Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1884-08-15
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondeut.l

WASHINGTON, y. C., August IL, 1884.
While Washington has never been par
ticularly proud of her hostelries, she never
supposed that any of them were so depra-
we'd as to tumble down upon the heads of
guests without a moments warming. Yet
such was the case with the United States ]
Hotel last Sunday, whose walls slew five
personsloutright and manned score more.
A Kind Providence postponed for an hour
the casualty that would have overwhelm-
ed sixty guests who were at table in the
dining room. How many more OF these
ramshackle man traps there are in the
city, no one knows but the Building In
spector, and he won't tell. While Yankee
ingenuity Is being put to its best to devise
fire escapes, new kind OF horror presents
itself, against which there can be no pro-
lection save the faithful discharge of the
duty of those assigned TO look after Just
such specimens OF rottenness as this.
By the second volume of the "Blue
Book" which has just made it's appear
ance, we are made acquainted with good
many of the MINOR details of office holding
which fail to reach us through the ordi-
nary channels. The "Blue Boukn no longer
ago than the reign of Mr. Buchanan, was
n volume containing not more than one
hundred and sixty pages. The enormous
multiplication of Offices necessilates now
two volumes of thousand pages and more
each, which are published every two years
for the Use OF Congress. The second vol
ume which pertains distinctively to the
Post Office Department, informs us that
there are upwards of $4,000 postmasters in
the country, who receive salaries ranging
from nine cents. received by the postmas-
ter at Redala, N. c., TO $4,000, received
by the postmaster at New York City.
There are 1000 OF these postmasters who
each receive a salary OF lest than $40 per
would resign except under the weghtiest
kind of consideration. When posimas
ters were paid salaries in proportion to
the number of stamps sold, there was a
lively interest In being postmaster even
at the smallest cross roads Office, and the
demand for stamps from these small o ffices
became so great that Uncle Sam began an
investigation, only TO find that postage
stamps had become the staple currency OF
'he real and entered into all sorts of trade.
commerce and barter. Then Congress
step ped in and said that salaries should be
paio in accordance with the rumber of
stamps Cancelled at the Office, md this has
lal ,p,l "A III r. h.,
postmaster, Beside the nine cent postmas
Ter IN North Carolina, there are thirty -four
others IN the country whose salary does
not reach 81 per year, and dozen of these
are in North Carolina which State conri-
buIes just one-ninih as much postal reve-
nue. as ths cost OF transporting her mails.
Ordinarily the work OF making up quar-.
terly report in country posIofice, re-
quiras n well-balanced mind. n patience
beyond that OF Job, and full week of
time. In ninety-seven cases out of one
hundred, the work IL not then done TO the
satisfaction OF the department, and the
| whole business IS returned TO The
exasperated postmaster 10 be done all over
again, and that postmaster does not live in
The United States who sends his report to
Washington without serious misgivings,
and, might say, absolute certainty that it
will come back for readjnslWent. A hun
dred years of postal service in which tie
methods Of keeping postal accounts have
not received the slightest simpliicaiion,
have furnished our mad houses with most
Of the inmates that politics and religion
have 10 answer for.
Elk Speaker Kiefer having defed the
newspaper men TO do their werst, has re-
| ceived the full benefit of their attentions,
and his political cadaver is now lying in
stale at Springfield, Ohio. Not news.
paper in his district could be cajoled into
his support for denomination, and there
fore Kiefer started one of his own, with
the usual disastrous results that come Of
a bad politician blowing his own horn.
The defeat of Kefer puts an end to man
whose pnblic life has been nothing but
continued public calamity. and the coun-
try owes II debt Of gratitude TO the news
paper correspondents of Washington who
have comprised the abolition oil one of
the worst OF our political pests.
Dom PEDRO.