Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-09-07
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
Correspondence Of the Bulletin.

Correspondence of the Bulletin.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Aug. 81, ~.
Our Rip Van Wrinkles, the District
Commissioners, have at last discovered
that its police force need thorough drill
ingand organization, and have appointed
drill-masters to instruct the men in mil
itary tactics, substituting, however, the
club for the musket. Our police force
has never been drilled, and as body is
totally ignorant Of that power Of organ
ization given by thorough acquaintance
with the principles of military organiza-
ton such as obtains in the police force
Of New York City, and were it not fol-
the fact that our force is composed
largely of old soldiers, it would have
been powerless to check powerful and
combined mob of any description.
GOSSIP
Our divorce market remains brisk
though our city bonds have been some.
what affected in their market value by
the recent depression in the price Of
gold, yet the unhappily mated in mar
riage appear as numerously in Oul
courts as ever, and our lawyers thrive
A Mrs. Butler recently applied for di-
vorce on some frivolous ground, but hel
husbands cross-bill shows her to have
had another husband living at the time
she was last married, and from whom
she had never been divorced. 1t is hard
ly likely her bill will stand fire under
existing circumstances, and she will
therefore have an opportunity OF eXer-
CT NJ bnr hny TN,
monial tendencies, for with some women
here there appears not the slightest re-
pugnance to excess of husbands The
lobby influences of Congress bring here
during every season scores of such adj
venturesses, and they reap a rich har-
vest, seemingly, among our unsophisti-
Gated, if we may judge results by the
frequent astonishing developments in
our divorce courts, of which this Butler
suit is a fair average.
Another class which Congress brings
ussis one with claim against the gov
eminent, and since the war the South
has furnished goodly number of them,
among whom we would name Mrs. Wall
ingford as a specimen She arrived here
some years ago, hailing from Louisiana,
and claiming that the government owed
her about $4,000 for cotton, stock,
corn, ETC., taken by the troops during
the war from her plantation. This claim
she had introduced into Congress, but
since then she has amended it and now
it figures up to over 100000 In the
meantime she has appeared in score of
intrigues and has become so well known
that she and her doings are public pro-
perty. There is hardly a boarding
house in the city but can report itself
swindled to greater or less extent by
some smooth, oily talking male and fe-
male strangers who came here to obtain
payment for claim against the govern
ment. From the heir Of some revolu-
tionary soldier down to the claimant Of
half million for supplies furnished the
army during the war, the result to the
host entertaining is the samoan i'm
mense bill Of boarding. Once ensconsed
the claimant develops faculty for re-
naming at the expense of his hostess,
but not for obtaining his claim, as in no
case can he get his bill passed, and were
we not assured that poor human nature
is as ready to deceive and be deceived
to-day as in the days of Sampson, we
might wonder why our people will not
be taught by past experience of loss.
In 1869 there came to our house fell
low, who said he was from Georgia;
that he owned a large plantation, and
was now on his way to New York to
sell what cotton he had on hand, but
would stop here till he could make ar
engagements for the collection Of an i'm
mense claim he had against the govern
ment. Before the end of the week he
had ingratiated himself into the good
will of the hostess and the affections of
her daughter, aged about l6, and with
the full consent of the mother married
the latter The marriage was broken up
at once by the enraged father and the
husband of an hour kicked into the
street so summarily, that apparently
afraid Of his neck, he disappeared forev-
err, taking with him as souvenir of his
fair bride her mothers gold watch and
some other jewelry.
Our curiosity hunters have had a feast
in the sale of the furniture and orna-
ments of Chamberlain's gambling house,
which was closed last spring because it
failed to net its proprietor any profits
during last winters presidential excite
ment. These effects brought good pri-
ces and were purchased chiefly by ladies,
who seemed determined to possess some
relic of the notorious den. The house
was recently bought by Gen. Meyer, for
private residence, and it will be one of
the most attractive in the city. 1t was
for years occupied by Mr.. Thornton, the
British Minister, and last fall was taken
by Chamberlain, who thought he could
have here sporting establishment on
the grand scale of Morrissey at Sara
tOga.
The star gazers in great numbers visit
the Observatory every night to see Mars
and his baby moons, keeping the officers
in charge quite busy with the tele-
scope. The atmosphere of our nights is
now so clear that perfect view is af-
forded with the telescope. No one here
has as yet observed the third satellite
reported as discovered by Prof. Draper,
but as our telescope is so much larger
and the refracting power is so much
greater than Prof Drapers, we presume
we shall soon have the opportunity of
witnessing the three, and even more
We are, like the boy from the country,
bound to see everything that is to be
seen. Prof. Hall, who made the first
discovery, was once a stone-mason and
we propose to have him chisel out a
bigger niche for himself and our tele-
scope than that occupied by anybody
else. FELIX
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