Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1880-09-28
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Irrom our reaaIar cOrresponaent.l

The end Df an unusually NOT anu
dull summer at the National Capital
came with the beginning Of Septcm-
Der, and for once the calendar division
Of seasons seems 70 apply TO us. The
absentees are returning IN droves and
Washington begins to be itself again.
Probably there is no city il the nni-
verse deserted hy SO large q proper
ton Of its population during the sum
mer months. Congress il gone, with
all It's employees and attaches, and
the other departments run on about
hall their force. One half remains
while the other goes. thus dividing
time between them until all have had
. holiday. OF course these over
worked Government clerks need q
couple Of mouths rest. They work as
much az four r five hours day dur
Ing the remainder Of the year. some Of
them---and some of them don't. Ii is
one If the campaign cries Of the radi-
cal party that the Democratic Com
gress has crippled the Government in
cutting down the force in some OF
these departments and refusing to APP
propria,e money for 90 many fat sala-
ries. But it is all bssh. / am pretty
thoroughly acquainted with the work.
ings Of all the executive departments,
and can state with good deal Of EN-
phaticness thai in nearly every one Of
them the force is still unnecessarily
large. with numerous sinecufes here
ami there that might well be dis
pensed with. | know one fourteen
hundred dollar clerk who says be ii
employed to lift the paper weights
from one position TO another on his
desk, and he is no exception. There
are many others whose services are
just abnut as extensive. There may
be one OF two bureaus, in some of tho
departments, where the clerical forcs
is none too large, or not large enough
but to meet this some Of the idle once
should be transferred from other bu-
reaus of the same department..
But il anything proves that we
have great many more officials in
our civil service than there is any
need OF, il is the spectacle now PIE.
scented, all over the country, Of thous.
ands Of salaried officers of the gov,
ernlnent absent from their posts anc
devoting the time for which the peopl,
pay them 10 campaign work for til,
radical party. IL is estimated tina
the aggregate salaries Of the Official,
thus engaged amount 10 over tire,
million dollars. Ii there is any nee,
OF these officers they should be a
their posts attending 10 the duties 70
which they are So Literally paid, bu
if they have no duties demandin,
their attention, their positions shout,
be vacated.
Since the Maine election there la
been marked change in the demcauo
Of the oiiice-holding Republicans abou
Washington. For the past two 0
three months the general bearing OF
numerous class of Republicans here
toward Democrats, has been charac
terzed by contemptuons ins,lencs,
naughty, dumneering. + astcriul tone
impossible Of description and no
cas- Is endured. Such terms as rebel
and "copper-heada have been thei
staple OF talk, and at the time of Tn
grand Democratic ratification meetn!
here, three weeks ago, one of then
sneeringly said to me that the larg,
Illuminated letters u. s. over the plat
form should be taken down and G.
A. put up. | did not answer him.