National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-02-01
ON THE AVENUE.
Small Talk About Men and Men.

| A resolution of inquiry, introduced by Gen.
Shelley, by which the secretary of war was
requested to report what sum of money il
was necessary should DO Immediately appro-
priated to continue important river and har-
Dor improvements until the regular nppro-
priation for tho year could be made avail
able, was passed by tho house about two
weeks ago. 1t is expected that tho secretary
of war will answer IL next week, and thon
Gen. Shelley will introduce bill for the
immediate appropriation of the sum named
by the secretary for continuing work when
it is necessary. IL is expected that
tho amount asked for will be 81, 500, OOO
or $2,00O,0O0, and the bill will provide that it
shall be put undor the control of tho secre-
tary of war, who shall use it only when it is
necessary to prevent loss on works already
begun. In speaking of this matter yester-
day, Gen. Shelley said: awe passed the other
day an immediate appropriation of 81, 900, 900
for continuing the improvements of the Mis-
sissippi river, not because tho necessity for IL
was more urgent than for improvements else
whore, but because there was u great public
sentiment urging that appropriation. Tho
work is SO vast interests so many
people, and appeals so urgently to tho
people, that tho railroad corpora
tions, which are generally hostile to river
and harbor improvements, don't dare to offer
any direct opposition. IL is different with
detached works elsewhere. Tho nood of an
immediate appropriation is just great how
over. The government is losing hundreds of
thousands Of dollars because of the failure of
the last SO ssion of the forty-sevcnth congress
to provide for continuing tho work all along
the coast line. At He'll Cato 1t was neces-
sary to reserve $4,000 for no other purpose
than to save the work already done until
money could DO obtained to finish IT,
This money il being used to keep tho
water pumped out of the chambers In which
explosives are to be put to blow up the
rocks There arc only two months in tho
| year in which these blasts can be made be-
cause at any other time tho electric condition
of tho atmosphere renders it unsafe to handle
the explosive. These months, think, are
September and October. If we have to wait
for tho passage of the regular river and har-
Dor bill it will be too late to do the work this
year, and it will be necessary to wait a whole
year, spending money all the time to preserve
the work already done. An immediate ap-
plopIldLlOh VI gt@ONUU WOulu make III DOSSl-
BILE to do the work this year. The same waste
for lack of money to continue
work is going on at Charleston, Sa-
vannah, Mobile, Pensacola, Galveston, and,
presume, at other places. All the government
machinery has to be guarded while II is
lying idle, and that is expensive. Then the
government is losing great deal of money
because of the disbanding of tho skilled
forces of men who have been at work upon
these improvements. Where jetties are being
built the work can be done only when the
water is smooth, from about April to October
Unless an immediate appropriation is made
nothing can be done this year, and the
waste goes on for twelve months more
Nothing will be lost by making
this appropriation Immediately, as it will be q
part of the regular river and harbor bill, and
by Immediately appropriating $1,5OO0OO the
government will save S1,000,000 1t is Off
cially known that the secretary of war will
not use the money for small creeks and other
| unimportant works. There is just as much
reason for passing this bill as the one for the
Mississippi river, and tho friends of that bill
ought not to object to it,"
s"s
They were talking about the probabilities
of Mr.. Carlisle's coming to tho top of the
pack in the senatorial shuttle now going on
in Kentucky. Mr. Willis said, 81 don't
| believe that Mr.. Carlisle's friends would ad-
wise him to accept the place if it was offered
| to him. He is better off where he is. He
can go TO congress from that Covington
district just as long as he wants TO-,
and with tho danopratc in ba Nv hn
can BIO speaker of the house, which is better
place than that of senator. Even on the
floor of the house think he can do moro
| good than in the senate. Tho senate is
drifting away from us and away from the
people more and more every year. l know
that if was in Mr.. Carlisle's place would
not accept the Office of senator"
no
1.-THE boy fresh from school has great
deal better chance in these civil service ex-
aminations," said the Michigan man, Ethan
an experienced business man, and can give
| you the proof of it. During tho holidays
Mr.. +. w. NJ. Cutcheon happened to be here
visiting his father, Byron NJ. Cutcheon, con-
gresham. from Manistees Mich. There was
civil sevice examination Jan. Q, and
young Cutcheon heard of it. He is
a junior in Michigan university,
AS much for fun as for any other reason he
went in with the other candidates and was
examined, Being fresh from college, OF
course, he did well. Then he went back to
Michigan and forgot all about it. Last week
he received an appointment to a 81 900 clerk
ship in the war department. don't know
whether he will accept or not, but know
that he did not desire the place when he was
| hcre.u