Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-03-29
aaiEg gatplligrncer.
A WAahington oorrespOndent that
Is a Corrospondent,

Is q Correspondent,
"Blynpks, z WHO IS on applicant for the
Nashville Post Office, in letter written
from Washington to the Nashville Patriot,
thus shows up the economy OF the Federal
Government:
The way the Government gets its work
done is curious. As an illustration. you
and your family meet in convention of tue
whole, and adopt resolution authorizing
the construction Of hen coop in Your
back yard. You at once appoint me SUI
Perintendent Of the work, putting a thous-
and or two dollars in bank for me to check
ON. get yon to npPOiut my broiher-in-
law chief engineer.
appoint two of-my brothers assistant
superintendent, and my brotber.in-Ia1E
appoints two Of bis brothers assistant en-
gineeTs-all ut your expense We buy us
each fast bOrHe and buggy, and ride
around town, drink cocktails and play
billiards, until the bank deposit gives out.
when We make out II printed report of sew
eRty-tbrcC pages, furnishing you COM
plete Typographical survey of yonr back
yard, and vast amount of statistic
cal information with regard to the num-
her of hens you are likely to have
for the next forty years. We wind up
the report with the announcement that
the site Of the hen coop has been select
ed, and Call for another appropriation to
prosecute the work, which We assure you
will be done with "vigOr" You place
another thousand or two in bank, and we
employ two hundred hAndsat three dollars
day ~ transport seventy cents worth of
lumber (Which costs you, under our man.
agemcut, about ten times that many dol
lars) to the place of operations, which re-
qnireS about three months.
In the meantime we drive around and 90
on vigorously with the liquor and billiards.
We then come up with another report, and
demand another appropriation. With this
we get the wallsOf the structure mp, and
with one or two more appropriations, and
great many more cocktails and billiards,
we get the thing covered in; aud at the
end of twelve months. which we very ap-
proPrialely style our fiscal year" we put
you in possession of a ten thousand dollar
hen-coOp. that any negro carpenter would
have been glad 10 ku0ck up some Saturday
afternoon for suit of your old clothes.
He thus Tnodestly excuses himself for
,epistolGEY breYity. Aka
] meant to write letter tonight, but
unhappily fad myself placed In a singu.
larry nufNvoruble position for writing with
my accustomed force aud perspicuity. My
room is situated in wing of the building.
Just opposite is another wing, with a mar
row courtyard between. There must be a
concert or circus, or some sort ola show
in town tonight, for alta window inmedi-
Rtely opposite mine, a couple of very pref
ty what would suppose to be chamber
maids, have hecn putting on their clothes
for the last hour, as If they were fixing up
to go somewhere. THIS is very annoying
TO u man of family, aud il it were not so
far down stairs, would go aud complain
to the landlord. Ii would require an in
dividual Of tremendous power of concon-
tratinR his thoughts to write an able letter
under such circumstances. would close
the blinds and get further away from the
window, but Iexpect to pay for staying in
this house, and l am not to be driven from
pillar to post by such u spectacle as is now !
before me.