Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-07-04
NAL DoWNING's EsPONDENCE.

MAJ. DOWNING'S CORRESPONDENTS.
SENATE CHAMBER,
Washington, 2sh June, 1884.
To mu old friend, Mr.. Dwight, Of the New York
Daily Advertiser.
Nv last letter 10 you telPd you about the I'M
sartinty of elder bark tea, unless great care was
takin in scrapin the bark; for its jst as Doctor
Parsons telpd my good old mother, if it's scrap,
ed both ways there is no telln how things VIII
work. And its here jist so with " the Govern
ment,-and the folks about the Gineral was al
WAYS scrapin both ways, and things was gettn
worse and worse. l used to tell the Gineral
when was with him, he better let the senate
have a hand in directin this matter; that there
warn't in all creation set of'folks VINO knew So
well what was right to be done, and when trou
bles did come, who knew how to git the Gineral
out ont quicker than they did: but the Gineral
wouldn't give up till tother day when he could mt
git by it. and the Senate got chance to scrape
a leetle bark for &c the Government" and in less
than no time it went jist as the people expected
il would, and jist as they wanted it to work; 1t
has cleered out Mr.. fancy and MIR; stevenson
already, and a good jag more would follow, II
the Senate gifts another chance at scrapln the
bark.
Some folks, and especially them who want or
expect offices, think that the Senate ought to do
list what the Gineral tells em-but that amt my
notion, for don't see why the people should be
at the expense Of having Senate if that is to
be the rule. The Senate has got notion that
il is their duty to see that no man gets an office
with their consent unless he will discharge its
duties for the good of the hull people, and not
for party; and this is jist nv notion too, Tor II
is pagy hard bargain for all parties to be
calpd on to pay wages to an office holder: ana
he in turn ony to work for one party-tnat am.
natural justice. If man in office is ony to WORK
for a party" then that party ought to pay him
his wages.
Times have got so now that most folks think
when they are elected to Office then they have
ony got to sarve the party who voted Tor
'em; and look upon all the rest as set OF Alge-
reens; and they go on "rewardn frlencs and
IS too lazy to git an honest Twin by labor, works
himself into good fat Office, jist because he has
been cryin about taverns and grog shops glo-
nv and REFORM" and " the spoils of the enemy
belong to the vctors" Now, my notion is, its
high time to put stop to this kind OF business,
and git things back agin to law and common
Justice. The country has got EMU OF glory
and REFORM" and the victors have got spites"
enuf for one spell, and the ony peaceable way
to git the country out of the scrape, is for the
people, whose pockets have to pay for all this
< giory and spiies," to turn ri hit to- and at the
next election see that no man goes to Congress
unless he is of the right kind OF stuff No good
farmer ever expects to raise clean harvest OF
wheat, if he don't look out sharp and Gull out of
the seed wheat he plants, all the smutty grains,
and the dock Seed and wild Unions; for 1t he
plants any of them, he will be bothered most
plaguly when grindin time comes; handful OF
wild inons will spoil a hull grist, and all the ia
mily will be eatin lniony bread and puddin the
hull season threw, jist for want of leetle care
in plantin time.
1t wont do no good to be botherin yet about
who is to be next President-its time enuf to Sc
lect miller when we've got the harvest home
and all thrash'd out; it will be enuf to see that
we get a good honest miller then. But if we be-
Gin now, afore we have planted our new crop,
and say, so and so shall be our Miller and no
body else, some other folks, who want to be mil
lers. NAV 60 to work jist out ofspite, and sap his
mill dam or cut his gearing, and then we shall
git into new fight, and be neglectin the most
important part of our business, which is first to
git a clean crop, and then select the most honest
miller to grind for us.
We have got plagy raft Of garlic, and null
len. and dock weed in the present Congress,
that's the reason the harvest amt worth noth-
in The Senate is the best part ont, and if it
warnt for some folks there. things would be pref
ty squally, and there wouldn't be seed enuf left
to plant a new crop. | don't believe in all crea-
ton we could find set of folks who deserve
more the support of every honest man and true
patriot in the country than the Senate we've
got now; and every time | listen to 'em, and
mix in among 'em and see how they battle
agin the storm that is all the while peltin agin
'em, 1 can't help thinkin of a time had once
with Capt Jumper, the first time he made a trip
in the "Two Pollies" from Kennebunk to
Charleston. The 1.-TWO Pollies'' was pretty
new then, and Capt Jumper was shockin proud
on her; and went along with him with some
notions bein my first trip to foreign parts
We went along a spell pretty smooth; the Capt.
was all the while boasting Of the "Two Pol
lies;" and well he might for she was peeler,
and was called arter his wife and eldest dater,
and thew was both named Polly Well lest as