The House is given over to the tariff. A very indelicate discussion has
been had upon corsets. Mr. BROOKS was of opinion that the corset would
tariff it were subjected to any more strain in the way of duties. Mr.
MARSHALL remarked that the corset avoided a great deal of Waist. It was
whalebone of his bone, or something of that sort. It was one of the main
Stays of our social system.
Mr. SCHENCK made another speech. He ripped up the foreign corset in a
truculent manner. He said that American corsets were far superior, only
American women had not the sense to see it. The effect of taking off the
duty on corsets would be to take off the corsets.
Mr. BROOKS called the hooks and ayes on the corsets. Mr. SCHENCK opposed
the call. He had found a simple tape much preferable. He wished a
coffer-dam might be put upon the roaring BROOKS.
Somebody at this point brought up a contested election case; but Mr.
LOGAN objected to its being considered. What, he asked, was the use of
wasting time? There was money in the tariff. There was no money at all
in voting a Democrat out, and a Republican in. They could do that any
day in five minutes. His friend Mr. BUTLER had recently remarked, one
Democrat more or less made no difference. But Mr. BUTLER forgot that the
larger the majority, the larger the divisor for spoils, and therefore
the smaller the quotient and the "dividend." He did not know much about
arithmetic. He had never been at West Point; but he believed that a
million dollars, for instance, would go further and fare worse among two
hundred men than among three. If the House were not careful, there would
be a glut of Republicans in it, and the shares would be pitifully
meagre. As for him, he had a great mind, (derisive cheers)--he repeated,
that he had a great mind to vote for a Democrat next time.
In spite of Mr. LOGAN'S warning, the House voted in a couple or so of
Republicans, and then resumed the duty on wool.
Mr. Cox thought this wool had been pulled over the eyes of the house
often enough. It reminded him of an expedition, of which Mr. LOGAN had
never heard, in search of a "Golden Fleece."
Mr. JENCKES, and Mr. SCHENCK, and Mr. KELLEY called him to order in
behalf of their constituents, who were in the wool business, and said
that "wool" in one form or another had always been the staple of their
political career.
Mr. BUTLER said he had a little game worth two of that. He wanted to buy
San Domingo. In this there were plenty of commissions, and hundreds of
thousands of colored votes.
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