American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-11-04
Washington LETTER.


| WASHINGTON, oct. %.
All government business is at Il
practical stand still just now. The
male employees have gone home to
vote, aud all are looking forward TO
the I'm of November with fear, and
trembling, and failings of heart.
some of them have hope. bat none
have conf fence. The political ba-
rometcr FIR The last week HIS iudi-
Gated IA steady rise for TIlden. The
heavy political strategy of the Il. :.
publican managers in sending the
army to south Carolina has proved
worse than aboi ton, for it has re
vealcd and diIec'ed the eyes of the
country to the real condition as
seen at Cainloy; and the stupid Cd
nard about the depression OF Amer
probability Of Til,len's election. has
had no effect upon the astute uu
imprcssible mOneyed classes whom
it WAS designed to influence. On
The other hand, Governor Tilden's
oppor tune letter ia reference to
Southern claims has completely
scotched the bold misrepresrn Il.
tiui 8 of ten thousand oratoricll
,lemagogues aud nearly half as
many newspapers.
For two successive days aston
ishrd Washington has seen the
phenOninal absence, from the adj
ministration organ, The National
Republican, of haif a page of bloody
carnage in Louisiana, and South
Carolina. II has been SO long the
custom of this paper to make the
Mississippi river overflow with At
rican blood, that these omissions
from its daily programme have ere
.trI IL vague fear among the Demo |
Gratis that the paper is preparing to |
come over to their side.
l said that government clerks had |
gone home to vote; many have been
granted |, ave of absence with pay |
Tor forty days, while others have !
been absent tor weeks and even
mouths, actively eng; g-d in cam
paign work for Ulyes and Wheel I
er. Meanwhile business is neglect
ed, and the commissioner of Pat !
enfs prints in red ink on ci,cu ars |
sent to applicants for patents, the
falsrhoOd HAT, lowing to the re
ductions of force made by the last
Congress cases cannot be acted OH.
as promptly as heretofore" We
could direct the attention of the
Commits -ioner of Patents to another
cause of delay in acting on app.ica-
ii MS for patents. 1t has been Oh
served that the employees in the
patent Office and tie assistant ex-
aminers, aniicip,tin Il change i'll
he administration, and heir posi-
bile rem oval fem office-are busy
during Office hours preparing d..
gesIs ut patents, and making lists
Jf rejected Cases, in order that they
may establish themselves as Patent
in Case They should be
from office
In close States like Ohio and
the government EN- Z
ployes who have gone home to vots
will in all probability decide he
Electoral vote. Tho vota of Ohio
,ifice-hoiders in the recent election
f subs i'u'ed from the Republican !
majority would have elected the
Democratic candidate. The num- !
Der of Oiiolns who have been
in Washington through
he patronage of Chase, Cox, De.a I
10, the 5hermans, and Grant, is s
'-ry large; Larger think than from
my Other State. We are sensitive
Is we should be on all subjects re
ating to the riglit of suffrage hLt-
here seems to Le Xef,ys-1f iIrflr p,opri-
~ IlruTmitting those VIII" have
IIfde their homes here for Yeas, To
20 to distant States to vote. II I
would certainly be IL step in the di- I
ection of civil service reform to I
du,ing tenure of Of j
ice, all government employees. We 4
an easily see the absurtiity of per '
hitting the woikmen in IL cation ]
actoiy To choose their own dir C. h
DIS or to vote, stump. and contrib |
lie their money. for those directors S
My who are in favor of keeping e
hem in place. 1t is plain that this S
ystem would be demon alizing 10 r
9th directors and employees, that t
y Considerations II Tie good Of +