Wilmington journal., 1876-02-04

WASHINGTON, Jan. 81, 1875.
1t IS apparent that Congress will
have to depend for its moral support
upon that portion of the press that is
outside of Washir 2ton, in its efforts
to reduce the expenses of the Govern
ment
There are three papers in this city
that pretend to b. D,mocratc G, bus
tn: have joined the waIling chorus
III l.,mer- atiou5 over the proposed re-
ductious of the clerical force and sala
ries. Washington entirely depend
htt on mont'4.y dis oursements to Gov
.rnineut employees, boarding hOnses
aud contracts, for a prosperity tina;
has not bt en- touched by the panic, and
it IS natural perhaps that weak news
.pers that are dependent upon these
should advocate their cause and op
pose any policy that threatens their
narrow III tereStS.
The average citizen can scarcely
r.alIze what hetoism, virtue, nerve,
IS required in Washington just at this
time, Of the Democratic representa-
tives. Congress has tackled the appro
pliation bills; the salaries of members.
'adets, clerk t, are To be cut down
Eighty Thousand o:ice holders rave
threat ~, inpIor.-, weep Evsry species
of Influence 10 employed to stay the
ptun:Eg knife. The President, cabinet
ministers, contractors, the administra-
ton papers. the lobby with its power
fui persuasive of female fraii beauty,
are allleugueil aud organized TO prevent
| the reduction. Every Democratic
81 mber has been studied historically,
| characterlstlcaily and geographically
| h" weak points III his nature hav>
i)r, n carefully mapped out and viii
he -k}Ilully aud severely attacked; his
slrpng points Will be hanked. He has
Il r..ittIvl- in some branch of the GOv-
ernment service; Chat Is tue dry rot "f
our representative system) the oppo-
ucnts of the btl. viii introduce ali
a,nend tneht that bears with particular
| savar'Sy ou hat office, and aron! the
,Auti e family c1nGexs0n Of the wretch
I'd member is upon him, headed
| ty his muther-in law. and ne is asked
II ic viii be mran enough to vote
for iIiI that viii coTsigu John, his
VIII brother, 10 starvation. It re-
qnirrs courage like that of Holman to
| vote III the teeth Of mOtiIerln-iaw! !!
And then some Of the members are
damned with records; when they make
= VIZ ;tou' fort to reduce their own
salary, they are twltted with the
phrases, not 3.t cold, that they had ut
tered III favor OF back pay or an In
crease of salary. La short all the
d.abollcaj ingenuity Of the party whose
tenure Of office depends upon. aud is
'l4ICyed for puudtr, viii be used TO
| thwart those who are trying to remove
TINS fearful weight OF debt aud taxa
ton.
Clerk from Mr.. Zack Chander's
| ,iepsft n"nt has jast been in the offica
OF your correspondent, " tn this dole
fui intelligence: Congress is going
| to cat down the salaries of us poor
81, rks tn per cent. and add two hours
| 10 ihe working day. making eight hours
| n length. No man can live decently IN
| Washington on .ess than 81 200 per All
uum; tins will reduce my sa.ary to
81 $50, and l have IL wife and
four children. Moreover they are
to cut Gown the clrr.caI force 20 pei
"@rt. All this appears very melan-
| cuOiiy to tn. So whom it dire ely coz
c.-rns. 1'c many oi them, a reduction
Uf either fOlce or pay will be Il serious
hardship; but there are many uniu-
| cuEnhe ed b,oad shou u:dered, youug
men here, whom it Is wei enough to
teach that thu government departments
are not asylum5 and sinecures for
hOtde Of medIOcres who have failed i'll
the b',tt!e Of life or are too timid TO
attempt a square honest stru ggie for
| existence. TO hear them and RepuG-
ncan Ia. II 5ers talk reminds one of the
cricket III the fable, that supposed
| rum had Overtaken the worli, when
It's nest was overturned by the piow-
| share. III the interest of agriculture.
ut litsI I.,Ar ks ho niI-T
tyrs There are certain members Of
Con Tess. who are living more luxuri-
ously than they ever lived before at All
| expense OF about one Thousand a year,
these are unhappy because it is pro-
posed TO reduce their salary TO 81 SOC
! IheY, however, do not seem disposed
TO resign, and tine country may feel
assured that we will not be Left with
! out Il Legislative and clerical quorum.
| Doubtless If the entire corps OF
! so, UUU Office holders were dismissed
| to-day, AMI the salaries red iced %
| instead of 10 per cent, about 70, 900 of
them would be drumming Influence,
| 30 effect their reinstatement, i'll less
that tvs anty-tour hours.
The trouble with the average Cow
ernment clerk is that be pays too much
| Of his salary for dancing lessons and
| theatre tickets; and with the mem Der
| OF Congress Is that he aspires to live
| like Little Emma Stewart, Boss
| Shepard or Nevada Jones, to give fine
enter ailments, aud have the terlapin
and champaigue crammed snobs of the
! press write them into fictitious great
ness.
| 1t almost impossible for those who
have not seen TO reallEa the idleness
and eXtraVagance OF our civil service.
lour CORE pond"nt has, on more than
one occasion, attempted to write about
1T, but is always staggered with the
lr:pGsslblllty OF showing it mp IL one
letser, and discouraged by tIla refec-
| tioE shat 1t will appear too monstrous
for belief. Congress knows huJ little
about 1t; subcommittee OF members
are frequently appointed to inspect
certain bureaus, aud this Is perhaps
the first lntimation that they have nad
OF the existence of the bureaus They
go on the tour Of inspection, and walk
through half Il dozen rooms, crowded
with elegant office furniture, and
perhaps dazzling female clerks,
almost too busy to look up
They have had ample warning of the
visitation, and are PREPARED for it;
even without warning the average clerk
instinctively "lays on with his pvn
whenever maj whose appearance
suggests something between a lawy,
and granger appears in the hail.
This committee devotes an entire half
hour to the study OF a cum orcus and
use ess system that it would require
two weeks to fulIy comprehend, and,
after asking a few pointless questions
of the cbief clerk, departs, wondering
how the opposition papers can say
such extrayagant, untrue things about |
the superfuonsness and idleness of |
these hard working clerks
Your correspondent having been
longer than half an hour, or half'a |
year, IN one of the Bureaus, and be-
ing acquainted with 81 d,,zen others.
does not hesitate 20 write 0ur the
opinion he wIiI express l. str gth..,I.d
by the opinion OF SOM o: those who