The advocate., 1890-12-17
INGALLS, IN THE BEGINNING OF HIS
LAST SESSION OF CONGRESS.

INGALLS, IN THE BEGINNING OF HIS
LAST SESSION OF CONGRESS
The capital of the United States OF
America, Washington, ID. O., has a quite
peculiar system Of government, and II
was discussed at some length In the
United States Senate on the 9th Inst by
reason Of Senator Ingalls,, chairman Of
the District Of Columbia, having intro
duCed into the Senate a joint resolution
which had to do with its board OF com
missioners.
Senator Voorhees,, in the course of his
remarks upon this matter, declared:
undertake'to say that there 10 not 80
anomalous a spectacle amongst the nations
of the earth Mt this time as the city govern
ment of Washington city.
We are a republic, 40 least 80 called, and
the people govern, or at least they are sup
posed to govern, everywhere In the United
States except in the capital Of this FREQ gOf-
ernment. Here che people can not be trust
cd, for reasons that / will not dwell on at
this time But confess that / am tired of
a military detail sharing in the government
of the capital of the freest nation in the
world.
The Indiana Senator further explains
the mixed clvil-milltary state Of affairs
that obtain there in the following talk:
A one-third power in tho government of
Washington city 10 q military detail from
the army Of the United States. The gov
ernment itself is sort Of receivership 10
Aatlra "a Nk, al
franchises, the rights of tho people, taxa
tion, questions of improvement and the like.
Now how military officer of the mighty
rank Of captain becomes educated for the
administration of great city like this is
past my comprehension. | would like TO
sec some other plan tried for the compile
tion and rounding out Of this reCeivorship
besides going TO young army officers. The
army officers who are subject TO this detail
have never read law; they know no law OK
cept the rules that govern them In the army;
they have never mixed with the people; 90
they know not what the people may DESIRE
They have no popular Instincts; they have
no habits that have ever caused them TO be
informed as TO the management Of q mu-
nicipality, either a state, county, a town.
ship or road district. Their business is
not in the line Of civil life, and this whole
system to my mind is burlesque on COM
mon sense and il ought to be stopped at the
earliest practicable moment,
This eminent publicist thus further
speaks:
protest against placing one-third of the
power TO govern this city in the hands of in-
competent persons-persons not educated,
not experienced in civil government at all,
who carry into that Office down here at the
foot Of the hill simply their arbitrary and
sometimes insolent methods of dispOsinR OF
business that comes before them. / would
rather have men who, hike some of the rest
of us, have had to mix with tho people, 10
rub up against them, mingle with them and
learn their wants some place outside of a
camp or an Office in the war department.
"our only Ingalls," followed the "tall
Sycamore of the Wabash" ln the follow
ing language
have been somewhat familiar with the
condition Of affairs here for many years.
having been member Of this committee
for ten or twelve years and It's chairman FOR
at least half that number of years, and /
will say that the government of this district
is an absolute despotism. IL 10 an anomaly
in municipal government, This is the only