New-York tribune., 1891-12-25
FAJLURE ACKNOWLEDGED.

1t is not worth while 10 crticiSe Speaker Crisp )
assignments infinitely. His supporters are dong
that, with sufficient vigor and acrimony.
large majority of his chairmen remarkably
large majority of the chairmen of important com
mittees, are from the South, but he was forced
to handle the tools that he had, and out OF an
essentially Southern party he could not make
Northern organization TO save his life. II Repre-
sentatves of less than third OF the whole people
have now much more than half of the power, that
is what the voters determined upon year ago,
for it is Of the very essence OF Democratic su-
preunacy.
The meaning of the selections seems to be
well understood. No one doubts that the Ways
and Means Committee is expressly arranged to
prevent the framing Of any general Tariff bill,
and Mr. Springer will be sustained in that pur-
pose by those who wish to make the tariff ques-
ton as little important as possible next year, and
10 shut out Mr.. Cleveland from the Presidential
nomination. On this very ground the shaping
of the committees is savagey attacked by other
Democrats besides Mr.. Wattelson. The Appro-
priations Committee is relatively strong and will
help Mr. Holman to carry out his ideas OF econ
omy. The Committee on Coinage, with Mr..
Bland at its head, is unmistakably for free coin
age Of silver and will do what it can to carry
out the ideas of Mr. Crisps faction in that re-
spect The Committee on Commerce, with MIR.
Mills as its chairman, is of no practical impor-
tance, but the committees which have charge
of the great appropriations, the River and Har-
bor the Pensions, the War and Navy commit
toes, are in such hands that hberality toward the
South at least may be expected. In general the
selection is puzzlng and unsatisfactory to Others
as well as to the Democrats who did not vote
for Mr. Crisp.
But it is absurd for some OF the Speakers
friends to complain that he has selected for many
of the important places men who have not shown
their fitness for such work hitherto. The crit
cism has in truth curious force, for the Speaker
seems to have carefully avoided in many cases
the men who have been charged with a par
tiCllar duty or branch Of work under previous
organizations, and has set them to other work,
while selecting other men for the places they
were supposed to be best qualified to fill. Be-
ginning with Mr.. Mills, whose friends thought he
knew more about the tariff than anybody else,
the Speaker found Mr.. Springer for the Com
mittea Of Ways and Means, and set MIR. Mills to
other and unfamiliar duties. In precisely the
have been active in the work of particular COM
mittees in past years are carefully sent to other
committees to see what they can do there.
The friends who berato Mr.. Crisp for this
seemingly whimsical selection forget one i'm
poltant fact. Tho Democratic party under every
previous organization of the House has been a
dreadful failure in the conduct Of business IL
Mr.. Crisp had the good sense to recognize this
fact he only needed courage 10 q shake them up
all around. Nearly everybody having done bad
" where he was, it was not bad plan to try
nearly everybody somewhere else. True, un-
familiarity is hampering, but man who knows
nothing and can learn is considerably better than
one who knows it all and knows everything
wrong 1t is a supreme justification of Mr..
CrSps peculiar selections that the active Demo-
clats in the House, with whom he has been asSo-
ciated for years and whose capacity or incapacity
he has had abundant opportunity to judge, have
in fact been tried in places for which they proved
thoy were not fit. That was at least a sufficient
reason for trying them in other places for which
perchance they might have some sort OF fitness.
If anybody supposes that this explanation Is
offered in humor or in jest, let him remember
how things were in the House when Mr.. Carlisle
or Mr. Randall was Speaker. Let him try TO
recall single important committee which did its
work thoroughly, faithfully and intelligently.
Perhaps Mr.. Holman, who has been made chair
man of the Committee on Appropriations, ap-
pears to Democrats to be eminently serviceable
on that committee and yet it must be nmem-
bered that the enormously swelling applopIia-
tons made by the House in past years when
nonooc,afs had contro uroyed that rs n watch
Cog of the Treasury he had more bark than bite.
For the rest what other committee was not re-
garded even by Democrats, as pitifully and pain
iully unfit for it's work? BY all means, new
men, Mr.. Crisp. 1t shows that you have at least
appreciated Democratic failures and humiliations
in the past
THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF NEW.