Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-03-03
THE DoINas OF THE LAST WEEK
 OF CONGRESS.
Everybody Ready to Give the Ex piring Administration a Kick Down the Hill Spicy Gossip from the
 Nations Cap.
 itol.

closing days of Congress are being very industriously occupied princi pally, on the work necessary tC complete the appropriation bills The House is well up with it's work but the Senate is much behind.
 The past week has been notable for killing off some good and some vicious measures. Among the former was House Bill 9lSS, authorizing a nonpartisan commission to consider and recommend legislation to meet the problems presented by labor, ag- ricuIture and capital This bill by close vote was postponed, which meant it's death.
 The so-called Loud bill for the regulation of the postal service, met J its death in the Senate. This bill provides for great innovations in the present law regarding second class matter, and most pernicious fea- ture of the bill is that it gives each postmaster the right to osubstantially destroy every country newspaper, which he may not agree with; this he can do by holding up it's circula- tion, and refusing to mail until he has investigated it's subscription list &c, The bill is in the interest of the Metropolitan dailles and contrary to the interest of the country press.
 Much qualification, especially among the Republicans. has been ex- hibited over the statement of Gov. Bushnell, of Ohio, that he will ap- point Hon. Marcus A.Hanna, as U. S. Senator, in the place of Senator sherman, who has resigned, to be- come Secretary of State. Those who do not believe in MT. Hanna s political ideas, recognize his great abilities as d campaign manager and politician. In conversation your correspondent had with MT. Hanna, speaking of the prospects of good times, he said, athat all American citizens wanted the same thing, they want q prosperous, happy people, and that the administration of Mr. Mckinley will give us areturn of the good times of former years He said, "that the people must not ex- pect this transition instantaneously but must give the new party a chace to recover from the hard times which had been thrust upon the country by bad management, but that in time, and in much less time than one would suppose it possible, the tide would turn, and better times would be assured"
 The tension between the United States and Spain is becoming tightly drawn, on account of the brutality of the Spaniards toward the American citizens now prisoners in Spanish dungeons. If anything were lacking to complete the dis graceful and cowardly administra- tion of MT. Cleveland, and MT. Olney. his Secretary of State, their action alone in disregarding the rights of American citizens is enough to send their administration down with time as the worst this country has ever seen. MT. Mckinley, with MT. Sherman at the head of the State Department, will give the country an American administration and whether or not all eur people may agree with them in politics, it is to be hoped and t is believed, that the eowardly, un-American system of the Cleveland administration will be repudiathd and discontinued
 Much excitement has been caused from the fact that Consul General Fitz Hugh Lee, is of the old Virginia stock and is an American citizen with American instincts.
 The Grand Army of the Republic. District of Columbia jurisdiction, gave the parting administration of Mir. Cleveland a friendly kick, closing with the following words: "There will soon be q change and may God speed the parting.
 The Postofliee Department has had $50,000 appropriated to it for the purpose of Investigating and pre- venting the frauds perpetrated by the railways in carrying the mail The custom has been to make a four years contract with each railway by weighing the mail for one month as a basis for the compensation for the four years.
 The practice of the railways has been to have the mail ears filled that month with old government doeu- ments, tons and tons of trash being sent back and forth over their lines and upon this fradulent basis they have been receiving pay for each four years contract. Whether anything will come of this is an open question as the railways apparently have the right of way as well through thu hall of legislation and the courts oi Justice. and it matters not to them who is in power; they are always Repeblicans in Republican districts Democrats in Democratic districts and all things to all men, saving and excepting their reserved right to rof