The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-03-09
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Mr.. Balley's Bill to Relieve Senators and
Representatives.
TIE CARNEGIE COMPANY MUST REFUND
St4o, ,4S4.o4.
tFrom our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, Mar. S, 1894


WASHINGTON, Mar. S, 1894
President Cleveland, who has fine
sense of humor, will doubtless smile
when he returns from his hunting trip
and gets glimpse of bill that has
been evolved from the brain of Mr..
Bailey, the brilliant young Texan,
whose devotion to the Constitution has
earned his fame in the House. A
preamble to the bill recites the charges
that have been made of the encroach.
ment of the executive upon the prero.
gatives of the legislative branch of the
government, and the bill provides for
a cessation of such encroachment by
relieving Senators and Representatives
from all participation in the making OF
appointments. 1t provides further
that whenever the President desires
information not contained in the pa
pers of applicants for Office he must
get it from some one who is not a
member of either branch of Congress.
While Mr.. Bailey's bill has some de-
sirable points, the country, to say
nothing of Congress, is hardly educa-
ted up 10 such high standard yet.
Congress would to be sure be purer
and more patriotic if its members had
no dealings with patronage, but until
there is a decided change in human
nature Congress is not likely to de-
prive its members of the privilege of
trying, if they do not always succeed,
to get offices for those who help them
to get into Congress.
Although it took more than two
weeks to get voting quorum on the
floor of the House to pass Mr.. BANDS
bill for the coinage of the seigniorage
the quorum did not stay two days.
True, there is no especial need Of
quorum to consider the pension appro-
priation bill, which is now before the
House, but that is no good reason why
so many members should be absent.
They are sent here and paid to attend
the sessions of the House and they
should either do it or resign and allow
some one else to do it. No business
transacted by Congress is Of more i'm
portance than the making of appro-
and that for pensions is the
largest of them all.
The expressions Of pleasure from
men of all shades of politics at the
news of the convalescence of Chair
man Wilson speak volumes for the
esteem in which that gentleman is
held by all who know him. He never
forgets that he is democrat of dem
ocrats, nor does he ever forget the
courtesy due from one gentleman to
another, not even in the midst of the
hottest political wrangle on the floor
of the House hence his deserved
popularity.
Secretary Herbert's statement Of his
having compelled the Carnegie Com
pany, which has the contract to make
the steel armor for our new war ships
to pay $I4o, 4S4 ga to the government
on account of defects in armor furnish
ed last year, was not news to those
democrats who enjoy the confidence
of the Secretary, but it was new de-
parture on the part of the Navy De-
partment that must have very much
surprised Mr.. Carnegie and his asso-
ciates, who have been so long accus-
toned to being able to "hx up" any
charge that happened to be made
against them in connection with their
dealings with the government. In
fact, they tried to ''fx up" this matter
by appealing from Secretary Herbert
to the President, but the President
stood by the Secretary and the cash
had to be planked down. No amount
of influence can get any crooked bust
ness approved by this administration,
except it be done through the connl-
vance of some of the holdover minor
officials who are still occupying places
that ought to be filled by democrats
and who are in the pay, indirectly, if
not directly, of some of the old con-
tractors.
1t is not expected that the Senate
will take up the bill for the coinage OF
the seigniorage until after the tariff
bill has been passed.
Senator Voorhees, says he did not
overwork himself as much during the
long silver fight at the extra session as
he has done since the democratic eau
Gus returned the Wilson tariff bill to
the Finance committee for revision
and the other democratic members o
the committee have worked just a.
hard. The sentiment of the democra
tic Senators is unanimous for harmony
but the trouble is that some of then
have so far refused to harmonic un
less given their way about severa
schedules of the bill. If there is ;
way to revise the bill SO that it vii