Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1874-07-30
A Diplomatic Misfit.

During the late session of Congress
the Secl etary Of State succeeded ii
manipulating the committees, and in
carrying through Il law by which q
third assistant secretary and large
number of new clerks were added
to the already too costly roll of that
department, which now exceeds nearly
three times over its expense during
the war when the business was ten
fold greater.
That done, Mr. Benjamin Morgan,
now Secretary of Legation at London,
was nominated for the new assitat's
place, and the organs related his
faithful service and long experience,
which the best Of governments that
the world ever saw, with Grant at
the head and Robson at the tail,
was about to recognize.
All this looked very nice on the
surface, but the sudden love for the
plodding Morgan rather surprised
some people. Now it is understood
how the milk got into that cocoanut
and why place for which Mr.. Nor
gan was so Remarkably fitted" turns
out to have been quite a misft,
since the measure was taken really
for another person.
Mr.. Fish has chosen the foreign
office at London as the model for
recognizing our Department Of State.
All tho n~.L is.. ....I .'.. i..ovl."Oo Of
place which interiors affect, have been
transferred there under the nourishing
care of Bancroft Davis, the BRIDE taker,
who may be said to have ''run the
machine" since he went to Washing
ton. 1t has lost the tone, dignity,
and simplicity which heretofore
prominently distinguished that office,
until it fell into the hand of snobs
pretenders, and shame.
One of the constant thoughts and
insidious efforts of Mr.. Fish has been
to establish regular diplomatic ca
reer after the European system, and to
graft upon it the younger and incom
petent sons of our nobility, who could
not earn an honest living ifthey tried
That has been his dominating idea,
and it is worthy of the magnificent
mind which shone out with so much
borrowed brilliancy in the Cstacazy
controversy.
Mr.. Fish has a son-they all have
sons, brothers, or brothers-in-law TO
provide for at the public crib-who is
Secretary of Legation at Berlin. He
wanted to transfer him to London,
but there was the toiling Morgan
delving among the archives, and do
ing all the work, so as to be indispensa-
bic to the Legation. How to get rid
of him was the question.
In this emergency the genius of
our magnificent Secretary did not fail
him. So he had new Office created,
and then tempted Morgan with that
bait But the old rat knew all the
good cheese about London, had set
tied himself down comfortably, and
did not care tc break up his easy ways
by an exchange which offered no real
temptation. So he declined the
Indifferent honor, and after having
.
said so many fine things about him,
they can't even turn him out as they
would like to do.
Old Mr.. Fish went to Washington
the other day, and was wrathy. He
looked like the great thunder cloud
that burst over the capital recently
and desolated so many of the Boss's
improvements. Young MIR. Fish is
said to have been also vehement at
Berlin when the news was flashed to
him that Morgan sticks, and that the
garment which was cut with so much
pains has turned out an absolute mis-
fit. 1t is really too bad that the an-
cient and renowned head of our ex-
isting diplomacy should be treated in
this way. Catacazy could not have
behaved worse in disturbing the