Year: 1879

their last game, which has been generally
recognized as "bluf," they were very badly
beaten The question now Is whether there
is any other that they can play better. The
one thing certain is, that that was losing
game. From all sides the cry comes, Change
"the camel" and all agree that it must be
played with a great deal more skill and
discretion than has been shown heretofore.
Mr.. Watterson calls the Congressional players
dunderheadsr and advises that they try
tariff-unkering, or investigating the cx-
travagance of the Hayes Administra-
ton, or impeaching Minister Seward, or
transferring the Indian Bureau to the War
Department, or prohibiting the payment OF
war claims and referring them to the Court of
Clalms-anything. in fact, but President max
ing, which, he says, they make wretched work
of. But he isn't by any means sanguine.
"Win they change their course !" he
saws. "Will they revise their folliesf Not a
"bit of it. They will fall to tinkering with
" the Presidential question. They will break
CUP into little squads, and each little
"squad will have its candidate, principles, is
"sues The wisdom Of sacrificing personalities
"to great cause will be the last thing
Thought of. The end-who shall predict it y
This comes from statesman who has gwen
probably larger quantity, if not better
quality, of advice to his party during the
past four or five years than any other living
man. He is q man, too, than whom no one
is quicker to detect the run of the cards
against him and skip losing game. He ad-
yises, now, but is not hopeful that his advice
Will be followed.


Then here is a Connecticut statesman. Sena-
tor Eaton, who agrees that the game must be
changed, but he is much more hopeful !;
he believes that it will be. and that
"the Democratic certainties of success
Sin the grand conflict of next year are
"stonty stalwart and statuesque." lie thinks
the duty of Congress-and by that he means
the duty of the Democratic majOrity-with
view not so much to the prosperity or the
country as to the success OF the party, Is to
" speedily pass the Appropriation bills and
" "adjourn." His fear is that " some un-
" wise people may again attempt to stir
cup the currency agitation" That, he says,
would be a calamity, because it is generally
regarded as settled. He freely expresses his
conviction, however, that "God Almighty had
"a great deal more to do with bringing back
"prospenty to this country than John Sher
"man or any legislation had" We do not quite
see the pertinency of the remark But this
Senator always did have way of referring
to the Almighty in the most familiar manner,
and of conveying the impression that be
was on very easy terms with him. Per
haps it is his little game to get up an argu-
ment with the Republicans i'll Congress on
the question whether Divine Providence
or John Sherman brought back pros
perity to the country; and if the credit
belongs in any degree to the former,
to deduct just so much from the John
Sherman and Republican side of the
ledger. Or it may be that his position is that
the Democratic party, if they had been allowed
their own way, could have accomplished alone
what the Republicans had to call in the aid
of Providence for. Whatever may be his
view of it, we suspect that no one Oh the Re-
publican side in Congress will deny his main
proposition, that it was Providence that brought
back prosperity. They will go further still in
their admissions, and confess that Provi-
dence has always seemed to help them as
against their opponents. Providence has been
on their side in the long run for twenty years
and more, and they hope the alliance will
continue.


But. as we were saying, the general agree
ment among the leaders is that they must try
some other game. What it shall be-whether
Investigations and necessary legislation, as
indicated by WattersOn, or passing the appro-
priations with their hands over their mouths
and scooting tor home," under the previous
qnestlon-is not so clear. President-mablng,
all agree, must be avoided. Wattersons policy
is for the party to show its capacity for wise
legislation and prudent administration by
steering clear of dangerous subjects doing
only the things necessary to be done, and doing
them well. Mr.. Eaton would take no chances.
HIS plan is TO vote the appropriations and rlln
The trouble is, they can't do either. They Ger
tainly won't adjourn and run, and so sure
rs they undertake anything beyond that they
will 20 to pieces. This is q Congress that you
may label all over Fragile" Handle with
care" "This side up" GLASS; and appoint
committees to go alongside of it and keep il
steady, and have watchers like David Dudley
Field, Tor instance, sitting up nights with it,
without ever being able TO save 1t from the
inevitable smash. 1t is too much surrounded
with slippery questions, and is itself too
slippery, to ever get through without break
ing. Here's the currency issue, and
here's the Solid south, and here are the ques-
tions growing out of the Extra Session, and
those left unsettled. and all the manifold
matters connected with Southern elections 1;
all and any of them liable to break
out at any moment. And it will make
no difference if the Democrats solemnly bind
themselves In caucus to avoid all these danger