Middletown transcript., 1877-04-07
washington Letter.

| Hampton has his own-Chamberlain waiting
for his-Removal eff Troops ordered at last.
The Interior Department--Will the Secre-
tary reform it2-Personal, ETC., etc.
When, on Saturday, it became csr-
tain that the President would remove
the troops from the State House Of Col
umbia to their camp, half q mile away
there was much exultation among the
Southern men and Conservatives here.
and corresponding depression among
the followers of Chamberlain and Pack
ard. The order will be sent by mail
to Columbia this week, and will be pro-
mulgated after both Hampton and
Chamberlain reach there.
Logically Louisiana must now be re-
lieved Of her similar bondage.
Chamberlain flsd an argument against
the removal of troops, and the paper is
an ingenious one, but it was evidently
prepared after the case was known to
be decided against him, and to heightsn
the importance Of the writer's position,
with view to demanding substantial
personal recognition hereafter.
1t is an odd fact that these two latest
of carpet-bag Governors are the ablest
men Of their class, and perhaps the
most respectable. One can almost be-
lieve that if the evil elements which con-
trolled the South in '66. '67, '68 and
'69 had put to the front men of actual
ability like Chamberlain and Packard
the Republican party might still have
standing in many Of the Southern
States, even if not permanently success
ful there. With strong men for lead
ers the party would not have needed
Federal military support, thing SO ut
terly uDrepublican that no circumstan-
ces can justify or party successfully
support its continuance.
Secretary Schurz has not yet got
down to the work Of applying his reform
ideas to his own Office Indeed, / fear
be is not the most sincere, unyielding
reform statesman in the nation. He
succeeded iu Office an opposer of all re-
form, and the one who has done more
than any other one to cripple the weak
attempts Of Grant to improve the ser
vice, and he has SO far done nothing to
distinguish bis administration Of Inte-
rior Department affairs from that Of his
predecessor. He found in charge of
bis bureau ofices-land, patent, In
dian and pension-small politicians in
jected into them by the political quacks
whom be condemns, but he does moth
ing. If his idea of an efficient and
nom partisan civil service reform is to
find bis department controlled by inefi-
cient radicals, and to let it remain SO,
he is successful beyond any who have
gone before him. He found that in the
Pension Office, for instance, two claims
we're fled while one was being disposed
of, and that claims filed there remained
for from eighteen to thirty-six months
without final action. He has done
nothing to secure a better system or
better executive officers. If Mr.. Schurz.
while editing bis paper, or otherwise
engaged, had not discovered until 1878
that Hayes was a candidate for Prssi-
dent in 1876, he would have been no
more behind the times in politics than
his Commissioner of Pensions is in the
business of the Pension Office In the
one case Mr.. Schurz would be without
his cabinet position in the other, the
impoverished soldier, widow and orphan
wait and suffer for what is due them.
Our District police force, heretofore
engaged in part in hunting up evidence
as to the habits of Conservative con-
grsssmsn, has Of late ample Legitimate
employment. The serious violations Of
law were never before so numerous as
now. A week since the safe at police
headquarters was broken open and a
small sum stolen. All was taken ex-
cept marked" money, showing that
the thief must have been member Of
the force, or some one familiar with
matters at headquarters.
The local sensation of the past few
days was at the Criminal Court. Your
readers will remember that SAT 900
package was stolen from the Treasury
some time since. Yesterday, while one
Of The alleged thieves was under trial,
another took the stand and exposed the
whole affair. Rene.