Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-06-17
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our regular Correspondent)
w.su,~yoro,y N a. TnnoI2 1882


From our regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, d. c., June IL, 1882.
1t has cost millions to make
Washington beautiful, TO make
smooth her streets, to adorn her
many parks, to fill her open squares
with fountains and statuary; but
no American, in the better sense OF
the word, can look on this city
without feeling of pride in the
beauty of the capitol of his country
The trees, most of which have been
planted within the last eight years,
are now sufficiently large to shade
the streets and relieve the side
walks from that intense heat that
has heretofore made Washington
intolerable during the summer
months.
From caravansari of govern
ment clerks, lobbyists, and every
species of adventures which COM
posed the Washington of the years
Immediately following the war, the
capitol has grown to be large city
of beautiful residences. Retired
Army and Navy Officers, successful
business men, men of prominence
in literature, in science, and in art,
from all parts of the country, have
recognized the desirability of Wash
ingtOn as a winter residence, and,
| after having spent season or two
in the hotels, are now building
beautiful residences. The capitol
certainly surpasses any city in the
world of its population in tasteful
houses with modern conveniences.
Besides the palatial mansions that
have been built by the Blaines, the
CamerOns, the PendeltOns, the Rob-
ersons, and others of princely for
tunes, very many solid and COM
Portable homes of lesser pretension
now occupy the places where negro
shanties marred the landscape ten
and even five years ago. True
there are many good houses that
have an existence antedating the
war, and some of these, rich in
historic association, attract the at
tention of the visitor with an inter
est that the mere triumphs of mod
ern architecture cannot rival. The
rooms occupied by your correspon-
dent and in which your letters have
been written during the last year
were occupied by Alex. Stel .hens
and Robert ToOmbS in time that
now seems like ancient history.
If the places of government
clerks, who compose so important d
part of the population of Washing.
ton, were made secure and indie
pendent of political mutation, the
city would gain large increase in
its substantial population. AS it i;
now, large proportion of these
clerks are mere transient residents,
afraid to buy homes for the reason
that they feel how uncertain is theil
tenure of Office under the rule that
"tO the victoIs belong the spOils'
of office. y great many clerks
however, have comfortable houses
of their own. The savings from
their salaries are not very large
but some of them have managed t
buy or build homes that are model,
of modest comfort and not without
the graces of tasteful architecture
In certain localities of the city there
are what might be called civil ser
vice employee colonies, where
blocks of small cosy houses havI
been built just suited to the size o
the purse of the average govern
ment clerk. The remuneration o
the clerks in the government Office:
varies from $3.50 to $1,000 per an
mum. The latter is given only t.
those who occupy important posi-
tions, or who have experience il
the complicated routine OF Office
work. The average American citi
zen does not, perhaps, know tina
this government in all the details 0
its stupendous bureaucracy is man
aged by the 81 800 clerks, but it i
so. These clerks prepare the docu
ments which chiefs of bureau anC
cabinent officers sign, often withou
the ability to understand them un
til explained by the chief clerk.