News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1900-02-28
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.
WASHINGTON. Feb. 1S,
Moist VermonterS:

1UdUIOu Ou d TUX, 50 ludU WIFI Uu6
foods come and beat against them
you could sit calmly and see your
neighbor who builded on the sand
float amidstream or stock hi' cellar
with bull-heads from the state hatch
ers. Seems rs if last week would have
been a good time to have abolished
the remainder of the town liquor
agencies, and ! trustyou have moved
theoretically in the matter.
Well, the Senate passed the finan-
cial bill last Thursday, on schedule
time, and is now wrestling with the
bill providing a government for Ha-
waii. This, in view of the plague and
recent conditions there, is a matter
of the most pressing necessity, and
If such thing can be said of the
red-tape way Congress has of dong
business-no time will be lost in af-
fording legislative relief. Pressing
the Senate for immediate attention
are voters ofVital pEespntimportance
Among these is the bills for the gov
eminent of Porto Rico, the Philip
pines and Alaska. The Quay case ia
liable to come up at any time, but
the case appears to have taken on a
new aspect lately. Q1ay's enemies
are making every effort for postpon-
ement of consideration, and have
thus far succeeded. When a majority
of the Senate vote to postpone the
question of admission, it of course in
dicates majority unfrlendly to Quay.
The indications now are that his
friends cannot secure present consid-
GRAFTON, to the delay of the matters
mentioned above which are of infinite.
ly more const quence. However, the
improbable may be expected at any
time in the Senate.
The House has been hammering
away for the past week on the appro-
priation bills, varied by frequent bun
comb speeches on sundry side issues,
and this will probably be the program
this week. The latitude given discus
sion in the House however, allows a
member to make a speech on nearly
any subject under the sun, and it is
frequently done. The House may be
discussing the prosperity of barbed
wire fencing for Indian reservations
in committee of the whole, and some
member who is loaded for hired girls,
as Peck's bad boy would say, twists
the occasion into an opportunity to
rip the administration up the back
and across the shoulders for not Or
dering Dewey to serve ice cream to
"our ally" Aguinaldo three times a
day and get him full on champaign
every evening. Or, the House may
be discussing the necessity of a ste
nographer to the committee on aqua
fortis, and boiling member will FIJI
the air and aisles with gore, entrails
and fractures because we have not yet
voted on appropriations to supply
the Beers with a daily ration of soap
and fine tooth combs. That is legis.
lation as she is legislated in the
House, and yet, business is actually
transacted and progress is made.
In the course of the discussing Of
the sundry civil bill in the House a
day or two ago Representative Bout.
ell OF Chicago interpreted an anti-free
silver bill in which he said -
"Silver was killed in 1896, it was
buried in 1898 and | do not believe
that a single member of the demo
cratic minority honestly desire it res
directed. There has been an occa
sional eulogy of the departed and an
occasional rhetorical tear has beer
dropped upon the grave, but the la
mentations lack the zeal of real sor
row: 1t reminds me of an epitaph
read last summer in Vermont over thu
grave of the wife of man who haC
enjoyed as little of happiness anC
prosperity with her as the democrats
have enjoyed with free silver
"Here lies my wife,
All my tears cannot bring her back,
Therefore, weep"
And so wags the House and tn,
time away.
The House Committee on Foreign
Affairs has been struggling for SOM
time with several bills destined tt
bring our diplomatic and consula
service on to a civil service basis, ant
last Thursday the committee refused
to report any bill of the kind to tn
House by tie vote of 7 to Z in com
mittee. This disposes OF the matte
for this session as far as the Hous
bill is concerned. The object sough
by these bills is identical with that q
Senator Ross which is to be deal
with by the Senate. The Senator
bill may differ in detail, but the gen
eral principals the same. The actor
of the House Committee, as far at i
is significant Of anything, indicate
that such bi would stand abou
an even chance Of getting through
the Senate yet. There are energeti
enemies of anything 10 the name c
civil service in both Houses, althoug
a measure is obviously and entireI
fair to all parties and iutrinsiraly g
highly meritorious should disarm a
opposition. That remains to be see
however. 10 any event the Senate
has accumulated glory enough to las
him few weeks, at least, as II
serve fund.
Congressman circuit made q lyin
trip to Boston last Wednesday ever
ing, leaving the city at p. M, an
arriving at Boston the next morning