Morning journal and courier., 1881-01-13
Cabinet Carriages.
The Rigs in which the Heads of Depa. t.
 ments Ride.


 ments Ride.
 From the Washington Republican,
 Every Cabinet day" between the hours of twelve and two o'clock, the carriages of the Cabinet officlas may be seen parked in double row in the carriage-way in front of the Executive Mansion. This ittlo group of carriages with their drivers, horses and other attachments, is very dom estic in ap- pearance, and calculated to impress the rus tic visitor with the simplicity of our republi- can institutions.
 The absence of any gold buttons, plug hats or other livery on the coachmen, the plain trappings of the official steeds, and the cozy, comfortable, unpretentieus look of the car riages, make them conspicuous among the gaudy equipages of parvenus that constantly sweep by them. The coachmen, from con stant association with Cabinet Ministers, seem to have imbibed great draughts of statecraft and consider themselves very i'm portant parts of the machinery of the gov ernment.
 Even the horses wear an unusually sober look, as if they realized the importance of their mission. Secretary Schurz drives to the White House in coupe drawn by big bay horse. The only livery which his color ed driver wears is a pair of huge buckskin gauntlets reaching up to the shoulder Sec retary Ramsey, though he has the responsi- bility of two departments upon his shoulders, requires but one carriage to convey him to the Executive Mansion, and that is only a one-horse carriage-a sort of carryall- drawn by a blooded bay and driven by a white coachman. To carry the Secretary of the Treasury and his budget of papers from the Treasury department to the Executive Mansion a carryall and team of bays, with white marks, are called into requisition. Abe the official driver of the Treasury department, handles the ribbons.
 Yesterday Q dingy-looking, two-seated sleigh was substituted for the Treasury ryall. The Secretary of State trusts himself and important documents to a sort of family carriage and team of dark bays He has a white driver, who sports in huge pair of Burnsides or "Galway sluggers.' The Post master General has rig similar to the one at tached to the State department, and boasts the luxury of a white driver. The Attorney. General crosses the street from the Depart ment of Justice to the Executive Mansion in carriage like that of the Secretary of War, and has 8 black driver.
 .., The Secretary of the Navy, when the coun- try is blessed with such an official, also rides in a one-horse carryall. These horses have become accustomed to the habits of their dfs-- tinguished masters. They know just how long Cabinet meeting ought to be, and give signs of impatience if their respective mas ters over-stay the limit When Cabinet meeting is over the Secretaries struggle out of the Mansion one by one. The first sign given to the horses and coachmen of the con- clusion of the meeting is the appearance on the portico of an usher, who claps his hands loudly to warn the drivers to get ready. Then. as the various ministers appear, he calls out for his carriage like the policeman at the door of the theatre after the opera. When the carriage canes up, the usher opens the door, bundles the Secretary in, and sees that the door is securely fastened again to protect the Secretary from any intrusion by newspaper men or others on hls journey back to his department.