The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-07-29
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent. ]

| Such scramble as there now is for
Government appointments has never
been equaled before, except upon
change of administration. 1t is al
most as great as that which made life
burden to General Garfield the first
few months after his Inauguration,
the difference being that the places
now sought are mostly of q lower
grade-mere department clerkships.
The chief cause of rush just at this
time is the provisions made in the
Legislative and Executive appropri-
alton bill, not yet law, for increas-
ing the force of the Pension Of
fee. The increase in this office and in
the Surgeon Generals Office, which
does some of the work on pension
claims, is to be about 1000 clerks,
and it would seem that nearly the
whole population of Washington,
with large Inducements from the
States were making hard fight for
the places. 1t is stated that over
5000 applications have been filed
with Secretary Teller, but the chances
of most of these applicants are mighty
slim. The positions were nearly all
farmed out by Commissioner Dudley,
in promises to members of Congress,
before The bill passed.
Added to these anxious souls the
1000 who have been seeking posi-
, tions in the Government Printing
, Office since Mr.. Rounds took charge
! of it, and the usual number always
: besieging the President, and you
have some idea of the amount of shoe
leather being worn out in chasing
Congressman and haunting officials.
The most pitiable OF all objects to be
met in Washington is the individual
who comes here to seek place. AS
general thing ne leaves home i'm
pressed with an idea that the head of
some department has arranged for
him public reception that there is
handsome desk adorned with the
choicest exotics in the cosiest of corn
ers awaiting his arrival; that the To-
cal papers haye his biography all
in type to give to the peo-
pie the moment he steps from
, the train. IIe dreams this and
terrible is the disappointment.
He finds that the farthest he can 60
is to hand in his papers and wait.
He does wait ! Oh, how patiently |!
His little stock of cash vanishes with
, alarming rapidity, and then all of a
= sudden he finds he has been left. Of
those who come here after place this
is the experience FOO per cent. Often
the poor disappointed applicant finds
his baggage held for board. and is
:, obliged to borrow the means with
which to return home. | have in
mind now several who have been
on the ragged edge for four or FIVE
months and who are no nearer the
goal of their hopes than when they
first came.
With view to clearing up certain
points in the investigation of the
South American policy, Mr.. Trescot,
late special envoy to Chill, Peru and
Bolivia, has addressed to ex-Secre
tary Blaine letter in which he says
that Mr.. Blaine always expressed to
him desire that the Credit Indus
=. trie might, ifpossible, be made use
full to Peru in her distress, but was
entirely unwilling that the United
States should make the programme
of that company part of the nego-
tiatiOns or should assume to guaran-
tee the arrangement which it might
!, make with the Peruvian government.
, Mr.. Blaine's idea was to have Peru
free to negotiate with the Credit In
dustriel. AS matter of fact neither
Mr.. Hurlbut nor Mr.. Trescot were
called on to take any action in regard
to the Credit Industriel during their
respective missions in South Ameri-
ca. AS to the assertion that Mr..
Blaine designed war, Mr.. Trescot re-
CARDS it too absurd for serious consid-
Grafton, He (Mr. Trescot) would
have declined the mission to South
America if he had been persuaded it
was not in the interest of peace. He
understood that the object of his mis-
sion was to prepare the way for the
meeting of the proposed peace con-
gress at Washington. In regard to
r the Cochet and the Landreau claims
Mr.. Trescot says that Mr.. Blaine re-
jected the Cochet claim absolutely,
and that the Landreau claim was
: never brought In anyway to the con-
sideration of the Peruvian govern
: ment.
, Dom PEDRO.