The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1892-01-01
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Wasnsngf0n LeTIer.
(From ourregnlar cOrrespondent.1
Washington. Dec. %, 1891.

Bailey-wh no has, befo1e his congressional
service is a month old, suggested = reform
that is worthy of being adopted. Iii that
the House committees in the future be Sc
lected by a party caucus, instead OF by the
Speaker. That the idea did not occur to
Mr.. Bailey until his candidate, Mr.. Mills,
had been defeated for Speaker may be
true. but that does not detract one iota
from its excellence. The Senate has always
found the caucus methods of selecting its
committees satisfactory, and there is no
good reason why the HJuse would not
have the same experience. But the prln-
cipal reason why the Texans idea ought
to be adopted is, that 1t would deprive the
Speaker OF the House of the autocratic
power he now Yields through his ability
to control and direct legislation by means
of the makeup of the various committees,
without the concurrence OF which no
measure, however important it may be,
can be even got before the House. Ihls
is a greater power than any one man should
WELD in this country. +.
1t il now admitted that President Hal
rison has fully made up his mind to send
an ultimatum to Chill, and that unless IL
be satisfactorily answered he will send a
special message to Congress urging an m
mediate declaration of war. Public opin-
ion, as represented by Congress, appears
to be with the administration on this sub
ject, if upon no other.
Speaker Crisp and his late opponent are
both i'll with the grip. Mr.. Crisp intended
to have spent the recess at his home, but
he was too sick to travel, so his wife was
telegraphed to and came here to spend the
| Christmas with him. Mr.. Mills has been
ordered to Fortress Monroe by his phys'-
clan. Secretary Foster is slowly getting
better.
A gentleman identified with the cause of
labor said, speaking of the new House
| Committee on Labor: Geographically
considered the committee could hardly be
improved. Tarsney, its chairman, from
Missouri; Wilcox, from Connecticut;
| Dixon, from Montana; Mccain, from
Illinois, who stands well with the working
men of Chicago; DUNCAN, from Ohio;
Bunting, of New York; Capehart, of
West Virginia: Causey, of Delaware; and
Davis, OF Kansas, who being an alliance
man may naturally be counted as a strong
friend of the man who earns his bread by
the sweat of his brow, whether the man
labors in field or factory, make up tie
majority of the committee. Its Republican
members are: Buchanan of New Jersey:
Brosius of Pennsylvania; Haugen of Wis
cousin; and Wilson of Washington. Now
do not wish to c~riticlse the committee be-
fore it has had an opportunity to show
what it is disposed to dc, and yet confess
that l expect very little from it."
Your correspondent asked Mr.. Tarsney,
the chairman, what he thought the COM
mittee would do aud he replied: 1--WE
have not held a meeting, so | can only
speak fer myself. | will support any meas
ure looking to the actual betterment of
the laboring classes who are, in the true
sense of the words, the people of his oun-
LTf. Dub 4 " iSI III utldGi SbOOd Sileb L oman
oppose all demagogic labor measures;
shall oppose any attempt to have Congress
l~egislate regarding the employment of con-
Wet labor in the several states, believing
that to be a question with which the gen.
eral government has nothing to do"
There is a wide difference in opinion be-
tween Mr.. Tarsney and the labor leaders
on the last named subject.
1t is a pleasure to hear so bitter a partisan
as ex-Speaker Reed say a good word for
Speaker Crisp, when that gentleman is being
abused by members of his own party be-
cause of the way he distributed the House
committee assignments. Said Mr.. Reed:
"The people now engaged in criticising the
Speakers selections for committee places
do not begin to appreciate the difficulties
under which they were made; his party
has a very large majority in the House, and
an unusual number of them sought, as was
the privilege OF every member, for places
where they might have an opportunity to
distinguish themselves; some of these are
men "hose aoiiity 10 soloi"iJ ieSoSH'"o"'
but there are others, however able they
may actually be, who have failed to i'm
press their colleagues with their statesman
ship. No man could have satisfied the
ambitious longings of all these men, Mr..
Reed knows from experience whereof he
speaks. Some of the Alliance Representa-
tives got better committee assignments
than some of their democratic colleagues,
although noue OF them were put upon what
are regarded as the big committees.
WESTON.
Institute.
The first Farmers Institute ever held
in Salem county, will be that arranged for
thn nnera Hnnsa at This nlane ON Thnrs-