The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-10-02
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Del
Sent. % 1884

from Our heSuia
WASHINGTON, Del
Sept. %, 18S4.]
The attention of politicians here
lbouts is largely turned toward Ohio
ust now, and the greatest interest
in the campaign in that State.
In no previous presidential campaign
my recollection has this been
The case. Heretofore Ohio has been
conceded in advance to the Repub-
and Indiana, a more doubtful
State in the past, has been the focus
Of special interest at this stage of the
But now there is little
question about Indiana, andsthe Re-
are scared nearly tordeath
about one of their own States. PEN
sion Commissioner Dudley has left
his office and gone to Ohio to take
chargs of the corruption fund and
direct the movements to buy the
State. Having been first lieutenant
under Dorsey in Indiana in 1880, he
is considered well qualified for such
a mission. Mr.. Dudley resigned his
office because it was the wish of the
Secretary of the Interior that he
should do so. They have not been
in accord for some time, and now
Dudley goes to Ohio to work for
Blaine, under promise from the latter
that he shall have Teller's place il he
succeeds in buying the necessary
number of votes to carry that State.
/ had q talk last evening with a
gentleman who knows the inside
plans of the Blaine managers and
learned from him the plan upon
which Dudley is to operate. The
seven counties of Cuyahoga, Sandus-
ky, Lucus, Erie, Hamilton, Mont
gomery and Butler, which gave Hoad
ly 12,472 majority, have been select
ed as a special battle ground. In
these seven counties there are 397
voting precincts, with a n average OF
a fraction over 400 votes each. They
also include every large city, except
Columbus and Springfield. In each
of these precincts a reliable worker
is TO be placed and is to be supplied
with the munitions of war, and each
Of these 397 workers is expected te
make an average of forty .conver
sions." The arguments used.to Sc
cure these conversions, are bribery
and chicanery-the only weapons Of
the party in latter years. 1t is posi-
BILE that by these means the Blaine
managers may succeed in holding
the State. Ii they don't the Jig j.
up with them. If they do they will
simply hold what has never bee
counted in the Democratic column
and will still be q mighty long way
from final success. The fact tina
there is such a scare about Ohio
shows the condition and desperation
of the Blaine cause. As Col. bud
ley's resignation does not take effec
until Nov. 10th he is doing all hi
dirty work while an officer of tn
Government, and as the head of tn,
Pension Bureau he has taken witt
him as aides q large number o
special agents. who are on the roll
of that office. Dudley would max,
a nice Secretary Of the Interior-jus
as James G.. Blaine would make
sweet scented President of the U. S
There has ben from time imme
mortal more or less scandal=upol
every administration relative TO TIL
disposition of the contingent fund
The time was when this p~articula
fund belonged to the Treasury De
partment alone, and by it divided nj
among the other departments ant
drawn upon as the emergency arose
Now, however, every department, mt
indeed every bureau in the DEF art
ments, has its contingent fund, nm,
the uses to which it is pnt are as var
ious as are the wants of those wht
have its manipulation. One would
suppose that after the Goyernmen
had purchased under contract every
thing under heaven that can b.
known or mentioned for the use o
its officials, there would be little rea
son orthe maintenance ofa con;in
gent fund, but the appalling array o
contingencies that fall upon us yea
after year, was shown in the investi
cation of the disposition of this funt
during the administration of Nh
Hayes. It was then demonstrated
that hundreds of private honsesI il
the city of Washington were furnish
ed throughout the agency of thi'
fund. The rich paintings and ele
CANT works of art that adorned 'tLt
parlors of the. esthetic official, tn,
pianos and carpets and rich flu nitur
that set society by the ears becaus,
of their elegance and costliness, owet
their existence to the contingen
fund. In short, the fund is made t
cover the expenses and to do tn
duty for that which the Government
receives not the slightest benef
from, but for which the recipien
should make the disbursement iron
his own pocket. From a riding viii
to a marble front palace, are item
embodied in that Investigation, AM
what was true of Hayes administra
tion is not a whit less so of the pres
emit Republican regime. PHoNo.
The Blainites will see that Pre-
hibition is as solid in Ohio as il wa
in Maine. elf they carry the State
Democrat.