The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-11-08
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

From our Regular Correspor dent.l
WASHINGTON. d. c., Nov. 3, 1884,
If the petty place hunters whocon.
slider themselves entitled to official |
under the new admins.
tration next March are to be as num-
erous and persistent as they were
when Mr.. Garfield was inaugurated
four years ago, | tlo not envy Mr..
Blaine the position that the people
are about to confer upon him. Poor
Garfield in the first four weeks of his
term Lever once sought his bed save
in state of absolute exhaustion from
the intoIerable boring of Office seek
ers. 1t is charity to say that he
iacked the resolution to fight these
vampires off, and he and the r"hVic
service were in consequence compeIl-
ell to suffer. A President should
have the nerve to resolve and enforce
the resolution to pay no attention 70
these hungry hOrdes from the mo.
ment he enters the White House.
One such President would diScOur-
nge this class of barnacles and save
the country from the burning dis
grace of continuous offire-begging.
Mr.. Arthur has been a most Sdmir-
able and artful dodger of politicians
since his advent as Mr.. Gsrfield's
successor. He established certain
rules of official contact with these
hungry fellows, and he has irfiexibly
adhered to them. He receives visit
Ors on business only between the
hours of ten and one O'Clock on Mon
days, Wednesdays and Thursdays,
and he receives neither personal nor
other APPLICATIONS for Office at all.
These must be made at the proper
departments. And a good reform
was inaugurated when this rule was
enforced. For years Presidents and
Cabinet officers and Congressman
have been overrun, and the time
which belongs to the public service
occupied by individuals who have no
idea Of either time or decency.
The Third Au1itOr says IN his re-
port that he has allowed 16, 766 ac-
counts, calling for nearly 500, 100000
during the past year, and has yet 81.
487 accounts. involving S9l,0O0,G00
more, to be adjusted. The force in
the office seems to be inadequate to
the task of examining and adjusting
the accounts OF pension agents, these
being fifteen months behind, and
S72,000,Q00 representing 1.5OO,O0O
vouchers, yet to be manipulated.
The business in the Second Auditors
Office is scarcely in any better shape,
and the poor fellows who rely upon
the slow processes there for getting
their bounty and back pay, are COM
PEELED to wait so long that they gen.
orally die or become entirely dis
heartened.
The great American idea that the
university must precede the steps of
civilization in our Western empire,
is likely to he overdone. Dakota
still in her swaddling clothes, and
not yet admitted to State hood. has
already founded FIVE universities,
failing to be admonished by the ex-
perienre of her sister State of Mime
sofa, which also founded the State
University, while she was Terrific
ry, a structure which for thirty years
has been the home of bats and owls.
There are half score of other uni.
versities in the West unendoweda and
likely to remain so, because the PEG
pie of those new sections of the coun-
try have about as much as they want
to do in struggling to get something
to keep soul and body together. and
maintain the common schools.
JUNIUs.