The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-11-08
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent. ]

WASHINGTON, d. c., Nov. 6, 1888.
With the renewed life which comes to
the capital as the assembling of congress
draws near. comes greater industry among
the newsgathers and the political gossips.
All the rumors of coming cabinet changes
which have been flying about during the
last week are pronounced false; yet it is
an old and tolarahly philosophical saying,
that where so much smoke is seen there
must be some fire. There is certainly
some ground for saying that both 'Attor
ney General Brewster and Secretary
Folger are not unlikely to retire from the
cabinet after the elections are well over.
The postmaster general has been men
toned as the coming head of the treasury
department. These changes may for
various reasons never occur, but there is
no doubt that the president desires to
have some skilled political hand at the
rudder of the treasury during the coming
year, that department being a, power in
politics. 1t IS to be the work of the
administration to capture Indiana next
year if possible. Mr. Arthur, it is said,
has confidence in the political talents of
Mr. New, who refuses to pull in yoke
with Folger; but if it is proposed to util-
ize New, it would hardly be accomplished
by putting Gresham over him, as the two
are unfriendly.
Whatever may be the record of this
administration in history it has certainly
achieved distinction in the popularity of
its headgCar. SO striking and original in
shape and style are the hats worn by Mr..
Arthur and some of his advisers that it
would seem as though some principle
were involved in the eccentricity. The
president, in the first place, has hat
made on a block of his own fashioning
The crown is about four inches higher
than the prevailing styles in silk hats,
while the brim is flat and very wide He
has a white cashmere felt made on this
block for summer wear and silk one for
winter wear The president is so tall that
his hat elongates him in most distressing
way. He loves an old hat He is still
wearing his old summer hat, although its
ghostly whiteneSs these cold fall DAYS
gives one a chill. He and Fred Douglass
are the last men in Washington who still
wear white hat Even Brewster has
given up the piatical yellow fur hat and
its mourning band with which he enter.
tanned the people at the eastern watering
places this summer Secretary Folger has
worn little straw hat all summer and
occasionally wears it yet, varying it with
an old soft black hat ten years old or a
hard Derby hat of the style of the last
century. Mr.. Frelinghuysen, great in his
department, wears black silk the year
through. He keeps up to within three
years of the style. War Secretary Lincoln
wears new and fashionable hats. Bill
Chandler wears hats no respectable junk
dealer would buy. Postmaster General
Gresham wears a silk hat with the nap
carefully brushed granger fashion-all the
wrongway--w Mr.. Teller smashes a
soft, seedy black hat down over his sharp
hawks face.
The fight being made against the swim
ding pension agents of this city and else
where has created almost panic among
them There is no doubt of the dishonest
practices of many of these scamps, and it
| is the meanest kind of swindling, for
while they have robbed the government
of the large sums, like the Star route
thieves, they have through misrepresen-
tations and false pretenses extorted sums
of five and ten dollars from hundreds of
poor soldiers, for many of whom the pay
ments were an actual hardship There are
firms here who have accumulated tR9r-
nous fortunes by this means, but there are
also honest attorneys in the business here
who must suffer more or less because of
the practices and exposure of the dishon-
est ones 1t is q fact that is the fee al
lowed in pension cases is entirely made
quate compensation for the work to be
performed by an upright practitioner, and
that this, combined with the policy of the
Pension bureau as inaugurated by the
late Commissioner Dudley, has had ten
dency to throw the business into the hand
| of sharks and rascals who have neither
knowledge of its requirements nor fitness
for the practice. In future letter shall
give some of the remedies proposed by
those who hav7 Htai TIE subject study
Among the former public men who hay e
been in Washington recently | noticed ex-
Senator Thurman and ex Congressman
William Pitt Lynde, of Wisconsin. Mr..
Thurman looks gray and feeble, having
changed considerably since he left the
Senate, owing, ne doubt to his sufferings
from rheumatism. He says he has no fn-
ture ambitions, and only desires rest. Mr..
Lynde, like Judge Thurman came 10 argue
cases in the Supreme Conr. and says he
has no desire to return to Congress. He
says that General Bragg, so well known
here. is only temporarily defeated, and
that he is certain of nomination and an
election to Congress next year. Speaking
of Gale Bouck, the brass buttoned blue
coated woman hater, who served in Con
gress for two terms and distinguished
himself by voting No" so loud he could
be heard in Alexandria when PROPOSE
tion was up looking to woman suffrage.
Lynde says he has no idea of trying to
come back to Congress, but is rich, and