The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-12-11
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

The message of President Harrison is
a thoroughly American document in
every line of which the spirit of patriotic
desire for the public veal is so clearly
expressed that ''he who runs may read"
1t may be divided for purposes of com
ment into three distinct parts. Our
foreign affairs have been so important
that they occupy full third of the mes
sage, being followed by a careful dis
cussion of finances, in which the tariff
and silver ques ions are considered, and
concluding with reviews of the work of
the departments other than the State
and Treasury.
The manner of its reception is set
forth in Washington dispatches as fol-
lows: The President has reason to feel
gratitied at the manner in which his mes
sage was received by that branch of Con-
gress which Mr.. Reed, when Speaker,
once denominated, in spirit of gentle
satire, the ''deliberative body" In the
House, of course, with $50 new members,
there was the usual inattention which
could readily be accounted for by other
causes than any Intentional disrespect to
the Chief Magistrate, as in the ordinary
confusion of the House it is impossible to
follow connectedly public document of
such length as the Presidents message.
especially when read in the perfunctolY
manner customary to the occasion.
But the Senate listened throughout.
No recent message, not even that sur
prise message which Cleveland gave his
party when he concentrated all the affairs
of the Government into the tariff ques-
ton, ever received more earnest atten-
ton. There was something new and
striking in it's treatment OF public affairs
from the start. Ususally Presidents
messages open after the fashion of a
Queens speech to the British Parliament
by reference to relations with foreign
powers. Mr.. Harrison first selected for
recommendation to the close scrutiny of
Congress the reports of the home execu-
tive departments, upon whose heads he
subsequently bestowed generous and un-
stinted praise. Though the message
was long, it kept constant succession of
topics in view like well organized
stereoscOpe.
Arbitration with Great Britain agreed
upon, bearing on the Behring Sea diff
Guilty, and only waiting the selection of
arbitratOrs; legislation urged to give the
United States Court jurisdiction over Of
fences committed against foreigners dom
iciled in this country, so as to remedy
such incidents as the Italian lynching in
New Orleans; the justification of Minis
ter Egan's course in Chill and the sug-
gestion that special message might be
sent in ease the offensive tone" of the
Chilian reply should not be modified by
further investigation and consideration;
the intimation of possible serious trouble
in China; the decided stand taken against
the continued expectation of Russian
Jews to this country, and the recon-
mendation to guarantee the bonds of the
Nicarauguan Canal, made picturesque
group of foreign topics for Senators to
deliberate over.
Senator Morgan, who was referred to
by name, and several other Senators on
the Democratic side, gave this part of
the message careful hearing and con-
siderable whispered comment. The tar
if and silver views were as expected,
and caused no ripple of excitement. No
one was left in doubt as to the Presi-
dents intention to stand by both Com
missioner Raum of the Pension Bureau
and Superintendent Porter of the Census
Bureau, both of whom have been bit
terly assailed by partisans. The Presi-
dent took especial pains to mention his
having directly received from Raum re-
ports of the conduct of affairs in his
Office up to recent date, though ordi-
narily such reports would be made to the
Secretary of the Interior, and he men
tions what the Commissioner expects to
show at the end of the fiscal year-that
is, on the 30th of June next, six months
from now. The President was epigram-
matte in his reference to Superintendent
Porter as the author of a valuable ''sta-
tistical exhibit unincumbered by es-
says"
The passages of the message which at
tracted most attention from the Republi-
can side of the chamber were the refer
ences to the unfortunate and even
threatening episode of Michigan's
change in the methods of choosing Presi-
dental Electors, and the suggestion of a
commission, the selection of which
might be constitutiOnally vested in the
Supreme Court, to propose scme plan of
eliminating gerrymandering and mitigat-
ing the other evils of our election sys-
tenn. This part of the message forms
the chief topic of discussion among Sena-
tors from the Northwest tonight.
VERMONT REPUBLICAN CLUBS.
The Vermont member of the Execu-
tive Committee of Republican clubs, Mr..
Q Il