Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1876-04-15

How Zach Chandler has Disappointed
Those who Laughed at Him, and Inor-
oughly indicated the Wisdom OF rre
ident Grants Selection. (.

81 T. 1uIer-Ocean. -oL
When ex-senator Chandler WIZ IL f,ce
sa oh &c Secretary of the Interior, the l'cs
tha Damocratic party was on a proao
or;n The ..independent press. ge,naWeo
fE;tta and even the staid old New
"A VI Times could not resist the tempta'
Honto Iouch n little, and the only com
mant tbey printed on the announcement
of his appointment was that he was "a
Good man to sit up o. nights with" But
Zach Chambers appointment to the In
terror Department is no longer regarded
as a Joke. The prediction of the Inter
Ocean was that sMr. Chambers expert
ence as a business. man, his unquestiona-
BILE integrity, and his proverbial shrewd'
ness are invaluable in the position which
he has been invited to fill" and he has
never given the occasion for suspicion
that the prediction would not be verified
His department is now
REGARDED AS A MODEL.
Investigation turned back IL reaeu-
cd the doors. for, as Chandler said to
YOUR correspondent:
: al want them to investigate me. want
them to come here and go through THIS
Department with. a search-warrant, anu
if thew find anything wrong III correct
1T before they can say Jack Roolson. HI
give a Congressional committee, Or any
person. or number of persons, $1,000
apiece for any instance of fraud or wrong
in this department. they can lind that ]
don't know myself. Send on your com
mittee. I'm one of those fellows tha1
like to be investigated"
And it is so. The Interior Department
to-day is as clean and neat as a dairy. ant
is run on the same business principles
that Secretary Chandler observed III
making his millions in his Detroit store.
For the first five or six weeks after he
took the office he spent his m as ne
said. sgittin' acquainted with the hands
and he knows all about every man and
woman in the department. After he got
acouainted with his material he began to
consider how he could improve it, and
commenced a system of pruning. He cut
off one clerk here and another there.
Chandler is one of the best judges OF hui
man character i'm the world. He can
measure a man by CHANGING at him and
after he has looked you over he will cal
culate your 'spints' while he puts a chaw
of tobacco i'm his mouth, and by the time
he has got the quid packed away between
his cheek aud his grinders he will give
Won a statement of your character that
will not be far amiss. If he don't like
you.v You will not have to accuse him OF
being a hypocrite. He never hesitates to
express an opinion of You before your
face, but behind your back he will never
utter word in your disfavor.
AS WAS saying. after he got acquainted
with his subordinates, he began to spot
them, as they say, and nearly every Sat.
urlay for a couple of months, some Sc
lected group of u~nfortunates would fine
out they wern't wanted.
THE FIRST BATCH OF DISIMSSALS
was made i'm the Indian Bureau. and those
who were discharged were supposed to
be indipensible to the proper execution
of business: the wiseacres held up their
hands i'm horror and exclaimed that the
country woull 90 to ruin; that the In
dians would starve. or go on the war
path because certain clerks who had been
i'm the department a century were dis
charged. Chandler was going to para
lyze business; the government service
would suffer IRON Ignorance and lnef-
ficiency of the green clerks. But the Or
acles haven't been missed.
The Patent Office was then taken up
and dumped. a new set OF men were
put in to take charge OF business, a new
commissioner, with qualities and abilities
after Mr.. Chambers own mind anu was
e appointed, and the character OF the ONCE
has changed from u lOating place and an
intelligence bureau for attorneys 10
business headquarters aud source OF rev
enue for the government. In tfle m0nln
of January last the receipts OF the rat-
eut Bureau were larger than those OF any
month in its history; the receipts fol
February arc not yet calculated in the az
greeate, but they Will show a similar con-
trast.
The Pension Bureau and Land office
were overhauled and repaired, so thai
they can now stand inspection on dress
snarade.. The new Commissioner of In
dian Affairs and new Commissioner OF
Pensions have both proven to be admit
rable Sc ections, and have assisted the Sec
retary in his correction of abuses, with
ready. willing and able hands. When a
new assistant secretary is selected. as Mr..
Chandler V 81 will have a good hand,
and think L can win the game"
One reason the Secretary is so success
full is that he knows everything that Is
going on in that department. tie Is as
familiar with all the intricate, secret man.
aoement of business as he was with the
stock of goods in his Detroit store. He
knows his subOrdinates here just as he
knew his statesmen there, and he watches
the interests of the government as he
watched his own for 80 years.
In one of the drawers of his desk Mr..
Chandler has a modest green morocco
memorandum book,
THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT BOOK OF
FATE, ~
and it is an object of curiosity and con
Germ to a great many people. On this
doomsday book every emplOyc of the
Interior Department throws his shadow.
In the "Golden Legend" Longfellow
tells the angels rTGT
That attend, unseen, each one of M,
: and on that dreadful day-book keeps a
record of our good and evil deeps. Sec
f: rotary Chandler has just such a record.
In it he has the name, position and ante
: cedentS of every man, woman and child
on the p~ay-rolls of the Interior Depart
ment. In it also are described the same
particulars concerning every applicant
for an appointment. Whenever a clerk
does a good or a bad deed the Secretary
knows it, and he does not trust to his
memory, but jots it down after the name
Of the actor. He can tell you, if he will,
the ace, birthplace, and previous condi-
ton of every man in the building !;
whether he drinks or swears or CANDLES;
whether he is ~listless OF Indifferent, or
whether he is active, energetic and SER
yiceable. He can tell you what clerks
loaf about the halls and gossip; how
long they stay when they go out to
lunch, and how promptly they are at
thelr desks in the morning. He can tell
0 now many were soldiers, and who
were good fighting men ; and how
many take an active interest in the sue
cess OF party which keeps them in
position; how many are trimmers. and
have adjusted their political sails so as to