The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1882-08-16
5 NO. So.
PETTY PERQUIsITEs.
HOW HIGH-GRADE OFFICIALS SPONGE
OFF OF THE GOVERN
MENT.

. | UTE Of III EOf EhN-
MENT.
Every officer of high standing in
Washington (of course there is here
and there an exception has his pri-
vate body servant paid for by the
governments. The servant is entered
on the rolls of the Department Of
State, we will say, as messenger or
laborer. He is one hour-;.t the De-
partment and ten at the house ofthe
SECRETARY. TO not mean to say
that Mr.. Frelinghuyse sen does this,
but the practice is general. Then
each department has two or three
carriages which are used by the high
officials for official purposes, bat
used still moro for social and family
purposes. You onght to see some of
The chief clerks in Washington in
their family carriages paid for out of
tile public purse. There are, or at
least there were, barber shops in The
departments where the BARRIERS were
on the pnblic rolls, and where the
principal officers were shaved for
nothing. Other BARRIERS paid by the
government used to 60 to the houses
of the officers and shave them and
black their boots and brush their
clothes and do all other duties be-
longing to q body servant. Then ev
cry Cabinet officer has q room fur
nishcd in handsome sly lie in his own
home by the government, desks, So
fas, chairs, bookcases and all things
needed, in elegant s. yle. the gov.
ernment supplies monogram station
cry of the most fashionable descrip-
tion, With scissors, knife and all the
petty accessories Of the writing desk.
IT the Secretary happened to have
| (as has happened) lot of private
business to attend to, rents to look
after, ETC., he had clerk paid by
Uncle Sam, assigned him for. that
special work, TO say nothing Of q
stenographer, whose time is half oc-
cupied with the Secretary's or his
family's private affairs. I know a
high officer of Congress who kept
one or two clerks the year round to
get political information for himself.
The Treasury paid for the clerks,
while the indexes, documents, pa
pers, clippings, ETC., most perfectly
arranged and of the most valuable
character for political reference,
went to enrich the library of the off,
cial. The record, running through
several years, is worth thousands Of
dollars. II you go to dine with a
Judge, or secretary, an assistant
secretary, or an assistant anything,
or Senator, behind your chair you
will probably find u waiter, paid for
by the Government, as messenger
or laborer.- II. j. Ransdell's Let
ter in Philadelphia Times.
SUMMER FANcIEs. The simplicity
OF which we have heard much more
prospectiyely than we have seen put
into practice seems at last creeping
into the styles of dressmaking, and
the absence of extraneous drapery is
a noticeable feature. Some of the
latest and among the most approved
models in the soft French null, now
so popular, are made with the ungor-
ed round skirt, tucked from the foot
to the waist, and the round waist,
gathered to belt and worn with a
ribbon belt. The tucks in the skirt
are varionsly from four to six inches
wide, divided by plain spaces half
their width; and on nothing else
does the style depend for sbowiness
or for effectiveness. Tie waist, in
some models, is revival of the old
s'Garibaldi" style, plain. across the
shoulders, opening in a deep point
in front, and fitted by cluster of
gathers in the front and in the back.
In Others tits cut very full and is
fitted to the shoulders by shirring,
which forms yoke.
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