New-York tribune., 1869-04-13
SWEEPING AND SoRUBBING.

As the prizes in the great Washington Lot
terry are for the most part disposed of, we sup
nose that desperate place-hunters will grow less
and less fastidous, and if they cannot get what
they want, will take what they can get. This
may account for the fact that recently there
was a dreadful rush of men and women TO the
Treasury Department, some or the asplrants
being white, and others not white, ana all
anxious to be employed in the business Oh
sweeping and scrubbing the offices. The Secre-
tary, we suppose, doubtless locked his DOORS
and abandoned the superintendent the Building
to his horrid fate. AS we have seen no n0nce
of his death, he escaped, we presume, with MS
life. and has by this time repulsed the besegers
and fully organized the cohorts OF the broom,
the dust-pan, and the mop. Once engaged, we
would suggest that in addition to their usual
saponaceous, watery, and dusty duties, they
might be drilled to repel the stormers, and
with the utensils of their calling in hand to
swab out and sweep out the steady stream OF
eager and sharp-set beggars who are anxious
to be quartered upon the TreasuIy-and extreme
ly good quarters we suppose that it must be.
Perhaps it will not do to inquire too closely
into the antecedents of this Undetermined but
enthusiastic throng We have noticed, in our
time, when passion for place has taken full pos
session of some ill-fated gentleman, that dis
appointment rendered him less and less fastld-
ious. Originally, he may have had something
highly lucrative and respectable III his minds
eye-a choice CollectOrship or comfortable
Post Ofice-but, if he has spent all his money,
and cannot get away from the Capital and so
betakes himself to fourishing broom In the
Treasury Department we must admit that we
view with admiration the rugged independence
of his nature. 'Tis nobler and easier than bor-
rowing, even if borrowing, under the circum-
stances, be possible.
Some of the crowd referred to, no doubt,
were successful, and are now fully and honor
ably installed in the position OF Treasury
sweeps. We trust that they will sweep faith
fully, and get themselves the credit OF being
the cleanest of new brooms. They may not
be employed in those higher kinds OF Sweep
ing which the Treasury stands in 80 much
need of but the poet tells us that he VINO
sveeps a room faithfully is to be credited
with fine action. AS it is great deal bet
ter to be q doorkeeper in the House OF the
Lord than TO dwell in tents of unrighteous-
ness, so it is infinitely better to sweep the
Treasury stairs (even the back stairs) and to
make the Treasury fires, than to abstract the
Treasury funds and to abscond Herewith.
We do not care how we'll dressed man may
be, or how highly cultivated if he can get
nothing but sweeping to do, all honor to him
if he betakes himself to that drudgery! The
only question is whether it is worth while to
go all the way to Washington, at great ex-
pense, in search of a job of that description.
And, after all, there may be safety In
humility of position. A custodian of green
backs may be tempted to filch them but no
sweeper will think it worth while to abscond
with his broom. 1t would have been better
for some quite celebrated public characters if
they had been kept to sweeping the Treasury
all their lives. In spite of the ignobility of
that vocation, whatever public reputation they
might have had would have been little less
dusty,