The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-03-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Iron orr Regular Cor-respoud

| WASHINGTON. D. c., March 20, 1888.
Though congress adjourned March 4th,
the Congressional Record is still published.
It comes out at regular intervals. heavily
freighted with tedious lot of so-called
| speeches" which were never delivered,
| but which are published at enormous ex
pense because their authors obtained
'1eave to print" Members who could
not hold the attention of the house five
minutes, in this way work off upon their
constituents several cords of literary rub
bish, pure and simple Our prolific con
gresham occupies seventy solid nonpareil
PAGES of recent number of the Record
with four speeches, which would make an
ordinary octave book of over 500 pages,
and which he never could have induced
| the house to listen to- This versatile and
erudite gentlemen gives history of Ma
poleon and his wars. with maps and volu
minous criticisms, all under the head of
the Fitz John Porter case, from which he
skips lightly to illiteraey in the South;
then he makes dash at the federal courts
and his own peculiarly interesting case
as contestant for a seat in the house,
and he rounds off his career as posthu-
nous speechmaker with a history of the
Mexican wal and defense of the southern
rebellion. There should be an end to this
species of fraud. 1t is an abuse of con-
gressional privilege to compel the gov
eminent to pay for the printing and
distribution of political essays writ
ten for the Record. That costly pub.
location is designed solely to record the
proceedings in congress. But the fiction
of ''leave TO print" is made use of to pub
lish mass of matter which never saw the
light OF day until the government printer
gave it circulation.
The new civil service commission is
quietly getting ready to open up shop.
They will be located in the City Hall
building in a room soon to be vacated by
the register of wills. The members of
the commission seem to be very amiable,
courteous gentlemen, and have made
friends with the officers of the govern
ment with whom they have come in con
tact. Domain B. Eaton is. large,
strongly built, blond gentleman of, say
fifty five years, closely shaver, and of
most engaging manners. He somewhat
IesenOtes IuuSe AIaiiah' VI the
supreme court, and is not un-
like Quaker in his sim
plieity of dress and demeanor Some
people might think him trif1e of dem
agogue. but it is not for me to Judge.
Mr. Gregory is spare and gray, quiet in
his manners, but quick of perception,
He is about sixty, l should say Judge
| Theman, the other commissioner, is
young man Of dark complexion. black
hair and a thin black mustache. He feels
| it incumbent upon him to dress in black
broadcloth. although it i'll becomes him.
| He cannot be over thirty years of age
and looks TO be practical man. / heard
/ him say the other evening that something
was "a d outrage. and, therefore, |
| think that he will not open the sessions
of the commission with prayer.
People are talking good deal about
| the fight between Senator Malone and
| Colonel Mosby, when the latter gets back
| from China. 1t win be what Horace
| Greeley called mighty interesting reading.
whenever it does come off To one who
knows the. two men there could not
possibly be two antagonists better quail
| fed to cope with each other. Malone is
a man of more brains than Mosby, but
Mosby has enough to make him danger
| our, and he has besides q logged and
| fcrocious vindictiveness, SO that Mr. Ma
hone had better be on the lookout, for
| some letters have been received here from
Mosby, promising circus when he gets
back. The two men are alike in great
many particulars. Both-of them prefer
using their knives to their forks at dinner.
Colonel Mosby says little, but what he
says is short, plain and to the point. He
has the whole history of Mahone's rail-
road transactions at his fingers ends,
and knows good many other things which
Senator Malone would prefer to let rest
in forgetfulness. NIosby's hard, fierce
determined face is enough to make most
people fear and dislike him.
Mr. E. F. Andrews, the artist well
known here as the painter of the
portrait of Martha Washington at
the white house, is building house on
Sixteenth street, near Mfr, WINDOWS
and Senator Cameron's. 1t is said toabe,
on small scale. the most complete house
in Washington. Nothing like the rush of
building operations has ever been known
as Turing the present spring. The beauty
of judiciary square is marred by the great
fountains of the new Pension building.
There was strong opposition to putting it
there in the beginning. but now that it is
there it becomes more evident that it was
mistake to partially destroy the park.
1t has been found by actual experience
that whenever any deviation has been
made from the plan of the city. as laid
down by Gen. Washington and the
drunken old Frenchman who aided him,
it has been to the detriment of it, The
people are intensely jealous or the in
fringing of the plots of ground known as
government reservations, and it is a
source of much COMPLAINT that the parks
in the west end have enjoyed q monopoly
of the queer-fooking gentlemen in bronze
which stand as efngies of dead heroes.
DON PEDRO.