The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-04-05

silence certainly gives consent in Con
gress.
Lent is now upon US, and yet we haC
no carnivals, as in New Orleans anC
Memphis, in which merry maskers tool
possession Of the streets and gave uT
the day to every form Of jollity. With
US all the dissipation Of the past winter
such as hops, receptions, balls, etc., with
their bay-window and only partially
Illuminated staircase flirtations, have
vanished, and our people are again in
theirquiet channels Of life. The Cabinet
officials welcome the relief, for the tax
put upon them by the receptions OF the
7 past two months has been Serious one
/ indeed.
/ To the stranger who visits Washing
ton the houses Of all the Secretaries are
always open for short and unceremOni-
Gus calls to pay respects to the wife OF
family, and no hesitation need be felt
at leaving ones card and shaking hands
with Madam Secretary, for she realizes
that her position, like that Of Mrs.
Hayes, necessarily renders her an OBJ
ject of general curiosity for the sight
seer and she is willing to crafty it in
asmuch as the labor and annoyance OF
making a return call is not involved.
The Senate military committee re-
ported adversely to General Smith, a
clerk in the Treasury, who was appointed
paymaster in the army, hence he will
be allowed to remain where he is till
his time comes for retlracy to private
life. The appointment is one which
has nothing to commend it, beyond an
unblemished private character, for Mr.
Smith is nearly sixty, and his entry
into the army would bar promotion to
some one equitably entitled TO 1t by
continuous service as soldier. IL the
principle Of promotion be a true one,
the practice Of promoting aged civilians
to such fat, easy positions as paymasters
should be wholly ignored, as there are
plenty of disabled officers thereby IN
fitted for active service who are the
proper persons to be rewarded.
General Grant buried his brother-in-
law in a paymaster's position, but it
was wrong, we think, for him to do so.
The government bureau of engraving
and printing has completed an extern
sive collection of specimens OF its work
for the Paris Exposition, which are
most ereditable displays Of engraving
and printing. Every style employed
in the Treasury appears in the large
frames, which are filled with the speci-
mems, and nothing ever before exhibited
in this country or the world compares
favorably with them in beauty, color
ing, and real artistic merit. The recent
onslaught on this bureau by the Eastern
bank note companies has served to at
tract the attention Of foreign govern
ments to our system of money printing,
and the diplomats have been calling on
Superintendent Mcpherson for informa-
ton and for inspection of all the ma
chinery and operations Involved in col
oring, printing, and engraving. We
feel assured we will bear all the honors
at Paris in money printing and engTav-
ing, just as we have heretofore done in
sewing and moving machines, and it is
not surprising that European govern
ments should now be looking to our
country for light, since our government
can make its money cheaper and better,
in all respects, than private corpora
tions. FELIX.
Washington, d. c., March S, 1873.