Year: 1877

receipt Of large numbers of letters
from business men and politicians daily


protesting against an extra session, il
possible to avoid it. Congress can
hardly regard this as supplementary to
itself; and it is undeuiably true that a
sufficient number of reckless or croch-
ETY. men manage to get elected to each
new Congress to throw every business
community into a tremor lest their
meddlesome proclivities lead them to
tinkerlng experiments with the finances
the tariff or other matters of national
Importance, upon whose stability and
exemption from sudden or ill.advised
changes the Legitimate profits of mill
hons of invested capital are dependent.
1t is the chances of these unfortunate
selections Of national legislators that
awaken the apprehensions of business
men at every new session. In the
present instance there is added fear
OF re-orening of the old partisan
strife that has been coaxed into taking
rest for the past few weeks. But no
legal way has been devised for the
support of the Army, except through
the passage of the usual appropriation
bill. 1t is also understood that the
European war will necessitate addition
al appropriations in order to fulfil
treaty stipulations and to properly pro-
vide for the preservation of American
interests that might otherwise be jeop-
ardized by the chances of war; and the
Department of Justice also requires
additional aid. -. .s


The Government has as yet etreceivsd
no formal notification of the existence
of war from the representatives of
Russia and Turkey residing here. al
though our ministers at St. Petersburg
and Constantinople have formally an
pounced the fact. When those repre-
sentatives shall have notified the Gov
.ernment, proclamation of strict neu-
trality will be promulgated, urging
upon all officials and private citizens
rigid compliance with our international
obligations. The evident distress of
the Tory administration of Great Bit
ain and the uncomfortable alternatives
to which it has been reduced by the
reported demand Of Austria that it
faithfully observe the stipulation of the
Paris treaty of 1856, guaranteeing the
integrity of the Turkish Empire, ex-
cites very little sympathy among those
here who remember how persistently
that party intrigued and plotted with
our enemies during the rebellion for
the destruction of Republic We eawait
every new dispatch from Europe with
an interest onl y second to that felt in


he rumors constantly reaching Wash
from our armies at the front during the
war, and all the indications up to date
are generally accepted among the well
informed here as proof that every first
and second class power in Europe are
rapidly drifting into the terrible vortex
of war whose limits. neither with
respect to extent or duration, can even
be predicted with any degree of GER
tainty. The specializing mania which
has swept over the country has reached
US. Many excellent brands of -four
are manufactured at the Touring mills
IN the neighboring city of Georgetown.
Flour that 40 days ago sold for sS.5C
is now in active demand at eleven or
twelve dollars with good prospects Of
further advance in a few days at
farthest. Many of our bakers took
the infection badly. The legal weight
of l6 ounces per loaf was reduced to
l3 or IA ounces. The police were
secretly instructed to waylay the carts
as they were sent out in the morning.
Result: work house has accumulated
large supplies of the confscated staff
of life, and the offending bakers fined
$500 for every deficient loaf-in some
cases amounting to more than 500.
In addition, some of those who at.
tempted to escape the minions of the
law by fast driving were muct to the
tune Of $40 Tor that ofense. Popular
verdict: Served them right.


Tie President vigorously denies al