The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1891-02-06
THE TRANSFER mAsoalry.
Desperate Enorta o<46s Republican. 4,
Congress 70 esh Matters.

"ASOHIIr.
Desperate Enorts o<1n. Republican. I'm
Congress 20 lasf Matters.
TIE question " ~ now agi,a.ipo
Congress is one th Is Apt to arise. and
that generally dXSssss. Whenever a
House holding Cd = 81 be au,,eed.d
by one OF diherc 0liticaI cessiplex-
ion. When the and the -Presi.
dent are of the sal |n1itics as the ont
going House. thes n3)l he an effort 10
crowd into the kkxion. between the
Congressional ei1btion and the next
4th of March n sIation favorable 10
their party. and 5rrr<pondingly often
sive TO the ininofJ1y about to become n
majority This{ latter marty will Of
course resist su1 5eRssiation by using
all the expedier Tor delay with which
par'iameatssy Esk furnishes them.
That is to sri ne asst session of a
Congress u4d6 TIE condemnation of
the people NH 1pocsaarily be a filibus-
tering session, 81 perfectly idle for
the members a - transient and pre-
carious ma5oz1zy 70 complain of this. as
they are rat 1ooIishly doing at pres
ent. EvekY of them knows per-
fectly 80 would be doing the
same $3.50 perry were in oppo-
sitien - <ni.tc she people is
int,lsLSzI>D .sr~<ien a. issue has
a e sSs ssi ssbSlss .s,.s.S s. sissi-
this Is what the RepubneSs
have been doing in both houses!
Senator Aldrich read the Democrats a
solemn lecture upon their criminal con-
duct in "flibustering" to prevent the
passage Of bill intended to put the
control Of elections to Congress in the
hands of agents of the Republican
party, and in the House Mr.. Mckinley
has been doing the same thing, and has
further been guilty of the absurdity of
calling himself and his fellow-Repub-
licans agents of the popular will
OF course. this Is nonsense. The Re.
publicans are the agents of the popular
will of November, 1883, when the
people did not know what use they
weTo going 20 make of their agency
Since the people found out, the Repub-
licans in Congress are the discredited
agents of the popular will, and they
would be the discharged agents but for
the curious anomaly in our system by
which discredited Legislature is al
lowed TO go on for four months exer-
cising functions of which the people
have shown their will that it should be
OF course, such a condition gives rise
TO filibustering. But the anomaly and
the injury of IL do not lie in the danger
of filibustering. They lie in the danger
that discredited and desperate party
may be able 10 foist upon the country
that the country has re-
jected, in spite of all that filibustering
can do to prevent it. That is the
real offense against the principles
of representative government, and it
is that offense that the Republicans in
Congress are trying to commit. II is as
idle TO complain of this as to complain
of flibustering. IL the Republicans !
were in the minority they would fill |
buster TO prevent the passage of bills |
hostile TO their party II the Demo-
Gratis were in the majority we have no
reason for supposing that they would
not use their power as the Republicans
are using theirs. 1t is only fair, how
ever, TO say that the Democrats have
not shown in National politics that be-
lief in divine right of their party 10
govern the country, without regard to
what the COUNTRY may think about IL,
which Republican leaders have so often
exhibited and acted upon. In a gen
eral way, however, either party will do
in its own behalf whatever it is per-
mitted to DO, unrestrained by any thing {
short of positive law.
The real grievance is the anomaly
that make it possible for defeated
party to 70 on acting as If il were the
party. Complaint of this is
not idle, and ought not TO be futile. 1t
Is not altogether clear just how this
anomaly came about. 1t is not en-
bodied In the constitution, and the cas-
ual Circumstance that the early in
augurations of the Presidents hap
pened 10 be fixed for the attn OF
March is probably responsible for
1t. A hundred years ago
Journey from the most remote part of
the country to the capital was long
and tedious business, and before begin
ming his service a Congressman elect
needed time to put his private affairs
in order. Perhaps four months was
not TOO long time for all this, but it is
an absurdly long time now. Inaugural
ton day can not easily be changed,
since the constitution secures term of ,
four years 10 the President. But there {
Is nothing TO prevent an amendment of
the statute by which the Representa-
tives shall take office, as all other Of
do. on the first of January {
succeeding their election. The consti-
tutional provision that Representatives
shall be chosen every second year is not (
a guarantee of term of two full years. {
II would be easy 10 provide that MEM
bers OF the House lcgislated out of of ,
ice by the reform should be paid in |
Tull. The present House would be ,
,heaply gotten rid of at that rate. Such
IN amendment would not only do away ,
With the most serious filibustcring by
aking away it's motive: IL would do
way with the much more dangerous )
md diSgraceful spectacle presented by :
Legislature voted out OF office contin- I
ning to exercise It's functions in def Z
nee of the popular will-N. Y. Times. (;