Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1894-08-30
A Barren Congress.

Before leaving for New York on his triI
to Europe Congressman John Dalzell, o
Pittsburg, said:
1t would be impossible for me, without
having made an examination of the record
to undertake to iteuize the legislation ol
this present Congress. The most that
can say is that, considering the length OF
the session and the dominant interests al
stake, very little has been accomplished in
the direction of wise legislation in the in
terests of the people. Congress has been
in session for over year. With perhaps
two exceptions, this has been the longest
session OF Congress known to our legisla-
tive history. 1t has been peculiarly barren
of results. There are three conspicuous
measures to be mentioned and l know OF
no others. In the first place the purchas-
ing clause of the Sherman act has been re-
pealed. This was the measure that seems
10 have induced the calling of special
session upon the part of the President. 1t
was wise measure, but could no. have
been successful without patriotic Republi-
can votes. know of no instance in the
history of the country where patriotic, un-
partisan action is more conspicuous than
in the passage of that measure. Republi-
cans forgot for the time, in their zeal for
the popular interest, party ties and sustain
ed Mr.. Cleveland in his effort to give to the
country safe currency. The other two
of the three conspicuous measures are,
first, the repeal of the Federal election
laws, a thoroughly partisan measure,
whereby by Democratic votes, fraud at the
polls has been made permissible.
This was in consonance with Democratic
pledges, but altogether against the inter
ests of law abiding citizens. The passage
of this measure does no credit to the DEM
ocratic party, bnt, on the other hand, rath-
er emphasizes its desire to secure perms-
nent control of the government through
fraudulent measures. The second of these
conspicuous measures was the recent pas
sage OF the Senate tariff bill. This was
brought about by methods in the House in
violation of all parliamentary rules and in
such way IS to show that nothing would
be allowed to stand in the way of the Dem.
ocratic party in its arbitrary exercise oil
power to secure its own ends. In my
Judgment, no more dangerous precedent
was ever established than has been estsb-
ished by the action of the House in iti
passage of this Senate bill Nothing can
be said by any Republican against the
Senate bill that will at all compare in con-
demnation fit with what has been sail
by the Democrats themselves. The House
by the mouth of it's leaders declared again
and again that the Senate bill never could be
passed, that its passage would be surrend.
er of the dignity of the House and VIOLA
tion of Democratic pledges. The President
declared in his letter to Mr.. Wilson thai
It's passage would mean party perfidy and
party dishcnor. And yet, Notwithstanding
all this, it was passed amidst Democratic
applause. Take ont of the record of the
Fitty-third Congress up to this time the
three measures that have named and you
will leave it subste ntially without rec
ord.
One of the measures is wise one, so IA
as we are now able to Judge; the other tw,
are simply disgraceful All the rest o
the record of this Congress Of more than
years duration may be put aside as vast
paper.
WHAT has become of Clevelaud's back