National Republican., 1883-07-07
TIE Man ON TIE AVENUE.
Small Tnik About 1Ien and Measure


Have you heard about the Spalding
claims, and the agitation about themin the
Postonice dcpartmont?" asked u loquacious
official yesterday.
"Not lately. Anything interesting to be
said about the mattor2"
To this question the loquacous gentleman
made reply as follows Ono Harvey Spald-
ing, n claim agent, has been lowering about
tho halls of congress for moro than
half dozen years endeavoring to secure
q re-enactment of tho laws Of 1861 and 1865
relative TO tho compensation Of postmastors
from 1864 to 1873, and on March 3 last he
succeeded in this aim of his life. Tho bill
was passed and received the signature of the
president the same day. AS on the two former
occasions so on the moro recent one, congress
mad no appropriation to carry out their law,
50 the readjustmeut of salaries of postmasters
cannot be made effective and the big raid on
the treasury is shut of, Nevertheless Mr..
Spading sends out his circulars to cx-post
masters offering to collect the claims ofwhich
they never heard for 25 per cent. This
modest appeal is responded TO quite generally
and tho Office of tho first assistant is nearly
swamped with claims"
" But are they all being acknowledged 2"
"Bless you, no. There being no appropria-
ton for the execution of the law it Is delayed,
and, moreover, everything being dependent
upon the old records of quarterly returns in
the sixth auditors Office which are obsolete
and not get-at-able the claims are as station
ary as tho stationery upon which they are
written"
How does Mr. Spalding like this state of
aflairs?"
"Hc don't like it at all, and is kicking like
an ancient and plucky mule. He has had
conversations with postmasters general and
their assistants for years past, and has sub
dued them with the vehemence of his olo-
qucnce; but similar undertaking on his pat
in the presence Of the present postmaster gem
eral recently resulted in his being summarily
silenced Judge Gresham was highly in
censed by him"
what do you think is the present status
and the probable outcome of these claims?"
without an appropriation thoy have no
status, and without further congressional ac-
tion they will have no outcome, but will
die"
| @Sa
| Tho Man on the Avenue encountered an
Arkansas traveller yesterday and was made
the recipient of considerable gossip from that
section. Politically" he said, Arkansas
is working the same line of policy
that is being followed out in Mississippi;
that is to say, the conservative democrats
and independents are combining to regulate
and purify the state politics. An election
was held last week to fill iudgeship, when
| bn &c tpIn rtc, md
elected the choice of the people. Ex-senator
Powell Clayton offended the democratic
voters in many ways, and is even shelved by
some of those who were his friends hereto
fore.
Mr. Logan il. Roots is conservative man
in every respect one who has mover been in
politics and is a man of wealth He is
largely interested in railways and has done
much good for the people Mt large His
chances of being elected to succeed Walker
the present United States senator, are en-
couraging.
"The cities and towns of Little Rock Fort
Smith, Pine Bluffs, Hot Springs, and Helena
are all doing good business and the lumber
interest is booming. Northern men are flock.
ing to the state and buying government
, timber lands and putting up sawmills. Po
q litically, agriculturally, and commercially
\ Arkansas is second to none of the southern
states. Her future success is assured if thC
signs provo true"
~
Private "Jim" Wintersmith, candidate fol
doorkeeper of the house, tells of a game oi
poker he once saw in Texas town, where
the players put the cuspidor in the middle O
the table for fear the cards would be "put
Iup" on them if they turned their heads
to spit. Sometimes" he continued
warming up to his work, "when there
are no cuspidors the players are obliget
to expectorate down their vests. They play
under umbrellas SO that nobody can lool
down through peep holes in the ceiling ant
give their hands away When one player
announces that he has four kings aud an
other player asks what his side card is NJ
further inquiries are made. 1t is taken fo
granted there are eight kings out and th
ranking side card takes the pot"
a*e
In describing the trip of newspaper maj
across the continent gentleman just in from
the far northwest said: When l last say
Blank he was with the president of the North
crn Pacific going west. The party had go
as far as Bismarck. The commissary cor wa
4