The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-19
FIRST EDITION N
AT THE CAPITAL.
How the Government Runs Itself-The
Dent Family in General, and
Judge" Dent in Particular
-Chase's Presidential
Aspirations.
From Otr Ocn Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1S.
Out of Town.

In the exciting PRESIDENTIAL campaign ol 1000
which resulted ia the election of Andrew jack
son, the supporters of the great Ienhesseeah
made considerable capital with the masses by
stipmatizing the Cabinet of John Quincy |
Adams. Jackson's immediate predecessor as
Utbe travelling Cabinet During his term as |
President Mr.. Adams had visited his New Eng |
land home once, and two or three members OF |
his Cabinet had been called away on one or TWO |
occasions from Washington on account OF Sick |
ness in their families. The aggregate absence |
of the President and his Cabinet officers did |
not amount to more than week. but the jack |
sGnans knew that ii was unpopular, and they |
made the most of it. In those primitive days,
the popular notion was that the President and
the heads of departments should remain con-
stantly at their posts, through all seasons and in
all weathers. 1t mattered little how hot it was,
or whether the White House was healthy or un-
healthy in the summer months. If Andrew
jackson had undertaken to spend the months OF
July and August away from Washington during
his first term, the probability is that he would
have been defeated when he was a candidate for
the Presidency a second time. But the ideas of
the people were crude then. They eXacted too
much from their public servants. The Republic
was young and it needed constant
and careful nursing The entire expenses
of NeI Government did not reach twenty
million annually, and the taxes were cores
\ pondinAy light, and easy of collection. Look
ing back upon those days from our advanced
position, one would suppose that the President
and his Cabinet could better have afforded to
spend eight months of the year away from the
capital then than one week now. Andrew Jackson,
with all his conceded ability probably never made
the important discovery that the Government
can run itself Even the truant Adams possibly
felt some compunctions of conscience while en-
loving his hurried trip to New England, and
his sleep may have been troubled with visions
of things going wrong at Washington. II
"Old Hickory" and his partisans could by any
possibility revisit the scenes of their former
struggles and triumphs, they would see tlat
we do things differently in our day. As write,
not only the President and the Vice-Presdent,
but all the members of the Cabinet are out of
town And vet the Government seems to go on
as usual A few bureau officers, with the aid of
several clerks, whose services cost a few hun
dred dollars a year, run the machine, and for
all practical purposes, they might run it all the
year round, it is so well oiled and regulated.
GrumbIing.
There will always be some persons dissatisfied.
| heard a Republican Congressman, will not
saw which house he is member of, swearing
the other day because he came here several
hundred miles from his home, to transact some
business for his constituents, and could neither
find the President nor any member of the Cabi-
net. except the Secretary OF War. ''lf there is
no need for these officials" he said, 1--WE had
better abolish their Offices and have an under
standing that we can transact business with the
clerks. tell you" he continued, 1.-The people
of nv section don't take to this sort of business,
and it's going to hurt us like - in
the elections" This man is probably
grumbler He don't seem to understand
that the ''arduous duties of the President, as
the phrase is, may wear him out, and that with
the Cabinet, as with children, ''All work and no
play makes Jack dull boy The public men
of our day have evidently studied and profted
by the sad history of the younger Pitt. They
have no notion of going down to their graves
prematurely worn out by the cares of state.
Why should they? Are not republics migrate
full, and is there any reason to suppose that
President who takes it easy and enjoys
himself will stand worse chance for re-
election than one who remains at his
most all the time, and takes the weight of public
affairs upon him? 1t is said Grant is Indifferent
about the succession. He told old Ben Wade
some time ago that 'the Presidency is not what
II is cracked up to be-" With all this, have
heard the grumblers say, not Democrats either,
that the President thinks he can make more
capital with the masses by spending the sum
mer at Long Branch than Dy relhllhluS III N"su-
iDgton.
The Dent Family.
In nv last letter l alluded to Judge Dent as
the Presidents Jonah, and ntimated that ne had
no special love for Boutwell,. Since then his
Honor the sIJudge" has made an assault upon
the Secretary of the Treasury IN the puOlc
nrints. Dent threatens to be as great nuisance
This summer in the way of writing letters as
II Rinollev was last summer in the way OF deliver
no judicial opinions. There is remarkable
resemblance, have heard it said, between the
,,roductions of Dent and Blnekey. In the gene
Va, 1aorth of news, the correspondents eagerly
ooi1e upon whatever they can get; ana l al
ofraid their publishing Dents letter VIII en
/ oorrooe him to write dd tntnltum. we shai
hoye him attacking the members ol the Oapine
4 So detail After he has finished Boutwel, III
will probably 90 after Creswen Hoar, CoX ant
+he others will be taken up ana dealt WIN II
tt,oir tnrn. Who knows but that Dent VIII hhlsl
I,.h tba President himself? 1t is to be regrette
that Dents early education was negiecVcu' "n
ofraid the art of spelling was not as wen unuei
stood when he was youngster as IL Is now. Du
I ,orbons this should not be matter Oh cri'lclsn
Prohaklv Judge Dent has as good IlsnE ~,
Ill .ssecession" with sc" as the elder we we
Ier had TO spell his name with we eIA
no1Io ,yill notice these things, especially III
man who aspires TO be governor OIL Toyeio,s
state. seriously speaking, this man Deh' pr r,
rnises 10 make trouble, if he is not curDea' LIN
aone other people, he has been LhIo"h W ~ W