The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-05-02
Washing ton Letter.

AA0 AailulS ue Cn;llnUiun Is u VOL
untary French exile, whose wife is the
daughter of Lafayette. He is the au-
thor of !. book called lie p omriy Erecu-
ted aur Etots Unis, which was pub
hshed in New York, and he was init
mate with Sumner ard Schurz, was for
awhile the attorney of the French Le-
CATION and may be now for aught l
know to the contrary. At all events
this is what the Marquis de Chamburn
says Of the present Master and Mistress
of the Executive Mansion. "The Presi-
dent IS a great improvement over every
thing have seen III this position, and
his lady would pass for her rank in our
country Could they have higher
compliment?
There is much distress in our citv
just now, because Of the Wholesale dis
charge of employees in the Treasury,
which took place the eighteenth. Over
three hundred Were dismissed and there
are further removals yet to be made.
This process of wedding out the unnec-
essary employees of an over crowded
Department is always painful, and in
Washington it is unusually so, because
it throws so many out of employment
who are poor and needy, have no other
means of support, and find themselves
in a city which has really none but gov.
eminent business to speak of and moth.
ing to take the place Of the regular pay
they have received from the government
These political situations are really
undesirable if one can only look at then
in a true light. TO begin with there is
never surety of retaining them. Onf
is liable at any time to be removed
Then the pay is small for the labor is
light. There is absolutely no chance
for promotion, or advancement, or i'm.
provement, and the longer one serves in
subordinate government Office, the less
he is fitted FOR more energetic business;
for, after drifting on the current fo1
years, it is hard to turn and row agains,
the stream and tide. 1t is certainly
true that there is nothing that pays hall
so poorly and is so uncertain as politics
and the most impolitic thing Il man OF
woman who can earn an honest living
by other means, can do is to accept a
government office
It is we'll known that Il part of the
Presidents policy is to unseat no Office
holder who is thoroughly competent anc
trustworthy, and yet he is quite fire.
quently asked for positions already vel
filed. A case CT this kind occurred
last week when a company Of scienti6
gentlemen called on the President ant
after much preliminary conversation OF
general and scientific topics, the,
preached the subject of appointments
and urged the merits of their candidate
for the Office of Commissioner of Agri
culture. The President heard then
through and then mildly inquired i
they could inform him when Commits
sioner Watts the present Commissions
of Agriculture intended to resign. N,
they could not. They had no informa
ton on that subject. When you hea
of his resignation, said the Presiden
'Fcomc over and see me again. Ext
savans, bowling solemnly, with myster
ious looks of enlightenment among them
selves.
The grand and Diplomatic Dinner
given last week by the President an,
Mrs Hayes, in honor of the Russia,
Dukes, was the first they have given
and was very great affair. Abou
thirty-fve guests were present. Tn
whole ground floor of the mansion wa
illuminated and decorated with flowers
the full Marine Band discoursed swee
music, thunder rolled and lightnin
flashed as if the very elements would i
honor to the royal guests. Some on
suggested the storm, sharp and violen
as it was, to be ominous of the conflic
in which the Grand Dukes country j
engaged. The loudest crash of thunde
for the whole evening, pealed out a
Alexis stepped from the door, in takin,
his departure, and never ceased its rum
BILE till the wheels of his coach role,
from the grounds.