The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-11-24
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspond ent.l

| fice.hOlding that temptS the eX- rep
resentatiye to be here now eXalting
his horns for a clerkship or a door
keapership of the very House whose
walls have rung with eloquence as
the peoples representative but 1t
can be the inducement, pecuniary
and otherwise, which these places
hold out, for a man to be able to lay
up something for rainy day and at
the same time WELD patronage that
one doorkeeper said made him
"biger man than old Grant" Legl-
timateIy, the positions of clerk, SER
geant-at-arms, or doOrkeeper are
worth from $4,000 to $4,000 per year,
but there are those whose judicious
care for No. has enabled them to
gather in a sum infinitely greater
than that. Bill King, as the House
postmaster, so managed its affairs
that he not only built up bank ac-
count of a square million in eight
years of service but he managed to
swamp several Congressman besides.
But the Bill Kings and the opportu-
mites are now gone, and there are so
many watching the corners that these
positions do not average any more
than a good, honest sort of a fellow
ought to have for the responsibilities
There are no fewer than fifteen Ofthe
ex-members of past Congresses who
are here now besieging the new MEM
bers for help in reaching these differ
ent positiOns-sOme for clerk, others
for doorkeeper. others for sergeant-at-
arms, and still others for postmaster.
1t may be humiIiating for these men
to be thus racing and scrambling for
these subordinate place, but we must
charitably assume that it is the hu-
initiation of necessity.
1t is coming to be pretty generally
understood that neither of the great
parties will put forward a military
man for the next Presidency, which
counts out Grant and Logan and hosts
of others on the Republican side, who
might or might not be available, and
Hancock and Butler on the Demo-
cratic side, either of whom would be
disastrous. General Logan is prob
ably satisfied with what he has got,
if he only knew that he could keep it,
but Oglesby continues on his flank
and will trouble him more than ever
in the next Illinois General Assem-
bly,. Yet Logan as political fighter
is holy terror, who knows no such
word as fail, who eXhausts every re-
source earthly and unearthly before
he gives up, and when he does finally
let go, it is only to get better hold
next time. So that Logan's Senator
ial future may be regarded as assured,
even if he should happen to lapse two
years of it. The prospect of the Presi-
dency has ceased to have any partic-
uIar effect upon General Logan's usual
eQuanimity, if it ever did disturb
him. and Sherman did him positive
injustice when he charged him with
having a Presidential bee in his bon
net, the same bee, by the way, that
has been buzzing in Sherman's bon
net ever since he came out of the war.
Judge Kelley, of Pennsylvania, the
oldest member in continual service in
the House, has returned from Europe
cured of most aggravating cancer
Gus trouble, caused, it has been said,
by holding tobacco in his mouth, the
quid resting at spot in the cheek
from which the cancer formed and
grew. Inveterate or moderate to-
bacco cheWers will please be admon-
ished in time, for it took only forty
years or more for Judge Kelley's
guilds to work up the mischief that
has caused him so much of intense
suffering. 1t will be the duty of Judge
Kelley to administer the oath of
office to the new Democratic Speaker,
an act that was performed by Thad
deus Stevens, also from Pennsyl-
vania, as the oldest member of the
House in continuous service, twelve
times.
The river and harbor bill, which
buried SO many Congressman two
years ago beyond earthly hope of
resurrection, only called for little
more than fifteen millions of dollars,
all told but here comes the chief en-
gineer of the War department with
his estimates for the next fiscal year
amounting to more than thirty-two
millions, and this tor a reform Demo-
cratic Congress to swallow! OF course
they will all be ready to cut into this
bill calling for thirty odd millions
until it approaches their own locali-
ties, and therefore the trainers of the
bill cunningly entrap every member
by inserting an appropriation for the
inn IF -, -, =,