Represen-
tative here, was only present in the
House about six days in session and a
half, at the end of which he resigned.
When the House is reduced below a
quorum business goes on just as usual,
so long as no point of quorum is raised.
| 1t was in this way that, in the last Con-
+ gress about a dozen members passed the
bill which incidently compels free citi-
zens of the United States to inform the
census enumerators this year as to what
diseases they are afflicted with and the
reason why they chose or were obliged
to mortgage their property. In case
quorum is not present at any time and is
demanded the Sergeant-at-Arms sends
kilograms for members and arrests them
for duty If necessary. Some of the Rep
resentatives render this difficult by
hiding themselves away somewhere, so
they cannot be found.
%x*
Three or four years ago it was the GUS
tom among certain newspaper corre-
spondents to decry the alleged exclusive
ness of the leading Democratic officials,
and represent that if Secretary Blaine
was Secretary of State his door would be
open all the time and he himself ac-
cessibe to all callers. But since Mr..
Blaine became Secretary of State in
March, 1890, this extraordinary accessi-
bility has at no time been apparent. On
the contrary, his exclusiveness has been
the eXclusiveness of an English or Rus
sian Government official, and since the
change of administration the Secretary
OF State has not vouched to any news
paper in the country single interview
or the slightest bit of direct information
about any of the affairs of the State De-
partment. More than that he hasn't yet
sent to Congress the papers relating to our
foreign correspondence last year, which
ought to have been sent to Congress
last December, when the heads of the
other Executive Departments made their
annual report. While the Secretary of
| '1leilt llSllb W USE Ills OWN ulScTG-
ton to withhold, if he pleases, the court.
estes which are usually extended to the
press, but which are not prescribed by
either the constitution or the laws, he
has no right to withhold from the Con
gress of the United States and the Ameri
can people the State papers which the
law says he shall submit to Congress an
nually, just as the heads of the other de
partments send in their annual reports
~
The tenderest spot in the Mckinley
| bill is about to be touched upon by the
) Senate Finance Committee, namely, the
metal schedule. This was fixed in the
Mckinley bill to the satisfaction of the
manufacturers, a delicate and Difficult
task accomplished by Representative
Bayne, who, in the past few days, has
received more abuse than credit for hi.
pains. The Senate Finance Committee
was simply asked to adapt the schedule
as in the Mckinley bill, without altera
ton in any particular. 1t is now pretty
well established that the duty on stee
rails will be reduced. 1t is from the
production of steel rails principally thai
Mr.. Andrew Carnegie gets his income Of
$1,000 per day. By the proposed re
duction he would be reduced to the
pittance of s., 600 daily, and other manu-
facturers would be brought still nearer
penury.
*x*
Now that both Houses of Congress are
focusing the light of their gigantic in
tellects on the silves question, it begins
to be made apparent through the tran
spicuous gloom which ordinarily envelop:
| these a hist Hnonnio1 4lo@
is not the tariff alone to which the
present depression of the agricul
tural and other industries of the country
is to be attributed. 1t seems that the
demOnetization of silver has had good
deal to do with it.
Will the tariff question have the right
of way or will it take the side track to
allow the silver train to pass it? That
seems to be the question. r.
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