Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-04-05
FROM WASHINGTON.


capital of the nation and intimate
acquaintance with all branches of
the Governments service, especially
that of the legislative end. will
knock the tar out of any mans
ideals which he has formed rs to
the high moral plane on which
things are conducted here in the
interest Of the people, for they are
not done in that way at all. He
may come here a rampant Repub-
lican or a red hot Democrat, but
before he Is here many years he
viii come dangerously nigh losing
any and all sorts of ties to any old
political party whatsoever. As a
friend of mine remarked TO me the
other day: The more l see of
politicians the better / like dogs,
for they at least possess the attri-
butte of fidelity" While it Is true
that the Democrats here have not
had the opportunity form any
years to show off the shortcomings
and lapses from virtue that attach
to the party in power, vet | am
ashamed to say that there are some
here, and some who will not be
here again, who would, if given
the opportunity, be guilty of some
of the rotten things INDUCED in
by the majority party, the Repub-
licans, and high heaven knows
they are legion.
This was demonstrated in the
closing days of the session Just
ended. The House of Representa-
tives gave a useful demonstration
of the fact that it is not safe for the
public TO concentrate sll its vigil
lance upon the Senate end of the
Capitol, upon the assumption that
the other end is the abode of virtue.
The popular branch of Congress
distinguished itself on March / by
an attempt at the most shameless
piece of petty pilfering recorded
since the "back-pay grab" that
ended so many political careers in
1873. The House had just been
wreaking its moral Indignation
upon those Federal Judges who
had been corrupt enough to charge
the legal limit of SO per day for
travelling expenses instead of fill
ing ltemized accounts of the sums
actually spent. Resenting the fail
ure of Its impeachment of Judge
Swayne, on this, among other
grounds, it had inserted in the
General Deficiency Appropriation
bill a provision that no Judge
should collect money for expenses
In excess of So per day except on
sworn statement of the actual
items, and stating those items
falsely should be punishable by
fine or Imprisonment. Immediately
afterward the House enriched the
very same bill with an item appro-
priating $4,000 to pay miIegae
to Congressman for their journeys
home and back during the con
structive recess" between the extra
session and the first regular session
of the Fifty-eighth Congress
Journeys which not one of them
made, or by any possibility could
have made. The Senate had lust
decided that the constructive recess
had no existence. The extra SEES
e sion ended at the very instant at
which the regular session began. |
There was not the width of an
atom-not even of an electron-
between them.
Yet this mythical point of time,
imagined by President Roosevelt
as device for promoting his pet, |
General Leonard Wood. and keep
ing the negro, Crum. i'm office.
seemed to the House substantial
enough to pry $3.50, 900 out Of the
Treasury. and To enable the dele
gate from Hawaii. or his astral
body, to take a trip 90 Honolulu
and back at cost to the Govern
ment of over $4,000.
When the question of sternly re-
stricting the travelling expenses of
Judges was under consideration.
Representative Sullivan. of Mass
achusetts, the distinguished young
gentleman who was sent whimper-
ing to the cloak room by William
Randolph Hearst short time be-
fore, arose in his place and said:
As a man from Massachusetts
i am proud TO say that those Judges
who sit in that judicial district took
only what they actually expended
tapplause), and | would be asham- I
ed of a Massachusetts iudra x,,bo =