The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1878-03-23
Our Washington Letter,

His Oton Supporters Wrong Men in the
Right PlaceS--Coin Ce,9ifcqteS-O Office Of |
the Doorkeeper AboliShed-The Arriual Of
the Long Lest Friends.
WASHINGTON, D. c., March IS, 1878.
The ousting of President Hayes, as is SO
often referred to and spoken of by number
of newspapers which affect to be greatly con-
cerned for the national prosperity, is certain
ly surprising. Every prominent Senator
and member here who has been approached
on the subject know that all such schemes
are utterly futile; and yet the great mass of
men are not SO intelligent as to be able to
recognize their futility, nor to appreciate the
consequences ofan overt act in that direction.
There are, however, it is true, republicans,
who, from disappointment, would be glad to
see Mr.. Hayes elected, but | doubt if the
boldest of them would have the courage to
espouse, openly, the cause ofthe conspirators,
At any rate, not many Of them are SO des-
perate and reckless as to do so; while a
large majority of the democracy would be
decidedly opposed to the enterprise. Hos
tility to Hayes administration is, however,
rapidly on the increase in the Senate, and
recent nominations have not tended to allay
" are very Objectionable to republicans, and
Mr., Hayes continues to make his own choice
regardless of party, and several small fights
are on hand. The words spoken by Mr..
Hayes on the steps Of the Capitol one year
ago have not been forgotten; when, in his in
uugural address, he asked the attention of the
public to the paramount necessity Of reform
in our Civil Service-a reform not merely
as to certain abuses and practices of so-called
official patronage which have come to have
the sanction of usage in the several depart
ments Of our Government, but q change in
| the system of appointment itself; reform
that shall be thoroughly, radical and COM
| plete, return to principles and practices of
the founders of the government. They
meant that the officer should be secure in his
tenure of Office as long as his personal charac
ter remained untarnished and performance
of his duties satisfactory. They held that
the appointments to office We're not to be
made or expected merely on the nomination
of members of Congress as being entitled in
any respect TO the control of such appoint
mcnts. Carpetbagism, it was thought,
would be eXtinguished. OF the large num-
ber of appointments which have been made
within the last two or three months none
has created more bad feeling within the de-
partments here, than that of Il. NJ. Reynolds,
late of Iowa, but O professional carpet-bag
office seeker and office holder in Ala
bama. He is backed by Secretary McCrary,
who lived neighbor to him before the war in
the prolific town of Keokuk, where Reynolds
worked on q saddlers bench and taught
school as side speculation. The First
Authorship of the Treasury Department has
been occupied by its present incumbent for
nearly quarter ofa century, who has per-
formed his duties during the entire time
faithfully and satisfactory to all concerned,
yet he has been asked to step down and out
to leave room for an adventurer. McCrary
has for a long time urged this appointment,
mainly upon the hypothesis that he was a
Southern lawyer of eminent and legal abili-
ties and large practice. The Alabama re-
publicans are indignant at the promotion of
a man who never aided them in their polt-
ical contests and who, it is found, has obtain
ed his claim to be recognized as a lawyer
only upon n recent complimentary admission
to the bar, that he never had been intrusted
with a brief and never practiced before any
courts. Another instance of the beauties OF
the Civil Service reform as carried out by
J the administration is the removal of Mrs
E. E. Smith the widow of a Union soldier
who has for six years acceptably discharged
the duties of post mistress at Sterling, Hi
nois. Congressman Burchard has his hand
, in this move, and he is anxious to reward O
political friend in the person of j. NJ. Pat,
terson. Patterson has failed as q banker
J owes everybody, and has no right to claims
for that office while Mrs. Smith stands a
] on the books of the post-ofiice department
Mrs. Smith is here, and it is certain that she
will not surrender except after most severe
fight.
The rules of Civil Service have boen prac
, ticed in the appointment of the First Comp
trollcr ever since the office was established
= An outsider, wholly ignorant of the dutie
( 10 be performed, has recently been appoint
ed to, and now holds, that office while tn,
Assistant Comptroller, highly deserving
and esteemed man, who at the death Of th'
Comptroller had right to the office, hai
t been entirely ignored.
The Committee on Banking and Currency
=, to-day directed Hartzell to report bill TO
l the issue Of silver certificates, from $40 up
+ ward, for all silver bullion, counting tn,
| bullion at its equivalent in silver coin dol
j., lars, less cost of mintage and transportation
to points where the certificates are redeema
9 bic. The deposit is to be made and the Ger
% tifcates issued at any mint or assay office
- to be redeemablc in silver coin or bullion a
, San Francisco, where certificates We're issueC
west of the Rocky Mountains, and New
= York where issued east These certificate
c are to be legal tender for all public dues.
1 The House Committee on Reform in thu
: Civil Service by vote Of a majority of it
y members to-day agreed to make a repor
n iayoring the abolition Of the office of tn
doorkeeper, and vesting its duties in tn
Sergeant-at-Arms. The latter is to appoin
a deputy, who is to have charge Of the tiool
. The members Of the committee decline t
6 make public how the patronage is to be dis
It tributed.
p The arrival of the first lot of silver dol
. lars at the treasury here attracted a larg
Il crowd Of admirers. The pleasure, however
t, Of meeting their long-lost friend was some
e what dampened when it was found tha
, "greenbacks' were refused in exchange, an
that the "daddies" We're purchasable in gol
q only. The Secretary holds that to pay on
e silver for greenbacks would be violating tn
Y law which fixes the period of Tesumptio
= for the first Of January, 1879, and that II
sumption now is impossible, there not bein
n enough com in the treasury to commenc,
le The Secretary further stated to-day that
II does not know how long he will keep tn
- order forbidding the selling of silver fJ
I" grcenbacks in force. 1t may be a long tim
-e and perhaps a short one. That is, he sal,
r a matter depending on contingencies. B.