Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1892-02-18
OUR NICKEL CONGRESS.
What the National Democratic House
Is Not Doing.
Niggardly and Erratic-Mugwump Twad-
dle-A Demoralized Party-The
Presidency to Go West.
Palmer and Cullom.

| WASHINGTON, d. c., Feb. 15, 1892.
The Holman idea of running the coun-
try backward, as illustrated by the adop-
ti0n of the Holman resolution providing
for running billion-dollar country on a
five-cent basis, has been making sad in
roads upon the rank and file of the Alli-
ance party. Every one of the Alliance
members in the House voted for this res
olution and thus voted directly in antag-
onism to every measure urged by Alliance
people to increase our money circulation.
They voted directly against their pet sub
treasury scheme of Jerry Simpsons in
cubation, they voted directly against the
pension bills-pet projects of Peffer in
the Senate and Davis in the House, they
voted against those billion Omnibus Al
lance bills nursed into life by Alliance
member Otis, and they voted directly
against each and every third party scheme
which these great reforming party politi-
clans had pledged their constituents to
secure.
| With the solemn promise still on their
lips that they were in favor of pensions
for the soldiers, they have by the adop-
tion of this resolution shut out the pos
sibility of passing any of the thousands
of private pension bills for the relief of
the thousands of old soldiers whose
claims cannot be adjusted by the Pen
sion Office. They have shut out all i'm
provements of rivers and harbors, in
Guiding the usual appropriation tor
keeping deep water at the New Orleans
jetties; they withhold all appropriations
for public buildings everywhere, for
bounties on sugar growing, for the de-
velopment of the new navy, for the de-
cent representation of the country at
the Worlds Fair, for experiments in ir-
rigation, for improvement in the facili-
ties of mail carrying and post-office de-
livery, and an endless array of necessary
and absolutely essential expenditures for
the proper carrying on of the Offices of
the country. If those who are respon-
sible for sending to Congress a crowd of
Congressional chumps who have no bet
ter idea than this of the country's needs,
will only witness the elimination of their
work, it is safe to say that the halls OF
the Capitol will never ring again with
the voice of solitary man of them.
Here for two months Congress has been
in session at an expense to the people of
one million dollars per day, and the
House has not yet formulated the rules
under which it may dispatch the bu-
siness of the people! Day after day is
spent in higgling over this, that, and the
other rule lest there might be something
in it that resembled the rules under
which Speaker Reed dispatched so much
business and terrified so many Demo
Gratis. Not bill has been even referred
to a committee, because there exists no
rule providing for the existence of a
committee, but as l have intimated
above, under the Holman resolution
there is scarcely any necessity for COM
mittees if there is to be compliance
with its provisions. Yet the Fifty-se
ond Congress is making record for it
self in anticipation of a Democratic
walk-over next November.
The Presidents Chilian message has
set all the mugwump newspapers by
the ears. Taking their cue from the
New York Herald, which never does and
never will find anything to approve in
Republican administration, these news
papers are yelping at the heels of both
Mr.. Harrison and Mr.. Blaine. and not
withstanding the abject and humiliating
apology that Chill has made, are now de-
claring that the methods of adjusting the
affair adopted by our own government,
have made US the laughing stock of the
civilized world. These fellows are of
that class who in the war of the rebellion
yelled for little blood letting, provided
it was some other fellows blood. The
fact remains that with the great majori-
ty of people, the diplomacy that has
averted war even with so Insignificant
a country as Chilli, is of sort that wins
their admiration, because it has sustain
ed the dignity of our own nation while
compelling the respect and avowed ap
probation of the right to demand repair
alton.
For a party on the verge of a Presi
Dental campaign, don't believe there
ever was a time when even the Demo
cratic party found itself in such hope
less muddle as it is in just at this time
and which promises to be more and more
confusing as Congress proceeds in its
campaign work. Upon the silver ques
tion the party fir DIS itself all at sea, with
the Eastern leaders threatening it with
the Calvinistic "yonll be damned if you
do" and the Western leaders with equal
emphasis you'll be damned if you don't"
German and Brice and Hill have as
sumed the reins of control, and seem to |
be determined to run the party accord |
ing to the Eastern idea, while the party |
leaders from the Western States just |
hint to them that when it comes to |
nomination convention, the Eastern |
chaps will discover that they are not in |
it at all. 1t is altogether funny to imag |
inc the condition that the party of pu-
trid "reminiscences will find itself in at |
the threshold of the June Convention |
With a part of these in Congress fighting |
with all their might for free trade under |
the shibboleth of the times of 1895 ana |
1910, another part hustling themselves
into sheer desperation for tariff reform
and still another part for tariff do-noth
ing policy, it promises to be such free
for-all squabble us modern Democracy |
has never seen. In the midst of this |
turmoil the whirligig of time will bring |
about some surprising changes in the |