Evening star., 1896-04-14
CONGRESS- is UNsYMPATHErIC.
Washington Receives Less ConsIJ-
Grafton Than Is It's Due.
LaSl Dill.

Wash. Cor. Phila. Press.
WASHINGTON, April 12-The District
of Columbia has had hard time getting
any legislation from Congress. The govern
ment of the city consists of Congress as
the board of aldermen, practically. and
the District Commissioners, appointed ly
the President with the consent of the Sem
ate, as the executive officers All apprc-
priations have to be made by Congress, and
as the city has no votes to give for either
party, no elections beirg held here, IT is
a difficult matter to get Congressman In
terested in the city's needs.
striking example of this difficulty is
ROW shown in connection with the effort
to get Congress TO do something TO pro-
vide the city with a free public library.
This is probably the only city of its size
in the country that does not have such a
Library. The Congressional Library is for
reference only, and is not and cannot be in
the nature of things made a free public
library. 1t is of no value to ninety-nine
out of every hundred residents of Washing
ton.
Opposed to "a Free Library.
But the effort to get free library bill
through Congress has met with extraor-
binary opposition. The House and the SEN
ate have disagreed the matter, and
Speaker Reed, in appointing conferees for
the House, has taken somewhat unusual
course III OppOslllOn 10 the DDrary measure.
Instead of appointing conferees from the
committee on the District of Columbia,
which was in favor of the measure, he has
chosen conferees to represent the House
who were not members of the committee
The usual course is to select for con-
ferees two leading men of the majority of
the committee having charge of bill and
one of the minority.
In choosing conferees Mr.. Reed has not
selected any member of the minority of the
committee, but has gone outside of the
&C mmttee and appointed one of the lead
ers of the opposition to the bill not meir-
ber of the committee of the District
Columbia ?
1t would look from this course as IL
Speaker was not much in favor, at tn
time at least. of free public library 70.
Washington, although there was a large
majority of the republicans of the House
in favor Of the action OF the committee
I'm approving the bill.
The Gas Monopoly.
Another illustration Of the diff ,ulties of
the city i'm securing proper legislation Is
that in regard to the action of Congress
on the subject of the dollar gas bill. Phil
adelphia and other cities able TO supply
gas at dollar and even less, and make
money at that. In Washington the gds
company has monopoly. no other
company can get a charter from Congress
to compete with the existing corporat.un
This company. according to statement
which they furnished congressional COM
mittee after paying interest on IFS bonds
end a dividend OF la per cert TO its stock
holders and setting aside S2o0,an for the
alleged .:eteriorat ton OF its plant for L. II
year, still had a surplus of $4,000 on hand.
There Is no doubt that the company ca,ld
make money II the price of gas werc re-
duced to 81. But efforts to get euch legis-
lation through Congress- meet with stren-
uous opposition because OF the interest some
members of Congress hold in the stock OF
The company and for ether such reasons.