The Red Cloud chief., 1897-02-12
WASHINGTON NOTES

WASHINGTON NOTES,
Everybody has seen the clowns III
the circus who make u great pre'ensc
of working without doing much ofany'
thing that is useful, With due apol'
opy TO the dignity of that august body,
the senate is as n whole doing just what
those clowns do. Circumstances
rather than individuals are to blame
for this. The division Of parties IN the
senate makes it impossible to put
through legislation that is opposed by
either of the three parties, AMI about
every important measure on the
senate calendar, aside from the appro'
priation bills, this category.
A mild sort of y sensation was
created by the announcement tha'
Representative Murry, the colored re-
publican from South Carolina, pro-
posed to enter 4 protest against count
ing the votes of that state, when he
senate aud house this week
in Joint session to count the electoral
votes and officially declare the vote oil
the presidential election, but as the
protest will not apparently he backed
by the republican leaders there is no
expectation that it will mount to
more than a passing incident. The
basis OF the protest is the new constl'n'
ton of South Carolina which disfran'
chises illiterates.
Representative Corliss has intro
duccd a joint resolution providing foi
"a constitutional amendment extending
the term of representatives TO foul
years. There are plenty of men ~
congress who would faverth proposed
amendment, but it is not probable thai
the people will give up the pr'vi
lege of expressing their opinion Of con.
gressional legislation every two years
by their votes.
The Nicaragua canal bill, which has
really been dead ever since Minister
Rodriguez presented the protest OF thu
government Of Nicaragua against ~
passage, has now been abandoned 5,
far as the present session OF congress
Us concerned, by all of its advocates
The attempt of its friends to keep tho
bill before the senate las, week caused
u number of wrangles and made 1
clear that it would require u continued
aud bitter light To force the bill To ;
vote. Although several senators have
recently changed, there is no doub'
that il would pass the senate If brought
to a vote, but il was because Of tn,
impossibility of getting the bill through
the house that it was abandoned. This
impossibility vas plailly shown Il
senatorial friends of the bill at II con
ference with Speaker Reed and othcI
leaders If the house majority.
Whether it was the that Presi
dent Cleveland would veto the lmmi
grafton bill, because of the CLAUSE
which would have separated husbau,
aud wife, IL one could read and III,
other could not, or the strong 0pposi
ton 10 the clause in the senate tina
caused the conference repOr, to be re
iected and the bill further amended b..
the senate so as to meet the objection
TO that clause, is not material. Their
is no question that the bill AS amended
is more humane than 1t was, while
has lost mono of the advantages Of 1t
restriction features. The most SWEEP
iug congressional legislation ever pre-
posed against trusts Is contained in
bill introduced by Representaliv
Gillett, Of Mass. The title Of 1t Is, g.
Bill to Regulate Interstate Transports
ton Of Property Owned or Manufat
tured by Unlawful Combinations" ]
provide. that any property owned o
manufactured under any contract O
by any combustion, or pursuant /
n conspiracy forbidden by the law
of a state, aud being in the course {
transportation to Or from such state
may be seized aud coniscated th
same as Struggled importations, Th
penalty for such transportation or %
dering 10 he "a fine OF not eNcecdin
nApNrtfse iffip EuriV Rieer-