Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1882-12-29
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular correspon dent,

| w S.s Dtt. ~, AcC~
The capitol Is pretty nearly given
over to civil service reform. For some
time there has been nothing talked
about, nothing thought about, nothing
written about, but civil service reform.
! There has been considerable amuse-
ment, If not instruction in following
the debate in the senate. Mr. Beck and
MIR. Pendleton have been making Rome
howl to some extent, each having a
great stake in the discussion-Mr.
Pendleton, the prospective presidency
that has danced before his eyes for the
last fifteen years, and still keeps him
wake o nights, and MIR. Beck to re-
lieye himself of ertain unjust charges
of undue interest in whisky legislation
During the entire session he has been
filled with an honest mans rage at the
aspersions and illusions cast upon him,
and when he gets up to defend his bill
and respond to himsy objections or
amendments to it he is about as angry
an old gentie,uan as one would wish to
see. He puts on the frown that siRni-
| fies that he wants to eat somebody up,
his deep, sonorous voice trembles, he
gesticulates with both hands and keeps
the acting vice-president wide awake
for sometimes a whole hour. Mr..
Pendleton is also deeply in earnest.
He is more like Mr.. Turveydrop than
ever with the addition of brains. He
follows Mr. Beck's fierce onslaughts
with his most superb air and most
courtIy grace. He denounces Jay Hub
bell and his gang in rounded periods
and polished sentences. and sits down
blank and unruffled, while Mr.. Beck
glowers in his seat, looking like an old
grizzly that has heen trified with.
But these two Senators have not
done all the talking. Mr.. ingalls, don't
like the Pendleton hill, and $ aid he
didn't go very much on civil service
reform anyhow. He thought there
was a good deal of cant and juggle
about it. Mr.. Voorheef; expressed him.
self is much of the same opinion. He
said the real demand was for penal
laws to publish wrong doers in high
places, not for contrivance to wrong
Government clerks. He ridiculed civil
service examination and gave the fol
lowing as few of the questions con-
cocted by commission under Secretary
Schurz: "Name the four largest islands
on the GLOBE" Give approximately,
the latitude of Washington and Lon
don,' In what direction is Havana
Cuba, from Washington, D. C.s"
"What State ofthe Union extends from
the latitude Of Boston to the latitude OF
Richmond?" "Where are the principal
table-lands Of the globe?'' ''Give the
course which a measure must take to
be introduce to Congress, and supposine
it to be vetoed, to become law Of the
United States Bring up all your
young men, said MIR. Voorhees,, from
all the States. and if they can answer
those questions they may get 500 ,
Then the examiners passed
to mathematics, and one OF the question
was: "Two-thirds of seven -ninths of
what number Is one-eighth of q
what number is one half OF
eight and two fifth, divided by four !.
teen, and seven tenth less than four 6
teen and two sevenths. Another was +
man weighing seventy-twu pounds K
runs with velocity OF six against n
standing but not resisting man whose
weight Is ninety-six pounds; what is
,he result? Of course this raised
augh, and Mr.. VOORHEES, said that if
wanted this humbug contlnu- /
ID they might vote for 1t, but he would 1
lot" Then there was quarrel raised
~ Mr.. Mcpherson, who made the re- ,
mark. on the authority of Pendleton, {
hat the departments were filled with S
die clerks. WinGom said he was tired
# things, and when asked Mcpherson I
o name one or two the latter told
Nindom that that was pettifogging q
way of dealing with a great public .
uestion. 1t would be hazardous, per-
aps, to predict the final fate of the t
'endleton bill, but 1t is believed a e
reat many will vote for it who have !,
70 heart in Its purpo les. 1t Is said Il
hat Don Cameron and Malone will b
9th cast their votes for it, but | doubt II
the miliennlaum is quite so near as Z,
hat. d
DR.. Loring, Commissioner of Agrl- a
ulture, has been crushed again. The n
octor has soul above turnips and
otatoes and aSpires to be statesman II
nd an orator, to say nothing OF being D
Cabinet officer. This last project was =
'uelly sat down upon, and then the
licked Cox and the unieeling Murch, m
Congress the other day, complain a. a.
| that the worthy Commissioner dab m
ed in politics and used too many tech ST
calities IN his report. 1t is a pity =
lat man OF DR.. Loring's admirable n, ~
cial and personal qualities should