Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-01-10
AsRINGT TON LETTER.
From our regular correspondent.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., Jan, 2, Is

WASHINGTON, ID. e., Jan. :, 1871.
senator Hoar is still confident that
,be Federal Election bill will pass
,be Senate and become law. He
thinks that Senator Stewart, VOL
colt. Teller and possibly one or two
others, not over two, represents the
entire Republican opposition to the
hill. although there are several
others who may not vote for the bill,
but who will not vote against 1t.
But other Republican Senators are
not so confident of the final outcome.
The disaffecton in the Republican
ranks arises not so much from oppo
siton to the bill as from the delay
in dsposing of it. These gentle
men think the bill has already oc-
cupied too much of the Senate's
time, while other legislation, par
hcularly that affecting financial
matters, has had TO wait.
lust what the result will be it
would be impossible to predict with
even reasonable degree of Ger
tainty, but every Senator with whom
have talked; and they are numer-
ous and represent the friends of all
the measures waiting to be taken up
as well as of the election bill, agree
in the belief that decisive action of
some sort will be taken by the Sen
ate during the coming week, when
about all of the holiday absenrees
will have returned. One strange
feature of the situation is, that Dem
ocrats generally believe that the
election bill will be passed.
Democratic Senators are doing all
they possibly can to encourage those
Republican Senators who are known
to be favorable to free silver coinage
to attempt to force the consideration
of one of the bills already intro
duced providing for free coinage
before the Election bill or the
Clolure rule is disposed of; they are
not doing this because they favor
free coinage, which has some of its
bitterest opponents among The Dem
ocratic Senators, but because they
wish to create dissention in the Re
publican ranks IN the hope that they
may profit thereby in the end. 1t
will be discovered, | think, by these
Republicans, if one of these bills
ever reaches a vote, that the Dem O.
Gratis, with a very few exceptions,
will not vote for it.
The Republicans in the Senate
are strlkipgly in need of leader,
that is to say man with the daring
and dash which characterized GER
tain periods of Mr.. Blaine's and the
late Roscoe Conkling's Senatorial
careers. There are many able and
learned Republicans in the Senate
but there seems TO be no real leader
among them-no man whom all the
rest will willingly follow. If Speak
er Reed had been in the Senate |
don't believe the present condition
Of affairs, which is entirely unsatis.
factory to all classes of Republicans,
would exist. Battles are not won
without fighting, and no army can
fight well with divided leadership.
Republicans all hope for the best,
but they are not inspired with that
aggressive confidence which has
been Characteristic of the party in
other great Congressional contests.
The President has signed the
commission of Henry b. Brown, as
Associate Justice of the United
States Supreme Court, his nomina-
ton having been confirmed by the
Senate. The new Justice will take
his seat next week, and be will have
his hands full of work Immediately,
as there are a number of important
cases that have been waiting for
luII court to act upon them. Justice