Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-08-10
WASHINGTON LETTER.
tFHox ous REGULAR CORRESPONDENT. !

"AsHNGros. ID. O., July .. 1884.
Ii Is not generally known that Wash
ington is rated as the greatest stock
gambling place outside of New York.
few years ago there was but one spe-
cial wire to New York. and that hardly
paid expenses. Today there are about
Two dozen offices With special wires.
seven OF them opened since Decembar
last. 1t is a noted fact that wolves
catch more lambs hsre than in any other
city, and the poor lambs are Reaerally
from the fold Of Government clerks.
The cause lies mainly in the fact tha.
nearly everybody here gets paid by the
Government, and from the $500 clerk to
the Cabinet officer they seem to 90 on
the plan Of all gamblers: money easy
earned easy spent. The recent deal in
Northern Pacific alone Is said to have
taken few million out of the capital of
the nation. Ii Is well known that one
pool, including prominent officers of the
United States Courts and others. were
cleaned out OF 1oCt $4,000, two ex.
members of from $2U.OUO to $40 600
each, and UnItei States Senator SO,
UUU on the long side of Union Pacific
STOCK. Ihe clerks got left In proportion
10 their means Congressmen Will Al
ways be the victims. You can't make a
Govsrnmens 0zliaial or employer believe
that times are hard when IRON mills are
stopped and railroads reduce wages.
VIII tnouea0oB0f men out of EMPLOY
neut ev0ryUhets. He don't see this,
Tor tne doveEnment pays him; his sal
ary comes regularly along; he prospers
and imaginss h has the inside of the
shrswd men in Wall street.
a very popular vay of making money
rapidly oE trying to, has developed
lat6iE iu ell speculasion here. Men who
csauot ra5ss o1o00, but who can scrape
sogethsr el00, put Il into oil With orders
to cover g : snaall profit. Great stories
are ted q - neney made, and even
the email uaRe feiiows are drawing out
theft savine3 and taking a flyer.
luis apsFit of speculation has fairly
got Q bold On Washington. The bre-
kerage business hourishes, and is grow
ing with rapid strides. Bucket shop
signs line the streets about the Treasury,
and a short stretch of 4 street in that
vicinity is proudly denominatsd "the
Wall street of Washington" The o.
kers are Ia great part made M of an
known and irresponsible adventures
who come to Washington, swing out
their signs as brokers and dealers in
' futures" aud proceed to gull the cred |
ulous dupes. Thousands of dollars are
put up IN margins, yet a leading broker
said to me this week that he thought 80 |
per cent. of his customers lost money. |
That Is almost as large a proportion
as lottery company's losing Gus
toners.
When the President left the White |
House on Saturday. for his long sum- |
mer vacation. there we're four little girls |
huddjed around him in the carriage, |
aud all the attendants and servants at |
the White House stood out on the por-
too to see the party of. The girls were
Nellie Arthur. aiiss McElroy, Miss Wal |
lach and Miss de Kraft, daughter of |
dc Kraft, of the Navy. |
The French nurse rode In a carriage
behind. The President was attired In
a / lus suit and white hat, and had a |
rose in his button hole. he looked ex
trsmely we'll and even happy as he
waved his adieus to the crowd on the |
portico. The whole party left In the |
Presidents pleasure yacht, the Dis
patch, and was accompanied by Mr.. |
John Davis, Assistant Secretary of
State, and Private Secretary Phillips. |
The vessel is expected to make the trip
in 4S hours, arriving in New York on |
Monday afternoon. The President will |
in that city about a week and |
then proceed up the Hudson to Kings |
ton, aud, after making short stay
there as the guest of General Sharpe,
will make a visit with the latter to the |
Catskiils. He will return TO the city |
about September lst, and then occupy |
his cottage ON the nights at the Soldiers |
Home.
The administration has never been |
more completely dissolved for the time |
being than now. There will probably
not be another Cabinet meeting for two |
months. The Secretary of State will
spend the month of August at his New
Jersey hsme on the Raritan. Secretary |
Folgsr is at his home In central New
York. Secretary Lincoln has gone to |
the seashore for several days Score
tary Chandler is in New Hampshire get |
ting ready to receive the Greedy party. |
Secretary Teller and Postmaster Gresn-
am have gone to their western homes.
Attorney General Brewster is keeping
cool at Long Branch. The Government
does not seem 10 suffer the least disad,
vantage from their absence, and routine
business goes on as usual.
LENox.