Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-01-17
WASHINGTON LETTER.

The Democracy is much disgruntled
over the Secret Service Division of the
Treasury and insist that the House, rather
than appropriate moneys for its continu-
ance, should refuse to make any approbria-
tion whatever and should rather force an
extra session on ti.' account. if on no
other. To US it seems that the immacu-
late followers of jackson are disposed to
magnify mOlehill into a mountain, by
this effort TO build up the Secret Service
into such an important arm of the Treas
ury, for no one but they, question the good
accomplished by it. unless We err in sup
posing it to be political good. the catch
ing of some Democratic transgressor of
the whisky or cOunterfeiting laws. That
the Secret Service makes mistakes no one
can dispute-all officers of the law are liza
BILE to. But since Chief Detective Whitley,
that prince of thieves and perjurers, was
| displaced by Mr.. Brooks, whose word and
| integrity has never been sullied by more
| than the charges Of some offender of the
law, we doubt whether any court at law
with its officers has been freer from impu-
tation of bribery and corruption. When
Mr.. Delano was Commissioner of Internal
Revenue and made Chief Detective White
| iy his counsellor and advisor, then there
was no evasion Of the revenue law in the
State of Ohio but could be compounded
through Whitley, yet thai is wholly chang
| ed, just as Zach. Chandler and Mr.. Schurz
have swept the Interior Department with
reforms Of the wrongs and abuses which
Mr.. DelanO was guilty of and it is unfair
to charge past wrongs upon the present
Secret Service Bureau.
Mr.. Sehurz plays hob with General Sberi-
dan in their recent battle of words about
the Indian Bureau. A fighting man had
better let Mr.. Schurz alone in matters of
words and Phil. Sheridan is no match for
the man who led the French Arms charge
III the memorable Senate debate in 1870.
Mr.. Schurz with all his Civil Service Re-
form vagaries, is master of argument and
retOrt and the less a soldier, with whom it
is word and blow, has to do with him
the better. When Senator, on the weak
side Of case, can battle as he did with
such as Mr.. COnkling for days and gain
laurel by his skill and ability, we fancy
him kind Of porcupine whose spines
should be carefully and tenderly touched.
We have not met Democrat as yet but
favors an extra session of Congress and
unless policy dictates change of base you
may expect such disagreement upon the
appropriation bills as will necessitate the
convening of the forty-sixth Congress.
The only difficulty experienced at pres
ent is in finding some way for making the
Republicans responsible for the failure
to pass the various measures. The attack
on the Secret Service Division shows clear
ly the schemes which will be resorted to
in order to defeat appropriations, and if
such unimportant matter suffice as cause,
what will not be done with the estimates
Of the Executive Departments. Tom.
Scott may have his wanted millions of sub
sides, although the Southern Pacific is
constructing its track eastward from Fort
Yuma at the rate of mile day, and that
without asking for dollar of subsidies,
yet you will see big fight before March
4th over what will be imperatlvely needed
for the Bureau of Justice and the Treas
ury Department, as well as that OF the
War and Navy.
The trial of Biggins VS.. Grant, is tn
greatest travesty upon justice we have
ever seen in our courts. Biggins swore on
the witness stand that General Grant
threatened him with big stick and would
not pay him the $4,000 due him, and his
lawyers graYely introduced witnesses to
prove his assertions. The defense showed
that Biggins asserted to the last, while in
the Insane Asylum, that General Grant
had visited him through the key hole,
which assertion, you will remember, re-
minded certain Democratic investigating
committee that they were as demented in
their endeavor to prove General Grant
guilty of some crime or other, as the wit
ness Biggins by whom they sought to es-
tablish it. We think there is as much
method in his madness as theirs and it
would be only fair to mulct General Grant
in the sum of $4,000 as recompense to
Biggins for finding a Democratic mares
nest for this particular committee.
The deaths of Congressman Harbridge,
Douglass and Williams have disturbed the
proceedings of the House to the extent of
barring all transaction of business. Ad-
journment for one day follows the death of
each member, hence little has been done
since the 7th.
The pure and immaculate Acklen, of
Louisiana, has however been duly white
washed and his colleagues now welcome
him among themselves as they did Mr..
Goode, of Virginia, when he first con-
tested Mr.. Platt. Platt had the right and
the votes, as the election committee de-
eided, but they thought differently, and
seated Goode, just as they do Acklen, who
bought himself character in New Orleans
which of course will suffice the present
House when Democrat makes the pur-
chase. The rule does not work both ways. |
The inevitable Washington monument
is bone of contention. A regular army
engineer has been bossing the job which |
of course means all kinds of delays and be- |
sides his blunders in surveying crooked |
lines, and digging costly useless bitches to |
weaken the foundation, it is proposed to |
change the present plain shaft to one OF |
gewgaw and jimcrack like the "calico |
stone fence" Of the Capitol. JUNIUs.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. IA, 1879.
Safe, reliable, harmless and cheap, is DR..
Bulls Cough Syrup. Price only 81 oants |