New-York tribune., 1892-01-09
" NOTHING so VALUABLE As Talk

The titular loader OF the majority Ill me HOUSE,
of Representatives is, after the speaker inc
chairman Of the Committee Of Ways ana Means ;
in the present Congress the Hon. William VI
Springer. He is supposed to know, II anybody
does, the policy and plans OF his party In
deed il is absolutely necessary that he should
know them in order to shape the acton OF the
House he leads in accordance Herewith. lie
must know whether the policy 10 one OF action,
inactiOn or reaction Of progress or rtroglcS>l0n;
of clndor or cOnceamcnt; OF open lighting d
sneaking ambuscside and he must know the
plan of the campaign. II was not tD be expected
that a man who had been appointed to this posi-
ton presumably on account Of his possession OF
necessary qualifications, among which may be
Ieckoned ordinary prudence and somc degree OF
rticence. would disclose all at once the policy
of the party or its plans IN casual Interyie"
with a newspaper reporter. But Mr.. Springer
Is singular among statesmen. During the iiit'cm
years he has been a member OF Congress he has
urobablv talked moro and sad less than any man
ON the flor It was never known with exact
ness whether he used the abundant gilt of speech
with which he is endowed to conceal thought
or the lack Of il. The operation of his mind
seems to be OH the principle Of the automatic
foghorn, the machinery Of which is started up
by atmo, ,pheIc pressure. Fog sets II gong, and
the denser the fog the louder II blows. IL
means nothing except that there is a fog, and
that somewhere in the midst of il the horn is in
operation Where ;he analogy fails is in the
fact that the horn does not add 10 the fog, and
when it is di>Iellcd does not boast of blowing
ii away.
l. h.a b,,,pnund 4, Nr Nntiupcr hnWeNsr ~
say something quite significant. Not in formal
set speech on the floor Of the House, but III an
interview with Sum reporter on Thursday
night at that Temple Of Democracy, the llofl-
man House. The reporter was anxious to learn
for the benefit Of the readers Of The sun
what Mr.. Springer thought Of the outlook al
Washington, and what were the plans Of the
one hundred and fifty Democratic majority, of
which he is the leader and m0uthpiccc. A> T.
the outlook he considered il most hopeful, and
that "Our prospects we've never Brighter" AI. .ci
specifically what action would bc taken on tho
silver question, he answered at first alrly,
|" Well we shall not cross any bridges before
we come to them II being suggested that th,
bridge was very near he said "IcS: and we
shall pass over it 80 quietly that we shall never
know that there was anything in the way. Thmo
will be no silver legislation in the present session
OF Congress-" Continuing he said the issues
next fall would be tariff reduction and economy
in public expenditures, and that the silver qucs-
ton would cut no figure. Congress will finish
up all business and adjourn in June. Meantime
the rules to be adopted Twill allow complete
freedom of debate. We do not want to cut Off
talk In tho House nothing is valuable IA
talk Here In a single sentence this Demo
cratic leader who has spent much time for
the last fifteen years standing in front of the
Speaker and tanning that officer with la.go
gesticulatOry palms while he wIeaked himself
copouSy upon the vocabulary, said something
by accident quite aphorstic. Whole pages of
resolutions in convention and editorials in news
papers and speeches in Congress would fail 70
reveal the policy of the Democratic party 50
clearly as the simple statement of Springer,
i" Nothing is so valuable as talk
Meaning of course nothing is 50 valuable to
the Democratic party For they have before
them several months in which they are expected
by the people who Elected them TO do something
The constituents Of the gcJtcmcn who are in
a majority of one hundred and fifty in this Con-
gress sent them t. WashingtOn-fOr what? To
talk? Or 10 put something on record in the form
OF legiSatlon-Or 50 near legislation as they can
get-that will tell precisely what they are driving
at; what they mean? Did the election of the
one hundred and fifty majority of Congress mean
anything whatever? If it did-and Democrats
and Mugwumps year ago were quite frothy in
the mouth with telling what enormous Signif-
canoe it had-why not put its meaning in definite
expression? Nothing so valuable as talk ~
Talk, that is, aS an end not as means. The
purpose OF the majority in Congress is here clear
y set forth-simply to talk. Why? Obvious
~ to occupy time; to temporize; to avoid com
initials; to make no record. And so to save all
the opportunities for shuilling and dcdging, for
trickery and evasion in the campaign Of 1892.