Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-04-21
Washington Letter.
(FrOm our Regular Correspondent }
Washington. April 10. 1892.

(FrOm our Regular Correspondent
Washington. April Is, 1892.
The Senate committee on Foreign
Relations administered a slap in the
face to the House for its having passed
the Chinese exclusion bin as an indie
pendent measure, instead of making il
an amendment to the bill which had
already passed the Senate extending for
ten years the present anti Chinese laws.
which will expire by limitation early
next month, b7 reporting the House
bill back 20 tbe Ser .te.
1t has been charge hat certain part
les in the House favored making the
exclusion bill an independent measure
in the hope that enough time would be
consumed before it was acted upon to
enable certain interested parties to land
thousands Of Chinese larboreTs in this
country, between the time of the expi-
ration of the present laws and the
enactment OF a new one. Appearances
make the charge plausible. Had the
House exclusion bill been passed as an
amended bill could have at once been
sent to q conference committee, and
before now completed bill OF some
sort could have been in the hands of the
President. Senator FELTON,. of Califor-
MIA. asked that the report of the COM
mittee be not taken up for action by the
Senate until he could present the views
of the people of the Pacific coast and
his own thereon.
The first official act of Secretary
Elkins after his return from a business
trip to New York was to direct the
depot army quarlermaster at st. Louis
to send Immediately 800 tents to the
mayor of Columbus, Mississippi, for the
use of the people rendered homeless by
the recent floods. Quite contrast
with the action of Representative Kill
gore, of Texas, who objected to the
immediate consideration of a resolution
introduced in the House appropriating
$50 600 for the sufferers.
Why is it that men who IN the ordi-
nary course of business would scorn to
do dishonorable act will scheme to
take advantage of the Government, not
to call it by worse Nance is question
that occurs very often to those who
keep their eyes open in Washington.
For instance, the owners of the real
estate south of Pennsylvania Avenue.
which has for years been a drug on the
market, because of its disreputable To-
cation and its periodical overhows from
the Potomac river. have not hesitated
to organize a lobby for the purpose of
working bills through Congress for the
purchase of real estate, which no one
else will buy. by the Government.
Now this is penetrating a double
wrong on the Government, and hence
on every citizen of the country. First.
the price expected is extortionate, next.
the locality is unfit for the erection of
public buildings. which is fully proven
by the experience of the engineers in
finding solid foundation for the new
City Post Office, which is to be built on
the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue,
upon site sold 10 the Government by
this same lobby-it was necessary TO 60
forty feet below the surface TO find any,
thing solid enough to build upon But
this does not deter the lobby, which is
now at work, backed by the two Wash
ington daily papers. trying to secure
the passage of bill recently introduced
in Congress appropriating $4,000, 600
for the erection of new Patent Office
on the south side of Pennsylvania
4 Avenue. If Congress passes this bill it
it will certainly be open to the charge
of having been improperly influenced
Democratic Representatives who have
visited their districts lately make 70
bones of saying that if the House con-
tinues the five cent policy inaugurated
by Holman, in relation 10 appropria-
tons, that the next House will certainly
be republican. as they say such pea-nu;
methods are not endorsed by sens bic
people Of any party. They are trying