Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-04-04
A VERY VAIN PEACOCK.
MIR. FRENCH SEEN STRUTTING
IN THE PUBLIC GARDEN.

How He is Guyed and Plucked by His
SubOrdinates-A Favorite Resort of
Washington Gamesters-OhiO's Repub-
icans Headless-Pleasant's Fight for
His Place.
WASHINGTON, April 3.-Assistant Sec
retary French is, on account of the
sicknesso of Secretary Folger, the Acting
Secretary of the Treasury. Mr.. French
has very pretty idea of his Importance.
He thinks that it is very big thing to be
Acting Secretary for such long time.
He wants to manage things so as to make
a record for himself. He is allowed to
conduct all the affairs of the Treasury
Department except to exercise the
appointing function. That is something
that only the real Secretary must touch.
French puts ON good deal of style and.
apparently, does an immense amount of
work. He has certainly issued an un-
usually large number of circulars and
things, but he is not popular with the
chiefs of the different Treasury bureaus.
He never was. They do not go in heartily
here and there in order that
he may make for himself ''good
record. they say to him that. these
changes are unnecessary; and one official
had the awful bad grace to pronounce
certain innovation in the bureau Under
his jurisdiction to be ''nOnsensical." Last
Saturday French called five of his bureau
chiefs to him and said: "YOu don't seem
to cooperate with me. | do not think
that is fair. You ought not to antagonize
me. l am trying to make a good Secre-
tary, and If you do not support me / can
not. Please see If you cannot subject
yourselves to my way of thinking" If
Secretary FOlger should die, French
doubtless thinks he would make most
excellent Cabinet officer. He, however,
possesses exclusive proprietorship of that
idea.
The new law against gambling. which
was passed at the last session of Congress,
is being enforced pretty thoroughly by the
police of this District, consequently there
is an unusually large number of visitors
to Alexandria. That ancient city is a
half mile ride from here. They don't stop
gambling down there. All of the games
in yirtuous Washington have been COM
PEELED to close. There are plenty of peO-
pie here who make their living by
gambling and plenty who lose their living
in the same way. Both of these classes 4
HE themselves to Alexandria. The boats
and cars are dotted with ''sports" and
their victims on the way to the gaming
ground, all during the day. At night the
crowd that goes down to buck the iungled
animal is very large.
An Ohio Republican told me to-day that
what the party in that State wanted was
a leader. "We have no leader nOw,' he
said. "We have no men who possess
sufficient qualities of leadership to as
sumo command. For this reason the
municipal campaign in Cincinnati, which
is really ofimpOrtance, will find the Repub-
iicans somewhat handicapped. "Where
is John Sherman?' Don't ask me such a
question. You know as well as do that
Sherman cannot command sufficient fol-
lowing to be the leader. He is too badly |
smlrched. Governor Foster is no longer
the man he was. His course in the last
campaign lost us several Congressional
districts. The people no longer look upon
him with confidence. He is no leader. |
Ex-Governor NOyes has lost his prestige.
He never was very much of lead
stepped in now had he been able |
to hold his grIp-which he hasn't. Tom
Young is nowhere. He is dead politically |
in Ohio and is hunting for government |
berth. The fact that Young was Lieuten- |
ant Governor when Hayes was elected I
Governor of the State has cast sort of |
damper over his prospects.
The only man who stands forth with any
marked degree of strength is Ben Butter |
worth. But he cannot come up and take |
the reins. That one indecent remark that |
he made on the floor last session will keep
him in the back ground for some time
yet. No; we have not a Republican leader
in the State"
Mr.. A. n. Wilson is here yet. He is at
the White House quite frequently and is
often seen at the Treasury Department.
He is yet working that Pleasant may not
be removed. He certainly is an active
man. | was told to-day. but of course
have no means of knowing whether it is
true or not, that Pleasant and the en-
plOyes of the Internal Revenue Collectors
office at Savannah chip in so much week
to pay Wilson for staying here on his
present mission. Potomac,