The Press., 1896-06-11
Washington Letter.
Washington, June 8, 1s

Washington, June 8, 1S96
 Going, going-almost gone. That rep resents the present condition of the first session of the fifty-fourth congress. Ad- iournment may come tomorrow, but it will certainly not be later than Wednes- day. Beyond the regular appropriation bills this session of congress has put very few laws upon the statute books, and to say whether those few were good or bad depends so largely upon the point of view that your correspondent will not venture to record his opinion of them. Like most other congresses upon the eve of a presi- dential election, this one has left undis- posed of some of the most important bills which were before it. To deplore this would be simply waste of time. It has always been so and will continue to be so, until the average congressman ceases to be like the average man-mOre intent up on looking out for his own interests than those of other people,
 For once at least the house has shown itself to be in accord with President Cleveland. By vote of 149 to 40 the house sustained the presidents veto of the general deficiency bill. This bill was vetoed because it contained an appropria- tiOn of more than million dollars to pay century old French spoliation claims, and another of nearly $175,OOO for doubtful private claim. The house passed new deficiency bill with those and some other objectionable items left out. These ap- propriations were put in the bill by the senate and kept in by the senate confer ees, and there are few members of the house who are not glad the bill was ve- toed. It is doubtful whether one twenti- eth of these spoliation claims are now in the hands of descendants of the original claimants. They have been mostly bought up by spectators for ridiculOusly small amounts. An appropriation to pay them was vetoed by President Pierce.
 Whether so intended or not, Senator Morgan's warlike Cuban speech, which was so rabid that the senate galleries were cleared and the speech finished in secret session, is believed by lots of pPO- pie to have been rather pleasing than oth- erwise to President Cleveland. Those who hold this belief also believe that President Cleveland intends doing some thing startling in connection with the re- lation of this government to the Cuban revOlutionists between now and the meet ing of the Chicago convention. It ap- pears that the republican senators took some such view of the Morgan speech, as Senators Sherman and Lodge took lead ing part in the shutting of the senate doors while the speech was being made.
 Notice that the fight for the distribu- tion of the regular appropriation bills having them all acted upon by the com mittee on appropriation, as at present, is to be renewed at the next session of con- gress was served by the introduction of resolution by Senator Proctor, of Vt., providing for the change.
 A New York business man who has just returned from a trip through the great agricultural states, says the grain aries are literally bursting with farm prod ucts for which there is no local demand, and which transportation charges make it unprofitable to ship to distant markets. "It is not to be wondered at'' he says, Gin the face of such conditions that the agricultural people are in favor of free silver. They are disgusted with the pres ent status, and are willing to risk the sill yer cure. Eastern people who never get away from home seem surprised at the strength of the silver cause, but if they would take trip as far west as Omaha they would understand the reasons that are behind the movement'
 Senator Warren, of WyO., is one of those who doesn't fancy the idea of trying to tell his constituents why congress ad- iOurned without acting upon numerous bills in which they are interested, and he stated on the floor of the senate, when the resolution for adjournment was of fered, that he would rather sit for weeks longer, and even to lose his vote in Mo- vember, than undertake to explain to the people of his state why the senate could not remain in session and dispose of bills in which they and other western people are interested. MT. Warren was in mil nority-a very small minority-and he must make those explanations as best he may.
 Notwithstanding the constant watching of the Father Marquette statue by the Capitol police, somebody has succeeded in slightly disfiguring it, by breaking the feathers from the head-dress of one of the Indians on bronze relief tablet on one of the sides of the pedestal. The senate resolution accepting the statue and thank ing the state of Wisconsin for it was among the long list of bills and resolu- tions which were pushed over to the next session, after having been acted upon by one or the other branches of congress. It is said there was politics in the post ponement of this particular resolu lon, and there probably was.