Huntsville gazette., 1893-09-09
A SECTIONAL PARTY.
Unmistakablo Evidence OF Democratic
DiseentiOn.

Cnmtgtak0Dl0 Evl0enco Oh Oc"OcHSeAO
Dissention.
The democratic leaders in the north
have labored for many years to show
that they belonged to a national and
not sectional party. They convinced
many voters of this fact last fall, but
the first congress to assemble after that
great democratic victory gives fiat de-
NAL to these assertions. The distin-
guished Georgia democrat elected
speaker Of this Fifty-third congress in
his list of committees expresses his con-
fidence in the democracy of the south.
He gives to southern democrats thirty
of the chairmanships and but twenty
two to northern democrats. OF the four
most important committees he gives
the absolute control into the hands of
southern men, both as to chairmen and
maiorities. There are thirty-seven
committees that have southern majori-
ties in the democratic membership and
only fourteen that have northern DEM
ccrats in control.
This may not be sectionalism as to
the organization of the committees as
whole, but it does place the democracy
of the north back where it was before
the war, as a very Insignificant tail to
the southern democracy, and only able
to assert its own rights when it appeals
to republicans for help. The southern
democrats will be able to control every
important committee except that of in
valid pensions, if the democrats and
republicans draw party lines, for the
southern men have a majority of the
democratic members of all these impor-
tant committees.
The south controls the following
committees, as reported by Speaker
Crisp, of Georgia: Ways and means,
coinage, weights and measures, bank
ing and currency, appropriations, in
terstate and foreign commerce, rivers
and harbors, foreign affairs, pensions,
elections, judiciary, naval affairs, post
offices and post roads, agriculture, pub
lie lands, merchant marine, railways
and canals private land claims, public
buildings and grounds, Pacific roads,
education, patents, reform in the civil
service, election of president vice pres
ident and members of congress, immi-
grafton and naturalization, claims, war
claims, District of Columbia, revision
of the laws, expenditure of the state
department, expenditure of the war de-
partment, expenditure of the navy de-
partment, expenditure of the post Office
department, expenditure of the interior
department, expenditure of the agri-
cultural department, expenditure of the
department of justice, and printing.
The northern democrats will be able
to control the following committees:
Invalid pensions, military affairs,
militia, Indian affairs, territories, man
ufactures, mines and mining, alcoholic
liquor traffic, irrigation of arid lands,
ventilation and acoustics, expenditure
of the treasury department, expendi-
ture on public buildings, and library.
There is not question coming be-
fore congress on which the north and
south may have different interests at
stake where the northern democrats
can dictate or protect themselves but
by an appeal to the republicans. The
south can dictate as to the tariff legis-
lation, the coinage and currency qucs-
ton, the appropriations, pensions, in
terstate commerce, river and harbor
improvements, and everything else
touching legislation. The northern
democrats have to thank Speaker Crisp
for giving them control of sixteen COM
rnittees, but one of which touches Leg
islation, and the majority OF them rare
ly called together.
If the democratic party is not sec
tional party then Speaker Crisp has
been laboring under misapprehen-
sion. The distinguished Georgian
made up his committees as did demo-
Gratis before the war, when the south
was in the saddle and southern gentle
men looked upon northern men as
mudsills. Chicago Inter Ocean.