Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-11-11
tETTER FROM VASHIJGT0N.

and that that is a sign, and | see that way up in
your State the wild animals are very busy laying
! in stores. But here we do not look upon wise
signs of hard weather with much dread, being so
far South as to fear Northern blasts not much.
| The city is dull yeti Congress and its army OF
| hangers on is not with and will not be for a
month. The principal occupation of people here
now seems to be to find places to settle for the
winter. Probably no city in the Union has so
many Furnished Rooms to Let, with or " ithout
Table Board in proportion to its size as Wash
| ington. And vet the people who have these rooms
would consider it an insult to be called boarding
house keepers, and would never think of putting
out the old fashioned sign, Boarding and Lodg-
| ing" 1t is always Rooms to Let" and "Iable
Board" And it seems though one-haf OF
| Washington lived in hired rooms which they
change once or twice Il year. They take rooms
| for the winter at winter prices, which are two OF
three times high as for the summer months, for
in hot weather boarding house keepers and land
lords are very glad TO rent their rooms at almost
any price, content to reap the harvest in the Win
ter. Many people Of moderate income help it out
| by taking large house with spare rooms which
during six or nine months they frequently rent
for enough to pay for the whole house during the
year. Rents are high here and have kept up de-
spite the panic more than in almost any other city.
People here have suffered less than people gener-
ally have throughout the country, for Uncle sam
| is "sure pay The much abused y servant OF
the Government is q lucky fellow III these times,
| for he can look forward to the end Of the month
with certainty Of pay, while many a poor clerk OF
mechanic outside has to wait for his money or gets
none at ALL That is one of the great alluremcns
| of Government service-the surety of compensa-
ton. Banks may fail, railroads so under. the
supposed wealth Of great companies and institu-
tions like the bank OF California Prove deluson,
but the Government clerk looks on the crumbling
| of solid business edifces all over the country
dismayed. As long as he does his duty well and
has "infiuence' in the shape Of some powerful
politician to back him he feels secure. The ladies
are the ones who suffer most trepidation, for
though the "Heads" may encourage them the bal
| lot does make difference when expenses must be
cut down or places given to people, for the woman
armed with all her charms and power is still with
out that power and therefore generally the frstto
suffer. A late high official q the Treasury De-
partment, when a lady clerk expressed TO him the
hope that she might not be dismissed, said to her
"Don't trouble yourself in the least, when have
to make lismissals the men will have TO CO. for
they can saw wood" And vet when the reduc
ton of force came, this poor woman, who was not
only widow herself but had widowed daughter
with two children dependent upon her, received
that terror-inspiring object-a yellow envelope"
She Immediately went to the officer and asked how
ii happened that she had to go after such assnr-
ances from him. He equivoeated and shrked re-
sponsbty by saying that he had been compelled
| to leave the matter TO a subordinate and did not
himself know who was to be dismissed. That
subordi mate thus made scape goat of, had the
night before left town to save trouble The lady
next went to headquarters TO the Secretary him
SELF and told him that the Head Of her Bureau had
informed her that he did not know anything about
the dismissals. The Secretary said that ought
not to be the case that he should know who was
going TO be dismissed and ought to see that the
most deserving and needy ones were retained.
Back went the plucky woman to her chiefan told
him to his face what his chief had said. He
WINGED under this and ate his own words by say
ing when thus pressed that he and the subordi-
nate official, who had fed to avoid the ordeal had
made the dismissals and that he was responsible
for them. And that was all the consolation she
could get. After two years out of Office she has
got back, while this unworthy chief has had to re-
tire to private life.
The dastardly attempt of some miserable fellow
out West to connect General Babcock-the Pres
idents Confidential Secretary and companion-and
the Presidents brother, Orvile Grant, Of Chicago,
with the "Whiskcy Ring" has created much ex-
element and Indignation among the friends of
those persons. Cen Babcock says he is not in the
least troubled by it, and says Mr.. Orville Grant.
No one who has any knowledge Of their charac-
tiers would for moment give credence to such an
outrageous libel or express themselves as beev-
ing it except out OF pure "cussedness' or spite,
especially on the evidence Of man who has plead
guilty of the crime of defraudirg the Govern
ment and betray ing his trust as Government Off
Ger. This man, Gen. Babcock does not know, and
never saw more than once or twice.
1t does seem as though this passion for whole
sale slanderng and libe!lins the reputation of our
prominent men had taken possession Of the Amer
lean people and fortunate are they who are not so
high that the calcium light Of the Detective Press
can glare upon them and pierce them through and
through, makn all the follies and weaknesses Of
poor humanity to be seen TO him that runs. As
Jerry Black, one Of our most famous lawyers,
facetiously said during the progress of the last
Congressional Insve stgaton uto the Board of Pub
lie Works of the District "The great American
| nose seems TO be On general smelling tour"
Things which would be overlooked as too trivial
to be noticed in private man, made to appear
| by the exaggcrative imaginatons of newspaper
correspondents henious sins, and By the time
reports have travelled the rounds Of the press, a
reputation which any man might be proud of is
pc rhaps irreparably blackened; hundreds, perhaps
thousands, only too willing to believe evil, have
seen the accusation and will go to their graves
believing the man a villain, for "a lie runs faster
than the truth" There may be benefits derived
from this morbid vulture-lke appetite for victims,
but it has demoralized society frightiully and de-
stroyed faith in humani,y--a most direful result.
We hopefully look for a change. CLAIMING.
know not what record of sin awaits me in the
other world; but this do know, that never was
so mean as to despise any man because he was
poor because he was ignorant, or because he was
I i