The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-05-31
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

| ucSlISo ulGdllS VI OtiChSoA e@hA
vigor into the insect tribes. For the
past ten days it has been fearfully hot
here, and while we poor mortals were
nearly frantic in our fears of sunstroke,
insects of every species, day and night,
buzzed and pinched and bit us till our
disordered imaginations told us the dog
days were here and Sirius had gotten
down so near that his flaming sword
would soon sweep us into his tieriest
furnace. Strange to say that with these
pests came an avalanche of office seekers
who have swarmed into the White House
from early morn to bedtime at night and
now the question is why has the warm
weather aroused the one as well as the
other into such active life? What has
the weather to do with the matter of
offices, anyhow2 Well, if the President
can endure it, SO can we, though he does
| get more pay than we do for this endur-
ance of ills brought upon the city by the
elevation of the thermometer. 1t is
hardly patriotic to class insects, pests
and sunstrokes with ofice-seekers. But
as the latter are such pertinacious
borers, and are SO utterly destitute OF
| conscience or blood as well as so deter
mined to suck every particle of life or
blood out of whatever human being they
fasten onto that we are led unconsclously
| to regard them kin to mosquitoes and
other animals of the blood extracting
order, and Judging by the way the Pres
ident suffers at their hands, one is about
as obnoxious as the other. Baltimore
blessed him with another delegation, who
as usual tried to hound him into an i'm
mediate appointment of postmaster for
that city. Other cities poured In their
delegates also, and associated with these
were hundreds seeking after individual
place till it really seemed Presidential
duty consists solely in listening to the
plant of the ofice-seekers. Men with
hobbies haunt the White House. One
wanted all steam cars stopped on Sun
day. Another wants no more American
securities sold in Europe. Lately, one
John Pope Hodnett who spouts agrarian-
ism to the negroes and who he5ces them
of whatever money he can wheedle out
of them under pretence of being their
Saviour in these hard times, headed a
delegation of his flock and made his
customary set speech to the President.
This fellow is another of our pests.-
We have said Boss Shepherd was justi-
fable III the creation of our immense
city debt, even if he done nothing more
with the money than fill the old canal
which with its 100 feet breadth of cor
ruption ran right through the heart of
the best portion of the city. Yet time
adds qualifying clause because he did
not bury John Pope Hodnett in the
depths of the sewer filth prior to the
Cling of the canal. We are willing to
endure excessive heat and swarms of
insects because they afiot you as we'll
as ourselves, and misery loves company.
But as Hodnett afiicts only Washington
we pray to be spared and ask from the
| UOIbOul VI Jul utdItS vi LOIei, INV
long! President Hayes errs in devoting
so much of his time to Office seekers for
their appeals should be made to the
heads of the executive Departments and
not to the President. Fhe letter Of lew
says the President shall appoint, but its
spirit points conclusively to the Cabinet
Office charged with the supervision of
the appointee. Were a general in war
times to bother and employ himself with
the merest details he would soon find
, tie enemy swooping down upon him
+ with irresistible fofee. So with the
J President. The time devoted to petty
postoffices and in listening to set speech
f es in behalf of men for whom the coun-
{ Try has not the slightest concern, as they
{ are not known outside Of the mile square
in which they deliver mail matter. should
. be devoted to National affairs, and the
2 various secretaries should alone deter
mine who shall draw the government
pap at the Confederate Cross Roads,
Baltimore, and all other similar impor-
tant PLACES. In National affairs we in
clude such matters IS listening to dele
| cations from Church bodies, SUCH 9 one
S as Button of Lynchburg Virginian
L recently headed. He was one who aid
ed IN securing the consolidation of the
two branches OF the Methodist Protes-
, tant churches, and while filed with the
s fraternal spirit which wiped out the
: differences WHICH bad separated these
a religious bodies, he addressed the Pres
e idsnt warmly upon the necessity of peace
and harmony, etc, We are confident
that the Turk who will not trust his
] goods to a christian would sooner risk
2 his wares to Buttons honesty than ac-
+ cept his professions of christianity after
reading his diatribes against the Yankee
and the Republican in the Daily Virgin
l ian. Hence his brotherly speech made
l in the White House arouses bit OF
scepticism in our minds, and we wonder
what next2 We regret, though we dc
l not complain, that Miss Van Lew, post
mistress at Richmond, goes down in hel
> fight for her Office. She has discharged
her duties faithfully. But she holds 6
| political Office and must expect that po
itical deeapitation shieh is sure to come
to the office holder sooner or later. She
has held her place for eight years anG