The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-05-25
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, D. C.,
May, %, 1882. {

1t appears probable that the scheme
to raise the Department of Agricul-
ture to the rank ofAfirst class exc
cutive department and make its head
a Cabinet officer will finally come to
a head before the present session of
Congress ends. Nearly every Com
missioner since the Bureau of Agri-
culture was created has been figuring
to this end, and the unfortunate LIE
Due, whose efforts at raising cold tea
and early boiled potatoes are so well
known, laid himself out in the strug-
gle to become a member of the Cabi-
net. His visions all revolved around
that one central idea. But, while
LIE Due has passed into oblivion, his
pet scheme still lives and shows the
effects of his careful watering. Elk
secretary Schurz expresses himself
against the proposition as it passed
the House. He says that under its
operation, the business of the depart
ment would still consist as it does
now in gathering and disseminating
information, and not in any admins
trative work. 3 <
A new executive department might
be constructed with advantage to the
public service out of several bureaus
ut present forming part of the B'ter-
ior Department., to which sheSDe-
partment of Agriculture mfg& be
properly added-namely, the Gener7
al Land Office, the Bureau of Geolo.
gical Surveys, and the Railroad Blu
reau. The Interior Department has
become such a cumbersome and-un-
manageable conglomeration ofheter-
logeneous branches of the service that
the transfer of some of its eonstitu-
ent parts to some other office may be
advisable. The administration of
the public lands, the geological sur-
veys, End hesupervisions ofthe land
Igrant railroads properly belong to-
gether; while there is also an obvious
affinity between the public lands and
the subject of agriculture. 1t is true,
of a new executive department SO
reconstructed, agriculture would be
only a subordinate part, which would
probably not suit the advocates of
the proposition as it now stands
But this would be inevitable if the
new department is to have proper adj
ministrative functions at all. AS to
making the head of the Department
of agriculture a "Cabinet officer the
President a do that now if he is SO
disposed. What is called the HCab-
met" meaning the assembled advi-
sorry council of the President, is not
a creature of law, but merely of Gus
tom; and the President might, if be
pleased, invite the present Commits
sioner of Agriculture to take part in
it without any further authority de
rived from a law raising the rank OF
that department.
Speaker Keifer has not removed q
House stenographic reporter for sew
eral weeks now, but he has recently
made speech before the New York
Chamber of Commerce in which be
declared that this talk about the
purity ofthe earlier days of the Re-
lpublic is all bosh. He insisted that
we are better in every way than were
our ancestors, and that we are the
snperiors of all nations-ancient OF
modern Mr.. Speaker Keifex target
to AIDA compliments to the4Amer-
lean eagle, o did he observe that
our home is in the setting sun. Per
haps our superlative goodness as a
people, the superiority of his own
colleagues at Washington to the first
President, jefferson, the Adamses,
Jackson, and the proud possession
of Robson, Shipherd, Dorsey, Ben
Butler, and Bob Ingersoll, clouded
his memory. Since the halcyon days
when President Hayes made milk
and water speeches at county agri,
cultural fairs, the nation has had nc
defender at all equal to the astute
Speaker Keifer, whose eloquence is a
comicaf blending of the utterances
of a second rate schoolmaster and a
crossroads Fourth of July spouter.
Speaking of Robson, that famous
old manipulation of naval affairs and
scuttler OF ships has been a good
deal set back by his failure to get
things as he wanted them in the
matter ofappropriations this year
This Congress is extravagant eEough
and foolish enough in all conscience,
but it had to speW out Robeson's
programme, aud the old salt is very
much crushed. Some facts have late
ly been revealed throwing strong
light upon Robeson's administration
of the Navy Department during the
eight years he was at its head. He
expended over $149, 900, 900 during
that time, and left the navy in q
worse condition and with feweryes
sells than when ne took charge of it
Nearly a.million and a half of this
amount was spent for "repairsn up.
on a single vessel, and yet the old
hulk is almost worthless as a wal
tessel to day. 1t would be a fine
thing to let Robson have a hand in
a scheme to spend 100000 600 mora
for navy improvement" wouldn't
it? &. PHoNo.
The impndent attempt of ssrator
! NJ bona to,fronofar hio nartv NIL