Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-10-03
WASHINGTON.
How the Government Machine is
Run In Summer.
A Rambie Through Ghe Patent Oi-
aee-A Great Curiosity shOp-SOme
N aRfoz that pOsaaaa Interest.

Uce-A aFeat GuRAO3hty 6uVp ~fSohtAO I
Relics that Possess Interest.
Correspondence of the Union and American.
WASHINGTON, Sept. ~, 1S7z.--I Iouhd |
myself dumped down at very early hour !
this morning in this getty OF Magnificent
Distances" and after hasty breakfast,
started out on q sight seeing expedition.
Everybody l met assured me that Wash,
ington is extremely dull just now, and
those didn't meet were as anxious to have
it known that the city is dull as those en-
countered. So this seems TO be the opinion
of everybody, and what everybody thinks
must, or at least ought to be so. They tell
me that everybody who could get out of the
city shook the dust of bis feet and hied
himself away To some watering place or 10
some nook or corner in the country where
he could catch cool breeZes and pure air.
But since the weather has turned somewhat
cool and pleasant, they are finding their way
back. The White House has been desert
ed for months, and one feels the pressure
| Of loneliness as he treads the corridors or
| fingers In its magnificent rooms, most OF
which have already been re6tted aud re-
| furnished preparatory TO Gen. Grants re-
| turn, who is expected here this evening,
| for the winter season. 1t used to be that
| the President could scarcely find time TO
| take week or two Of relaxation from The
! duties of his Office which made such con-
| slant demands upon his personal attention
| Then he spent his "summer vacation" In
| attending to business during the day and
retiring to Soldiers Home, a few miles out
| Of the city, In the evening. That was the
| Presidents summer residence few years
AGO, Now Gen. Grant spends months at a
| fashionable resort by the SEE. he
| hurried off on the morning OF
the 18th of June to his cottage
at Long Branch, before his friends
| in Congress were aware of his intention OF
| going--before the business OF the session
| lust then brought 10 close was fairly dis
posed of. Since that period he has been az
| The capital about half q dozen times, and
| then only for few hours at time. HIS
absence from the seat of government, tax
ing his pleasure, has, it is stated, amounted
| to a greater length Of time than al MS
predecessors had spent in similar way
| The heads of departments and bureaus
partake largely of the spirit displayed oy
Grant, of putting pleasure before business,
and but for the electioneering they have
been doing to perpetuate the lease OF their
chief and that of themselves upon
Office, It might be truly said OF
them that they are gentlemen OF ele-
CANT leisure. What an immense amount OF
labor the old fogies of former administra-
tions performed which Grant and mis- sub
ordinates have learned TO shirk! This abb
senteeism has become a great evil, ana Is
invading every department Of the govern
ment, and a reform is seriously demanded.
The constitution of the United States con-
templated cessiOn of district not exceed
ing ten miles square by particular States
$50 become the seat of government" and
the cession was made by Maryland and
Virginia. The seat of government was
first established By the Congress OF the
Confederation at New York. The first
Congress, at its first session under the
constitution, provided for the temporary
location of the government at Philadelphia,
and that "all offices attached TO the seat OF
government Of the United States shall be
removed to, and until the first Monday in
December. 1902, shall reside at the
city of Philadelphia" By the
same act II was provided 'that on the SAID
first Monday in December, 1900, the'seat
of Government of the United States shall
be transferred to the District OF COlumbia,)
and place aforesaid. And all offices at
tached to the said seat Of government shall
accordingly be removed thereto by their ne
pact;ye holders, and shall, after the said
day, cease to be exercised elsewhere" The
President and the heads Of departments and
bureaus have continuous duties assigned TO
and imposed upon them by act Of Congress-
except on national holidays and Sundays.
With these exceptions, there is not any
other day in the year when these eyer-fe-
curing duties do not present themselves
1t was contemplated that the duties
of these high functiOnaries shall
not 90 unperformed, and when theJ
choose TO absent themselves from Their
posts, as they have done for months the
present year, they are guilty Of derelic-
tiOu of duty which they would not toie-
rate in employees 50 transact their own pr
yate business. But for the act fixing the
, matter, 80 far as an act can nix It, u Wotlu
, | have been difficult for months to tel Wneth-
, or the seat OF government was al Wsshing,
ington or Long Branch. The recognized
executive head of the government has eeeh
at the latter place for more than three
t months, and whatever of the duties OF MS
, Office he has performed during that TIME
{ must have mainly been done there, OF lie
has devoted an exceedingly small portion
9 of his time to the transaction Of his OH ial
| duties.
THE PATENT OFFICE.
That great ''Curiosity Shop the Paeeht
! Office, is one of the points to when
stranger is apt to direct bis steps TO learn
something about the inventive genius o
: his countrymen. Thither went ah'
: peered curioUsly into case after case
n models which attest the fact that We are al
{ inventive people, and that in that respec'
p we have kept pace If We have not Soh'
9 ahead of the world. The inventions .
late years have been much more numeTcu
than formerly. Previous to 1890 there ha'
r only once been more then one thousan'
# patents issued during single year; iron
1850 to 1860 there were never more than nv
thousand issued during any one year, WIN
during the last five years the average has e&
ceeded thirteen thousand. Various causes
have contributed to this extraordinary III
b crease, prominent among which is the fac
that a considerable number OF American
g have made the production Of new inven
J tions pursuit or profession. Watchln
the varying wants of the age, these tralne'
inventors are constantly endeavorlnS Z
supply new demands for something usetu
t. or ornamental. The high price of labo
n has created an extraordinary demand 10
"a labor-saying machinery-and immens
number of inventions have been devise
o for the purpose OF meeting this want. Il
r the line of agricultural implements tines
L inventions have been very numerous, an
?, many of them have accomplished wonder
in the way of saving labor. A stroll throug
this establishment will satisfy any one tia
st thousand of patents are granted Tor IL
D. ventions of trivial value. This is accounte
Of for by the fact that great deal OF none
le has been made out of patented invention!
re and there's nev% lack of men who ar
1t ready to engage in speeulations by winch
is hoped to make money. 1t is very prot
able that the stringency of the rules OF Tn
Patent Office have been very considerable
as relaxed within a few years, and hence I'll
re great increase in the number OF application
Of for patents for original inventions or in
D. provements. An incident was recently n
,e lated by Washington paper which goes
is confirm this opinion. The first applicatio
le for q patent for Lieut.. Rice's trowel bayC
n net, which is now adopted for the Unite
NJ States service, was fled by his attorne..
70 Gen. BENZ. f. Butler, of Massachusetts
and was returned to the latter rejected; NJ
patentable for reasons given in the Deute
onomy xxiii:13. To this scriptural refer
Is ence Gen. Butler demurred, on the groun
q, that the device therein specified had becon