Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-08-31
A FEW LAST WORDS.
STRENGTH AND MAKEUP OF THE
 FIFTY-THlRD CONGRESS.

One Mans sTestimony-Changes In the Fast
 Their rMarks-Experiences and Mutations
 of Political Life.
 Special Correspondencel
 WAsHINGToN, Aug. 2S.-Sevcn months lmong tho statesmen certainly ought to teach a man something unless he be phe- nomenally dull at the start. Waiving the personal equation, can say that after seven months observation of the Fifty third congress have arrived at some very positive conclusions thereon which I shall set out before taking ship for the wild and woolly west.
 The first is thnt from the moral stand point the United States never had n bet ter congrCss. Incidentally I may add that, having visited every considerable city in the United States and Canada and also London and Paris. l know of none where vice is less fragrant or the general order and ap- parent morality better than in Washing ton. It strikes me that there Is n pretty high average of petty thieving here, and therc is certainly great complaint that servants arc unreliable, but as to morality proper I am positive the city is away above the average. It Is charged that thcrc arc three men in the house and two in the sen ate who occasionally Or habitua ly use liq- uors to excess, and as charges of that na- turc arc generally somewhat in excess of the truth 1 look upon this allegation as rather n high compliment to the Fifty third congress. I have taken special notice of these men and must say of three of them that if they do use liquor to excess it has not yet produced noticeable effects. There arc but two men in this congress whose faces look to me like those of hard drinkers, and though often with these two l have never seen either under the influence of liquor. They say that one mans tcsti- mony does not amount to much here, but such as mine is hcrc 1t is.
 A Glimpse of the Fast.
 The first congress ever saw was the Forty first, in February, 1870. Conspicuous in those days wcrc Blaine. Logan. Butler Voorhces, Garfield, Dawes, Kelley and many who have since passed from earth. while inconspicuous tO an almost painful dcgrCC wcrc about thrcc dozen Republicans from the south of the genus then known as ''carpct tbaEgcr.' In the senate wcrc Ham lin, Carpenter, SChurZ, Thurman, Morton, Conkling and as many mOrc of equal prOmincnCC while from the sOuth-that is from the reconstructed statCS-wcrC two Democrats and 20 Republicans. Among the latter was just one man of national fame. the veteran Brownlow, then trrm- 
 the rcSt Mir. Blaine truthfully and very frankly says in his grCat work 'ThCrc was not one who was regarded as Cxcrp- tionally eloquent or exceptionally rich. They cntCrd the contest without personal prestige and were doomed tn q hopeless struggle, zgainst the influence, the hat rvd of lar-.' majority of the white men of the south. Imagine, if you can, how very different this senate looks to me. with
 Il Cockrcll and Daniel in the lead. In the house there wcrc then scarcely morc than enough Democrats tO demand the yeas and nays. The condition now adds but an other tO the many proofs We have had that no party ought to presume in the height of its power and none need ever despair. In that CongrCss wcrc at least n dozen men known as hahitual drunkHrls. One sen ator frequently saw helped up the steps by his negro cuaChmnn bcCnusc he was too drunk 10 make it alone. and another saw attempt to make a sp.'cch and fail be cause his tongue was too thick for articu- latiOn.
 Lonely and Quiet.
 In the style of speaking thcrc has bCrn n wonderful change. The high hcruiCs of the war era have passed away, and not once q month duvs one hear an impassiun- cd OuthurSt on the primary rights of man or the essential naturC of frr' govern ment From the sublime or uvCrrhctur- ical appeals of war period We have come to the dull comm"nplnctS of a p,ac, period. and instead of patriotic furur about the war. the flag and the eagle the speeches arc all about money and taxes. labor, capital and the disputed points in social philosophy. To illustrate this, let us call the roll and scc how much the change is emphasized in individuals
 Abbott of Texas and Adams of Penn sylvnnia are business members, but the latter distinguished himself by a some what enthusiastic defense of John Wana- maker when the pustufiicc appropriation bill was under discussion.
 Mir. Adams of Kentucky is the lonCliCst man in the house as we'll as tho quictcst. From all that vast rCEinn between the All lcghanios and the Rocky mountains and stretching from tho Ohio river tO the gulf he is the only Republican nnd is therefore jOcularly assumed tu have about 3, 3,UO0. OOU | constituents. Perhaps the two east Ten nCssCC Republicans might bC added. though I they live in rather than west of the Ale | ghaniCs. In a rather nlrSCurC strCCt a little way from Pennsylvania avenue Is n very | old fashiuu,i southern hotel, the base | mcnt sunk :" deep in the ground that il sUCIns damp and dark, and there in the common sitting rpun Mir Adams may | generally bo found in his lcisurr hours | rcClininE in an old fashioned shack ] chair and smoking home raising in n curnCub pipc. If he hac ~vCr said any thing in the house. no haL.tuc uf the gal. | lcry has any rcCullcCtiun of it
 Working on Enthusiasm.
 His colleague. the only white Republican | frum the cotton states. Mir. Settle of North | Carolina, k equally silent in the house, but ] in cummittc" rooms and about the city i- | quite as active ns bctulnCS the youngest member of the badly. IL is worth noting at this point that the banner Republican district is in the south. and Hon. John (. ! Houk. who represents it. has evidently ] inherited his famous fathers talent and carries well tEC honor of his ll.UuO ma | jority.
 Next in the As is MT. -Aldrich of Hi. l nois, who. like his colleague, Mir Durbur ow. Is sometimes spoken of as tho Adonis of the house. MT. Alexander of North | Carolina came in with a rush as a Farm | CTS Alliance man and will rctirc ut the end | of his second term.
 It may bc stated as n general truth that there Is no other place where innovator. get rid of their enthusiasm so easily as ir l congress. As Mcssrs. Waite, Altgcld, Cox cy and divers others arc spoken of for con grcss, it may be prophosicd with absolut, certainty that if they get here they vii | rapidly absorb conservatism. As n gov crnor n scmianarchist might be dangerous | As n congressman he Is certain to bc harm less and liable tO bc useful. The Popu lists should not, of course. bc confoundeC with the extremists named, and 1t Is one O the curious facts that they havo all dOn' well in this house. It seems but ycster day that Ill the rar;I. ;r.'phCcs were havinl fun with the sOckltss CiCCrh of tho Sun
 flower Statc,' and today the Hon. Jerr
 Simpson Is one of the most popular and IT spectcd members of the hOusc. Lafc Penc
 started in with some very scattcrin
 speeches, but he Is n very hardworkin
 member and has grown rapidly by hi