The daily gazette., 1878-05-28
Our Washington Letter.
THE GOVERNMENT TO ASSUME
THE ROLE OF EDITOR.

THE WHITE HoUsE-LAwYERs ON THEIR
MUscLB-THE CABINET AND THE PARIS
ExHIBIrIoN-soCIETY NOTES AND Cos
sIP-&o., SC.
(From our regular correspondent.)
WASHINGTON, d. c., May %.
While it is certainly desirable that all
official orders, proclamatlons, reports,
&c, which emanate from the White
House and the several Departments,
should be given the greatest posi- BILE
amount of publicity, yet it may be justly
doubted whether the plan which General
Butler succeeded in carrying through the
House at the Thursday evening session
lowing to the absence Of 1O5 members) is
safe or wise one. Mr.. Buffers bill pro-
vides for the establishment OF what is TO
be known as "The Official Advertiser
of the United Statss," paper which he
proposes shall be published weekly, and
contain all the official orders, opinions,
and proclamations of the different officers
OF the Government, together with all the
advertisements of the respective depart
ments for proposals and supplies, and is
estimated by the protector to cost be-
tween $4,000 and 900 year. The
probability is, that it will cost twice this
sum, and be swelled to enormous bulk to
crafty the cacaethes scritendi of the heads
of different departments under the dis
guise of "otficial opinions" In brief, it
is bill to take away from the real new S.
papers of the country-which the people
read, and in which they expect to find all
that is valuable of this class of informa-
tion-the advertising patronage of the
Government, and turn it all over to that
sink and sewer of corruption and ex-
travagance, the Government Printing
Office. If this bill becomes a law, it will
be unlawful to advertise in a single
newspaper-no matter what the advan-
tages may be-a solitary "want" of the
Government or any of its departments.
am surprised that such sensible men az
Knott, Patterson, Buckner, CIymer,
Good, and Yeates should vote for this
bill, despite the disclosure that it had
never been formally examined by the
j judiciary Committee, and had been
nicely poised in a parliamentary trap by
its originator to be sprung upon the
styled, "a bill to starve newspapers and
fatten the Government Printing Office"
1t would possibly not have met with their
support, and yet that is Just what it is,
and whab it is intended to be.
The Democrats of the Potter Inyestiga-
ting Committee met yesterday, and
agreed to appoint two subcommittee, of
three members each, 10 visit Florida and
Louisiana. 1t was agreed that the sub
for Louisiana should consist
of Morrison, Mcmahon, and Butler. Mr..
Butler goes on that committee, it is un-
derstood, at his own request. He seems
to have hankering to investigate the
workings of the MacVeagh commission,
with q view to reaching for Wayne's
scalp. The subcommittee for Florida
has not yet been agreed upon. Five of
the committee will remain IN Washing
ton, and hold regular sessions here for
the purpose of examining such witnesses
as may be within easy reach of the capi-
tai.
Cards are out for the marriage of Miss
Platt, of Ohio, niece of the President,
and General Russell Hastings, of Rock
ford county, Illinois, formerly marshal OF
Northern Ohio, and during the war lieu
tenant colonel of Mr.. Hayes regiment,
w nlSu 10 W COlllh Ol dl tHt w lllIt
early in June. Mrs. Hayes being averse
to "show" of any kind, it Is understood
that the affair will be very quiet one,
and, SO far, invitations have been sent
only to the relatives and most intimate
friends of the Hayes family.
Considerable excitement was caused in
the neighborhood OF the Treasury De-
parment yesterday by a personal re,scon-
tre between two wel-known lawyers,
(,anarn1 I w nnntAr aud Mr. hn A
Grow. General Denver is president of
the National Democratic Committee
here, and very popular. Mr.. Grow halls
from New Orleans, bat has been practis-
ing law in this city for several years.
Many conflicting statements are afioat as
to the cause of the difficulty, which
seems to have had its origin in a contest
ed claim. Both the combatants gotsome-
what damaged about their upper works
and had to haul off for repairs at the
nearest drugstores.
AT the Cabinet meeting yesterday, no
business of Importance was transacted,
and the Potter resolutions were not even
remotely referred to. Secretary eEvarts
Informed the Cabinet that Commissioner
General Mccormick thought there
would be a deficiency of tS50,00O in the
for the Paris exposition,
and wished to have about that sum. 1t
appears that each nation, when it was
assigned sites ut the exposition, was left
to erect its own buildings, and although
Mr.. Mccormick did the best he could, lie
will find himself "short" the amount
stated. No action was taken on the re-
quest, as it is desired to shave the amount
down to the smallest igure before pre-
senting the request to Congress.
Information has been received at the
Treasury Department of the existence of
a gang of ofcounterfeiters having their base
of operations in London, where they are
engaged in the manufacture of National
Bank notes on large scale. A cable |
gram was sent yesterday to the police |
of the principal European
cities, requesting their cooperation i'll
criminals and bringing them |
to justice, and two detectives ofthe Secret |
Service will leave New York by steamer
on Monday, with the same object In view
1t is believed here, that this is the very
same gang which the American forger
offered to betray if released |
from confinement in London, some four /
weeks age.
The warm weather of the last few days
has fairly inaugrated the summer season, |
and makes Senators and members yearn |
for an early adjournment. Our society |
people will turn out en- nldsse to witness
the ceremony, on Tuesday next, of the
NJ Nin,,ia tho wall. 4