The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-16


Presidents Jonah.
FROM Our OUn Correspondent
WASHINGTON, August IS, 1869, |
DULLEEss AT THE CAPITAL.
Nothing could be more stupid and uninterestng |
than Washington in these piping times Of peace. |
That part Of the population which makes the place
something more than village is away, and nothing |
remain but the unfortunate government clerks and
the irrepressibe negro. Except at three O'Clock in
the afternoon, when the employees of the depart
ments are on their way to Their lodgings and "hash
houses" 1.-The broad avenues are deserted, and
only now and then you meet a pedestrian
like lonely traveller a country road. The hotels
are in mourning with prospect of being COM
iOrted until Congress meets. At the Metropolitan
and the Ebhitt the arrivals average half-a-dozen
day; while at the second-class houses, like Wizards
and the National, the total number of guests could
be counted on your fingers. Everybody is complain
ing. The shopkeepers declare they will be ruined,
and should not be surprised If next winter they ask
Congress for appropriation to indemnify them. The
lodging-hOuse Keepers everybody it appears to me,
is a lOdging-hOnse keeper herc) have their tene-
ments plastered all over with "ROoms to let" And
yet if you venture to inquire the price, they will ask
you as much as if there was but one room to be had
in the city, and a hundred people were after it,
Even the prOprietors Of the rum-mls will inform
you with q sigh that "business is dull" and then
Frightening up, add, 'but it will he better when
Congress meets" AS for the gambling-hOuses, they
have closed; out of town for the summer, nothing
to do, will reopen with 'the session. 1t is curious
how everything here depends upon the Government
and more especially that branch of it known Con-
gress The present stagnation in everything is cal
Cuated to give the WashingtOnans fOretaste Of
what would follow should
THE REMOVAL OF THE CAPITAL,
which is now being agitated, become a reality.
There is city in the United States, large small
so utterly dependent upon Government pap" as
Washington The absence Of Congress for six or
eight months, and OF the President and heads of de-
partments for few weeks, nearly bankrupts every
interest in the city, and reduces the place to the
verge OF destruction. 1t is easy to imagine
what would become Of it if the public
buildings moved, and both President
and Congress should take their departure forever,
Since the agitation for removing the capital to st.
Louis or some other Western city has assumed
serious aspect, the capitalists and business men
have become considerably alarmed. They have seen
enough of the Western men in Congress for the
last nine years to know that when they undertake
thing they usually put it through. Whenit is known
that there is not capitalist property-hoder, or
business man here who has not made his money,
either directly indirectly, out of the Government it
is not surprising that they should be reluctant to part
with the hen that lays golden eggs valuable and
so numerous. For years past, whenever the removal
OF the capital mOoed in or out of Congress- the
Washingtonians have solaced themselves with the
rejection that the Government had spent too much
money here to pull up stakes and go away. The
lavish offers OF land and money made by the Western
men as premium for the removal OF the capital and
the fact that after all the government property here
is only valued at something like forty
million dollars has opened the eyes of the Washing
tonians to the probabilities of disaster ahead 1t is
hard to stir them into action, for they parake very
mach of the slow, unenterprisng character of the
people of Maryland and Virginia. Nothing, how
ever arouses mans energies, if he have any, like
threatened demonstration on his pocket | hear
baG a
say of S1OO OOO to be used in defeating the schemes
for the removal of the capital. But ! doubt very
much if it will come to anything.
HOW PIECE OF NEWS WAS HUNTED DOWN.
or the thousands of people all over the country
who read the report of the conversation between
the President and General Tarbel, of Mississippi, in
the Associated Press dispatches of last Thursday
morning, scarcely one ever stopped to think how it
came there. These are extremely dull times with
newspaper correspondents, as well as with every
body else at Washington. Everything that looks
like news is seized upon with an eagerness which
betokens short rations in that line The report of
the conversation between the President and
TarbeI was gotten up in quiet
way but those who came in possession
of it were so elated at the prospect OF making 'a
beat" in these dull days that they could not keep
their secret Tarbells original intention was to give
it to the Associated Press, that might have the
widest circulation 'fOr the benefit Of the party,
he said Before it had been revised by the President
however Tarbell departed for Philadelphia, and left
the matter in the hands of one Captain Barr. Now
Barr is violent RADICAL and believes in the New
York Tribune as devouty as a Presbyterian does
in the "Catechisms larger and shorter.
do not know what his ideas of
the circulation OF the Tribune are but he evidently
thought that to give the conversation to the Tribune
correspondent, and have it published exclusively in
that paper would be equal to rnnnng it through the
'sgates and alleys" of the Associated Press. At all
events he gave it to the Tribune, but not before he
had intimated to the agent OF the Associated Press
that such document was in existence, and that he
would give them a synopsis to send South. The
history OF human affairs demonstrates very clearly
that secret can be kept by but few per
sons, except it is barred and locked by sacred
oaths The fact that a conversation had
been held between the President and General Tar
bell that it had been revised and approved by the
President and would appear exclusively in the Tri
Ja,3e next day, became known on Newspaper row
about noon of Wednesday. There was chance fol
a ssbeat" the only one probably of the season. ant
the prospect was that the Tribune by fortuitous cir
cumstances would be the lucky newspaper. The
correspondents of the Herald, TmIeS, and othe
napers put their heads together, anC
held council Of war. For each o
the papers TO have got the thing and sent i
specaI would have been no "beat,' at least none o
importance 1t was therefore resolved to get it, 4
possible for the Associated Press, so that all th
napers would receive it, and thereby prevent th'
Tribune from having it exclusive. securing cop.
of the document independently OF the IrtOUhe cor
respondent was no easy matter. First OF all th
Herald and Times went to Col. Barr, but ne CAV
them no satisfaction. They next repaired 10 tl
White House TO see what could DC dohe WIN I'll
President They found him smoking the stump o
an ndirerent looking cigar and without undue cere
mony stated their business Grant said he didn
Enov what TO do. The matte