Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1892-08-18
TWO CONGRESSES.
A Biting Contrast Instituted by Ex
Speaker Reed.
A Dead Level Of mactiOn Characterizes
the Democratic Congress.

scathing arraignment of the present
Democratic Congress, in his article on
1.-TWO Congresses Contrasted, p" in the
August number of the North American
Review. He says:
Whenever an army is like the famous
army of Xerxes, essentially barbaric, it
matters not how far the ranks stretch
across the field of vision, or how far off
on the horizons edge they pass glitter
ing out of sight. They are useless alike
for conquest or for slaughter. The
numbers only emphasize the failure.
They hasten its downfall, and serve
anly to astonish children in story books
that SO many could be conquered by SO
few. Where ever discipline or unity Of
purpose is lacking, numbers may be one
of the elements of disaster. No army
can fight the enemy if it must at the
same time fight itself.
"When the House of Representatives
of the Fifty Second Congress met, itmet
as mob, and has kept up that inter
esting form of organization ever since
Of course, the Republican leaders could
have driven the enemy into compact
shape, covered them with reproaches,
forced them to train, and otherwise
have made an army of them. Then
there would have been much glory won
by the said leaders among the unthink-
ing, but the exhibition would have been
lost to the world of Democracy, as it
really is a hopeless assortment of dis
cordant differences, as incapable of
positive action as it is capable of infin-
ite clamor."
He speaks of the cause for surprise at
the election of Mr.. Crisp for Speaker
instead of Mr.. Mills, "then supposed to
be the embodiment of Democracy, but
'the determination of the leaders that
the party should enter the next contest
remembered by principles pushed Mr..
Mills to the wall" Of the continuance
of this policy of committalism'
by the appointment of Mr.. Springer as
chairman of the Ways and Means Com
mittee, he says:
"While Mr.. Springer has at all times
formed and expressed great variety of
opinions on great variety of subjects,
he has never been, by his friends or his
enemies, regarded as in the least degree
bigoted. History has justified the con-
fidence which the Democracy have in
Mr.. Springer. He has been Democrat.
The party can contemplate his work of
this session with the calm certainty that
there is no intellect so subtle, no mind
so broad, no sympathy SO delicate as to
detect therein the slightest trace of a
principle of economic science or sys.
tenn of revenue, and the Democracy
certainly do enter the next campaign
upembarrassed by their immediate past
and with great power of being natural
that is, of being all things to all men. ,
The history of this Congress, he thinks
will present all the dead level of Dutch
landscape.
''The only picturesque object which
will break the sky line will be Mr.. Hol
man draped as statute of Economy
standing on the railroad crowned sum
NIT of the Lawrenceburg enbankmen
trying in vain with a spy-glass to fine
any trace of the river the embankmen
was intended TO confine. Indiana, how
ever, and the appropriation will be il
full view.
"When this House met great hope
were entertained that strict ecoDom.
would reign. The man whose reputa
ton was the highest was placed at tn
head of the Committee on Appropria
tions, and the great duty of reducing
to an honest level all the expenditure
of the government were entered upon
Mr.. Holman, the great high priest c
the new dispensation, disappeared fror
, mortal view for many days, and finall
e reappeared with calm, stately, an
beautiful, self-denying resolution pre-
: claiming the principles of honesty, jul
t as though they had been newly disco'
n cred, and were, for the first time in tn
r history of the world, to be put int
f practice. 1t was a solemn momen
s Everybody felt that the high-wat'
q mark of human virtue had been reaches
l. and, under the awe-inspiring impre
d sions of that day, they were treated, {
{. scoffers who suggested that after hig
q water came the ebb. hate to tell Il
a. sequel; but, alas, the scoffers were righ
20 Never since that hour have the Dem
,r cracy looked SO grand, gloomy, al
a peculiar as on that Pentecostal da
~ when the Holman proclamation of &c
~ nomic virtue was administered to theI
\ and they resolved how bad Others hs
ID been, and how good they themselv
O. would be. 1t is sad to be obliged
e. add that now, after the results ha'
j. been reached, we find that the squa
l. dering Republicans appropriated A
in millions at the first session of the "B
q. lion Congress, while the econom
,e Democrats have appropriated over .
r millions at the first session Of Co
ns gress that certainly can never be call
a "Nickle Congress. Would it be
the nature of insult to the efallen to pl
pose to the Honorable Mr.. Holman,
IL Indiana, sum in the rule of threey
at the axpenditure of A63 mil ions ma