Morning journal and courier., 1882-08-10
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

A fter the Adjou ent-KVork Mapped
Out for the Departments.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9.-Following the de-
layed adjournment of Congress is a general
scattering of persons held here during its
session. The President and most of the Cab
met will leave the city this week on holiday
trips. Scarcely a member of either house of
Congress is now in the capital. Politicians
aud lobbyists have vanished as if by magic.
The clerks in the various departments, whose
applications for leave have in most instances
been postponed till the adjournment, are now
to go in swarms. Two of the large
hotels announce their closing for the recess.
In the midst of this hegira great activity
reigns in several of the dspar tments. In the
State department the acts passed at the ses-
sion just ended are deposited and recorded,
The Treasury is occupied with the transfers
of bonds The office of the Supervising
Architect is busily engaged and will be
through the recess on the drawings for the
new public buildings ordered by Congress.
The clerks of the stamp division of the
lating themselves over an easy sum-
mer, due to the failure of Congress to pass
the tax bill, which would have brought q
mass of clerical work upon the bureau. The
War department enters upon busy year.
The new force of clerks in the Adjutant Gen
erals Office to settle pension claims will soon
be put to work, and the engineers must be
industrious if they intend to expend the lib
eral appropriation of the river and harbor
bill. The navy is interested in the beginning
of modern feet of vessels of war. The re-
organization of its personnel will also make
the year one of activity in this department.
The Department of Justice is still engaged
in the Star route prosecutions which
promises to extend we'll into the autumn.
The scene of special activity in the Interior
department is the Pension Bureau. The
corridors in the large building of that office
on Pennsylvania avenue were crowded to
day with the hundreds of new clerks who
were waiting to be assigned work At pres.
emit they will be given the simplest clerical
duties, and subsequently, as they show evil
dence of capacity. will be assigned to more
responsible duties Meanwhile, experienced
clerks will be relieved of drudgery and put
upon the adjudication of claims. The Post
Office department will pass quiet summer
in routine work.
The Power of Appointment-A Case OF
Supposed Usurpation by Congress
That Alleged slight to Keifer-Othe1
Matters.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9.-some comment i:
made in official circles upon the action o.
Congress in designating Gen. M. G. Meigs tt
supervise the erection of the new building
intended for the pension Office, on the GROUND
that the appointment of a person by Congress
is usurp1ng the powers of appointment vested
in the executive. A similar case occurred
under President Buchanan's administration
| concerning General Meigs, then captain il
the engineer corps In an appropriation bill
| passed on June %, 1860, Captain Meigs wa
| designated to have charge of the work o
completing the Washington aqueduct Thu
following day President Buchanan sent
message to Congress in which he said that h
thought it impossible that Congress coulc
have intended to interfere with the clea
right of the President to command the army
but that his interpretation of the action o
Congress was that it merely expressed it
preference for Captain Meigs to be superin
| tendent of the work. To make this impor
tant work depend upon the vicissitudes of tn
life of a single army officer, he said, woul
be making the work subordinate to the man
and not the man to the work. The presen
would seem that General Meigs, being no'
on the retired list of the army, could not b
assigned to the duty without special legisls
ton, as sections 1889 and 1850 revise
statutes provide that a retired army Office
can be assigned to no duty other than at So
diers' Home or as professor in a college.
The following dispatches from T. xas cor
corning yellow fever in that State were re
ceived by the national board of health to day
State Health Officer Scouringer tel,
graphs: San epidemic has been developin
and there are probably fifty cases of yello'
fever. The people are organizing and pre-
pairing for the worst and require no aid {
present. am quarantined in the midst {
the scourge and can't get away for some
time " A dispatch from Post Surgeon Hal
persett at Brownsville, dated August 8, say
there are two cases of yellow fever and OIL
death in the garrison
The fact that Speaker Keifer was not give
a vote of thanks yesterday was due to tt
fact that it is the custom not to recognize tt
Speakers service till the end of Congress
not at the end of the first session.
The Interior and War departments a
overwhelmed with applications for position
under the increase of force allowed for Il
| fertilization of mansions