New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-03-15
Gone to Rest.
The F,fty-,,fth consre.. Thing Of the PAST.
washington New. and Gossip Of Interest.
Eve HcDonald- valesh Writes an lnterestin,
Letter for the Review.

Well, the Fifty fifth Congress has ex-
pired by statute Of limitations. It did
not go up in a blaze If glory. It sizzled
and sputtered like spent Roman can
die. The next one will probably be
worse but this one was bad enough. It
bad unusual opportunities aud used
them mostly in adding to the already
heavy burden OF taxation that the peo-
pie already bear. It can we'll he called
the ''Two Billion Dollar Congress- The
only trouble about that term is that
most of us cannot stretch our imagina
tlons enough to get any idea Of what
two billions mean.
The closing days were nearly all spent
in passing appropriation bills. It means
considerable to the tax payer when he
has to help provide for these big appro-
priations, but the process Of making
them lawful is stupid and not edifying.
The most high minded member is tempt
ed to clog rell' when it comes to get
ting home improvement that he has
promised his constituents.
1t is too soon to get good perspect-
i've and analyze what this Congress did
and did not do. One can only comment
on the fragments of important business
that foated to the surface IN the last
week. In few days when the atmos-
phere has cleared we can figure out how
much campaign material we got of it.
1t is certain that the Democrat and Re
form forces got nothing else worth men
tioning. ~.
But the Democrats made a good fight
and put a pretty sharp check on the wild
extravaganza of the Administration and
its followers. This was all the more
creditable because so many Democratic
Senators and Congressman are about to
be retired and when a man does not
know whether he will ever come back
or not there Is not much to encourage
him in fight for principle.
About the best thing that happe ned
was the defeat of the army bill. We need
not have our dreams disturbed by h vi
sion of standing army to COW us into
submission to plutocratic rule. We will
only have the present temporary increase
of the army until 1901. This was the
best thing that could be done. We have
provided for all defenses and the next
Congress cannot very we'll change it.
1t was funny to see Representative
Hull and his friends alter all their blus-
ter obliged to support the Democratic
substitute for the Hull bill and do it
good and hard too, or take responsibil-
ty for an extra session on that one point.
They made wry faces but they had to do
it. A little horse sense about the popu.
lar feeling on the subject of big army
would have saved them this particular
humiliation. -, -. ~
No doubt the Gen. Miles investigation
into canned and embalmed b,ef helped
to kill the army bill. Washington SIM
ply reeks with the testimony Of these
poor fellows who were starved and pois-
oned with bad beef Never has there
been clearer case of governmental cor
ruption in order that contractors nigh:
make money. The silence of the grave
enfolds many brave fellow who might
have testified what shortened his life
more effectively than bullet.
What a spectacle we made Of ourselves
getting our little $20,O0O,0OO all voted
and tied up in canvas bag ready to pay.
Spain for the Philippines. Andthe Span
ish putting up the bluff of dissolvlng
their ministry and taking their time to
decide about ratifying the treaty.
This was our chance to decline to paw
for the islands and just give them free
dom. What do we care whether some
European nation grabbed an island or
two. We have no business out iii that
tropical waste anyhow. Then the kind
OF warfare in which the Filipinos indulge
would make other nations bit careful
about burning their paws trying to rake
the chestnurs out of the fire.
But here we are holding out the $780,
100000 and looking foolish and Spain.
taking her time to soothe her wounded
pride and pretend she isn't hungry for
them. But we have fitly begun our
Philippine folly and the politicians of
the Hanna and Alger stripe neither know
nor care where it will end. The Philip;