The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1882-01-05
ROBERT INGERSOLL.
Gives als Views on White House Etiquett
and Civil Service.

and Civil Service.
Washington Letter.
The president, they say, slept in the
It is ho1id, cheerless old barrack," said
Dol. 1ngersoll to party of friends. "The
president ought to have home for his
family like any other man. He is as much
entitled to his privacy as any other Ameri-
can citizen. The government ought to
give him house; and the custom should
be established, and maintained, that no.
body should 60 to that house unless he was
asked to 60. The president should use the
White House as his Office, and should
60 there regularly and do his
official business; and there should be mora
system in the transaction of the White
House business than there has been. The
president should not be accessible. There
should be private secretary who should be
q man capable of saying No! and the presi-
dent ought not to see everybody about pet.
ty Offices. If he should arrange the busi-
ness of the executive on proper system,
the president of the United States might
old system is maintained, he will have
nothing but turmoil and trouble from the
first to the last day of his administration. It
sh ou]d be considered polite for tho presi-
dent Of the United States to receive people
In their order. and to tell them yes or no,
and then to ask them to pass on. He
ought not to be compelled to talk over the
political situation every day with the Amer
lean citizen from Gilligan's Mill. There
are too many of those mills in this country.
There is not enough Of the president to 90
around. And, as to the great offices of the
country, he ought to select cabinet to
make appointments. and give them instruo-
tons to consult the local political senti.
ments, SO far as is possible, and not to
trouble the executive. The commissioner
responsible for collecting the in
bad man in Office, it would be his fault
ard he would be held accountable for it.
The President ought to be able to say to all
Corners with respect to internal revenue ap-
pointments, that he was not collecting the
revenue; that was not his business; that it
was the business of the Commissioner Of
Internal Revenue; and that the officer is the
proper person to apply to-"
but how would you manage the politi-
cians?" o bystander asked.
II should give the senators and represen-
tatives in Republican states certain offices;
and if they made bad selections, it would
be a matter which they would have to settle
with their constituents, but the main prin-
ciple should be observed, that the Cabinet
officers are responsible for the duties of
their departments. And there should be
clerical forcs enough at the White House,
too, to answer every letter that is received.
The writer should be told where his lette,
has gone if it has been referred; and should
be Informed Immediately that his request
oannnk ho crorfo6 if fhoro 80 M ;r&o,oEo>n
Of giving him favorable consideration.
There ought to be decisions in these mat.
tars. The applicant who was refused would
get mad in the first Instance, of course; but
he would not be half as mad as he would to
wait for Elk months and tn en- he refused.
There is another kind of business that
ought to be discontinued about tho White
House-that is, those receptions. They
are humbug. They are an imitation of
monarchy. They simply convert the presi-
dent of the United States into pump and
give everybody chance to take u jerk at
the handle"
Col. Ingersolls civil service is not CON-
plete, as it will be seen; and there are sew
eral important gaps in it-as, for instance,
the division of responsibility between the
politicians and under officials to whom he
proposes to give tbs appointing power; but
it is on improvement upon some features
OF the existing system.
Failure IN Enormous Ships.
From the London Truth.
1t is to be feared that the Infexible,
which cost about $500 600 and took nearly
eight years to get aAoat, will prove failure.
She is terribly unwieldly, by no means
swift, and draws two feet more water than
had been calculated. The electric light
tho ship, is not a success. And it is now
doleful to learn that the officials at Malta
dock yard have been busted in
preparing a dock for the re-