Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-18


Observation-Disclosures in the Army--The
Work of the Several Departments--Gen-
eral Gossip.
Especial TELEGRAM to the Globe.I
WASHINGTON. Nov. 17.-Judge Kelly, of
Pennsylvania, gets more satisfaction out
of the Republican defeat than any other
member of his party. He had told them
that they would get into trouble if they did
not reduce the revenues. They did not do
it, and they got into trouble. But they
might urge in defense that if it had not
been for the powers of discussion possessed
by the Democratic senators the bill would
have become law. The Judge is trying
to impress on the president and Secretary
Folger the necessity of recommend
ing heavy reductions in internal
revenue taxation, if not the abolition of
the entire system. He called upon Com
missioner Raum to-day and had an ami
mated discussion with him on the import
ance of abolishing him and all his subor-
dinates, with perhaps the exception of the
men needed to collect the whisky tax The
internal revenue Office here employs 249
persons, and if all internal revenue duties
but the spirit tax were repealed and the
collection of this turned over to the Gus
toms division, this force could be reduced
to about fifty persons, all collectors and
their deputies could be discharged, the
only part of the present force to be
retained being the gaugers, ,storekeepers.
and inspectors, and the cost of the service
would be reduced from about $5,OOO,OOO to
s., 100000. The South is particularly hos
tile to the internal revenue because the
collectors are Republican political manag-
ers. AS to the laws themselves, while the
tax on whisky is preserved and war waged
on illicit stills, the southern people care
little whether the other internal revenue
duties are taken off or not. Commissioner
Raum suggested to Judge Kelly that in
stead of attacking the internal revenue,
which cannot be much reduced without re-
ducing the taxes on whisky and tobacco,
that the duty on sugar, a prime necessity
of all classes, be repealed.
"What ~ exclaimed the Pennsylvania
in tragic tones, ''Would you PROSTATE the
chief industry of three great states?"
The proposition may appal Pennsyl-
vanian, but the cold facts are that repeal
OF the sugar duty would reduce the rev.
enues about S6O,OOO,OOO, and as the OBJ
ject of the tariff is to enable the sugar
makers in Louisiana to get higher prices
than they could get without it, the repeal
of the duty would leave in the pockets of
the people more than $7O,O0O,OOO, now ex-
tracted from them, and divided between
the government and the planters. The
repeal would be worth about 81 per annum
to every head of family. The nation
would make money to hire
planters and their employees to be
idle and allow the duty to be
taken off. But Judge Kelly would rather
have free whisky than free sugar, and free
tobacco than free blankets. -'>'
Hon. James G. Blaine has arrived in
Washington in company with Steve Elkins,
the son-in-law of Senator Davis, of West
Virginia. in connection with railroad enter
prises and coal lands in West Virginia, in
which all are interested. Blaine is not in
his health, and has aged very much in two
years. His face is puffy, his chops hang
low, and his step has lost great deal of
its wonted elasticity. Blaine spent most
of the day in the company of Commits
sioner Trescott, the retained ready made
diplomat of the state de-
partment, always ready to
undertake any mission where palaver and
sugared words are needed. Subsequently
hs went out to his big house, and spent
some time in its survey, both inside and
out. He will remain but few days, and
will not settle down here until CONGRESS-
meets.
Blaine's friends do not know whether to
take him at his word or not as
to his being out of the presiden-
tial race. It lis colncident with
his arrival that some of ihis most trusted
henchmen are on hand, including Jim Bos-
Ter: the colored cattle dealer, who has al
ways put up for Blaine in a presidential
scrimmage, and who was elected as Blaine
man. to the Pennsylvania legislature. Mr..
Blaine is keeping aloof from interviewers,
and to newspaper callers the funky who
opens the front door of his house has the
stereotyped reply as to his ''boss:" Mr.
Blaine is out, and don't know when he
will be back.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17.-During the past
year there has been gradual decrease in
the number of arrests on account of coun-
terfeiting. The secret service officers as
sign as the principal reason, that the hand
lers of money, by the thorough description
of the counterfeits given by the press, are
kept constantly on their guard. In his an
nual report Chief Brooks will show that in
consequence of the difficulties encountered
in passing spurious money, the profession
al counterfeiters now at large are compar-
atively few.
The Garfield board of audit met this
morning. The session was devoted to
preliminary examination of the various
claims presented. A number of errors in
dates and discrepancies in detail were dis
covered which necessitate the calling on
parties interested for correction and furth-