Nashville Union And American

BLAINE AND HIS COMMITTEES.

The Washington correspondent of the New York Sun says there are good reasons for believing that Speaker Blaine was forced to make some important changes in the composition of the standing committees of the House of Representatives shortly before announcing them, and that if he could have safely done so, he would have sacrificed Garfield, Dawes, Kelley and Schofield. This correspondent adds: "Neither of the men whose political life was in his hand are in any sense dangerous as enemies. They have no moral courage, and would have submitted to the knife without a struggle. All this Mr. Blaine knew perfectly well, and would have acted upon it had there not been another side which the public cannot see just now, but which it will ere long look upon with much amazement. There were other parties who had interests to be subserved, and who were determined that Mr. Blaine should not disregard them. They had him in a vise, and he knew it. The ultimatum was announced, and Mr. Blaine did not dare to be fearless. Some chickens come home to roost when least expected."

"As to the composition of the other committees, if certain interests which are represented here to-day by certain powerful lobbies had had the arrangement of those to whom they look for aid and support, they would not have scratched a name on the list the Speaker submitted to-day. Take, for instance, the Washington Ring and the Committee on Appropriations. Garfield, Hale of Maine, Wheeler of New York, O'Neil of Pennsylvania, Starkweather of Connecticut, and Swann of Maryland belong to them. They own an equal number of the Committee on the District of Columbia. The Committee on Banking and Currency is such as the national banks ardently desired. There are men on it who will not serve any master, but they are powerless."