Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-04-10
HOW KEY FOOLED HAYES.
ANGER SLIPPED INTO PLACE
BY THE BACK DOOR. .

BY THE BACK DOOR.
The Erring Brother not Particular,
innocent Heathen-The Presidential
Bee in Zach. Chandler's Bonnet-Th.
Skeleton in the Jeannette's Locker
PollSinghOrn's Peep at Payne.
] WASHINGTON, April "a prominent
Official ofthe Post Office Department told
me to-day how Judge Key, when Post.
master General, once used the newspaper.
in quiet kind Of way to induce tbs
/ appointment of man to be postmaster o
this city. The office was vacant and the
people of the city-at least a portion OF
them-represented to Hayes that a resi-.
dent should be postmaster. Such repre-
sentations had much weight with Hayes
He told Key that he wantedto have a resi-
dent appointed. Now, Key want.
ed an emplOye of the Post Office
Department to get the place.
He knew the cheerful character
istic of the Washington people, which is
that just as soon as one of their number is
mentioned for an Office the rest begin to
throw mud at him. Key worked on this
brotherly popularity. He told newspa-
per man that certain ashingtonian
was most prominently mentioned for the
city post office. 1t was so printed. I'm.
mediately the rest of them began to pelt
this Washingtonian. When they had
killed that man Key gave out another
name. The same old fight went on.
Hayes began to get tired of the
charges and defenses which were
forced upon him. But he was not
through. Key went on pursuing his
course for nearly a month. Some eight
or ten men had in that time been slaugh-
tered by their amiabie fellow-citizens.
Hayes in disgust got rid of the idea that
He gave the place to Anger. a clerk in
the Post Office Department. BY the eX-
ercise of little diplomacy, and by the
aid of the citizens of Washington, Key
carried his point.
1t is said that Secretary Chandler, who
is now i'll Florida, has got the bee in his
bonnet, and really thinks that he stands a
chance of nomination at the hands of the
Republican party i'll 1884. Chandler is no.
body's fool. If he has, of a reality, got
the bee, he will accumulate more honey
than many men who are possessed of that
industrious insect. 1t is pointed out that
the adoption of the eight-hOur system in
the navy yards is a bit of industry on the
part of Chandler's bee. Certain it is, that
by making eight hours a days labor,
Chandler has made many friends among
the working men of the country. He can,
in truth, be said to have already boom
among them. Whether he will try to turn
it to political effect for himself is not
known. But it does look as if
Chandler thinks there is good
Presidential timber in his small body.
Lincoln, you know, has got the fever bad.
He 10 not very polite, however, and is
cold. He refuses to make eight hours
days work among the labOrers employed
under the War Department. He is, con-
sequently, very unpopular among the
w0rkingmen, who constitute no small
factor in our political system.
At any hour of the day you can,
if you look closely. see curls of
smoke coming from behind the corinthian
columns that surround the Treasury
building. But unless you go behind the
returns-I mean the cOlumns-you won't
know the cause of the smoke. If you
do you will see gently roosting in various
inches Treasury clerks who are enjoying
quiet smoke. The present iron-bound
rules of the department will not allow
smoking in the building. The clerks,
therefore, when the desire to enjoy a
Whlff or two becomes very strong, like to
steal awhile away, and, hiding among the
columns, take a soothing smoke. The
average Treasury clerk is well up in his
business.
The Jeanette court of inquiry is about
over. 1t has developed nothing except
that the Jeanette was lost and there was
not the best feeling in the world among the
officers Of the expedition. 1t could not be
otherwise than that the officers should be
at odds. When you take into cOnsidera-
tiOn the fact that even on large men-Of-
war the officers-sQ closely are they
thrown tOgether-be6ome sick and tired of
each other, it is no wonder that the officers
of the little Jeanette should get at outs.
A naval officer told me once that in a
years cruise you would find in a ship of
twenty officers that not One-quarter of
them would be on speaking terms at the
end of that time. 1t is reported pretty
generally that the bad feeling between
Lieutenant Danenhower and DeLOng
resulted in DeLong (before he was lOst)
writing out a series of charges against
Danenh0wer. These are among the papers
in connection with the Jeanette expedi-
tion which have never been printed. De-
Long, it is said, charges that DanenhOwer
went on the expedition when he knew he
was physically unfit for the work and that
he would become a burden upon the rest
of the party. 1t is well known fact that
DeLOng did not want DanenhOwer to 90
with him. The two never liked each other
u cEHucu. II Is SdIO IndI secretary Cndn-
dler will cause n court to investigate if
these charges are true. This is hardly
probable. There would be nothing gained
by it. The public is kinder sick of the
whole Jeanette business anyhow. To in
vestigate DanenhOwer now would be but
to show up things that it would be better
for all sides to allow to remain covered.
Mr.. POlkinghOrn is a well known printer
and publisher here. He has been in the
business for years. Talking about John
Howard Payne to-day, he said: Il never
saw him but once. At that time | was
about as scared a youngster as ever was.
| used to climb up on top ofthe court house
here to steal lead and tin, which, by sell
ing, l added to my pocket money. i went
up the lightning rod. One day twas at my
old tricks. / was operating right over the
head of Judge Crawford. A piece of plas-
tering which had lOOsened fell upon the
Judges head. He directed that the thing
be looked into. 1t was. was nabbed by a
bailitf and taken before the court. John
Howard Payne was on the witness stand.
He was testifying in the case of a servant
girl who was being tried for larceny.
That's the only time / ever saw Payne. 1
was so worked up and scared that / could
not remember at all what he looked like"
POTOMAC.