The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1895-03-12
WASHINGTON LETTER.
[From our Regular Correspondent

1000. Iltu icy lSlduiOI 10 Sci
dom good legislation, and the
rest of the neutrality-suspicious.
ly appropriation bills-of this
session will necessarily have to
be hurried. The time will come,
and it ought to come soon, when
it will be considered disgraceful
for congress to delay action
upon thu great appropriation
bills until TIL. last hours of a
closing session. But that time
will not come until a fact now
well known 10 o few shall be
known to the entire country
that these bills are purposely
delayed by men in congress, in
order that amendments may be
manipulated in conference and
legislation secured which could
never be obtained when there
was time for investigation and
calm elaboration, 1t is a popu-
lar delusion that congressional
legislation is shaped by four
hundred aud forty odd men, but
that which goes through the
conference mill, and it nearly all
does, is shaped by less than a
dozen men when action is delay
ed until timid DIRECTORS can be
frightened in silence by the use
of the extra session bugaboo.
This applies particularly to the
legislation now pending, which
includes the most important of
the appropriation bills and vari-
GUS more or less important finan-
cial amendments thereto.
The killing of the railroad
pooling bill can be credited to
the much abused senate rules.
The lobby had it all fixed to hold
Sunday session and pass the
bill, but when an attempt was
made on Saturday to carry out
the program Senator Pettigrew,
Allen, Chandler and Vest gave
notice of their intention to exer-
else their privilege under the
rules to talk during the remain
der of the session, if necessary,
to prevent vote being taken.
That broke up the program and
the senate by vote of AZ to "a
decided not to take up the pool
ing bill. The lobby has not
abandoned hope of getting the
bill through during the closing
hours of the session, and it's
friends are among the shrewdest
parliamentarians in the senate
they will do so if given an oppor-
tunity.
Senator Mills is in dead earn
est about repeating the law un-
der which 1852, 900, 900 of bonds
have been issued by the present
administration. When he first
gave notice of his intention to
offer such an amendment to the
Sundry Civil Appropriation bill
it was thought that he did so
while mad and that he could
easily be persuaded not to offer
the amendment. Not so, how
ever. His mind was fully made
up from the first that the law
should be repealed, and his
northumberland all laws which
authorize the Secretary of the
Treasury to sell bonds of the
United States for any purpose
are hereby repealed"-has been
formally presented, and he de-
clares his intention to have it
voted upon, if possible; and ex-
presses the opinion that it will
pass the senate, But others do
not share that opinion,
There is at least one retiring
congressman who can joke about
his demise. When friend said
to Representative Pigott, of
Conn.,, "Shall we never see you
in Washington again ?' he re-
piled mournfullyi II am afraid
not" "Why?" Because" said
Mr.. p, with a twinkle in his
eye, ''the people of Connecticut
are so much attached to me that
they won't permit me to leave
kI.oxx, n ~~osx. Mt