The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1871-09-23
The Need of a Government Hotel

Some weeks since. we suggested to Con-
gress the propriety of preparing, at a suita-
BILE locality near the national capital, an asy~
lum for the benefit of the disabled Presidents.
who might be overcome with the heat of the
weather or excess of emotion during the
summer months. This would do away with
the necessity of those frequent trips to and
long stays at Long Branch. which monopo>
ized the time and depleted the exchequer
of his excellency the past season; while tho
best government in the world" would then
be so close to Washington. that it might rusl.
into the city whenever a hostile Ku-klux
damned the constitution on the banks Of the
Santee, or an indignant Indian sounded
war>whoop among the glens Of the Sierra
Nevada. AS affairs now stand, the centre
and soul of our beloved country is perambu-
lating over the sands of the seashore, when
his presence is needed at the executive man
sion, and we present the ludicrous spectacle
of great nation with its head in one place
and its body in another.
The suggestion alluded to, however, con>
templated accommodations only for the Presi-
dent of the United States, his family and
guests, for we were not then aware that each
and every member of the cabinet was in such
excessive delicate health that prolonged
residence in Washington could not be thought
of. This is apparently the case, for our dis
patches of yesterday inform US that the gov
ernment in all its power. prestige and ma
iesty now walks about clad in the garments
of Rear Admiral James Alden-the naval
representative of wandering and scattered
administration. Robeson, the gallant sailor.
has vanished into rural solitudes likewise
Fish. the piscatorial diplomat; Akerman.
the stump orator; Belknap, the hero of q
hundred battles on paper Cresswell. the
chivalric manipulation of mail facilities /;
Boutwell,, the inventor of syndicates and
Delano, who presides over the mysteries of
the interior. All, all are gone, and on the
broad, nautical shoulders of Alden rests the
tremendous burden of the Union, liable to
be capsized by a sudden sguall.
We submit that this will not do. Scott,
Morton, Wallace ard their friende-all hon.
ora BILE men-tell US that the country is in a
most criticol condition, ready at any mo-
ment to lapse into eternal smash. Not d
loyal hen roost in the south, from the Poto-
mac to the Rio Grande, that is not threat
ened with invasion by the ku klux not an
intelligent brother of the culored pursuasion
in the same section who may not be hung
drawn and quartered by said Ku-klux before
the going down of the sun; not patriotic
carpet bagger who may not be robbed of his
haru earnings ana OrlVen an exile from the
home of his adoption by masked ruffians in
league with the devil aud JEFF Davis not a
man, woman, or child in the whole land who
may not be suddenly swallowed up in the
vortex Of "new rebellion" Aud the only
bulwark against these terrible caIamties is
Alden, jolly sea-dog, perfectly at home on
board ship Of war, and perfect land lub-
Der at the helm of the ship of state.
Congress must take measures to prevent
the occurrence of such an awkward dilemma.
A grand government hotel must be built on
the banks Of the Potomac. or the shores of
Chesapeake bay for the accommodation of the
President and bis cabinet, where the hub and
spokes of the administration wheel may re-
cuperate their exhausted energies in the sweet
summer time. and yet continue to revolve in
the line of official duty.
England has Windsor, Osborne and Bal
moral, where Victoria ard her royal progeny
enjoy dignifed retirement cannot the UNI
versal Yankee nation afford at least one II all
Columbia Castle for the delectation of our
chosen sovereigns OF course-therefore let
it be SO ordered.-St. Louis Republican.