Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1884-07-19
WASHINGTON LETTER.
(From our regular correspondent

IRON our regular correspondent
WASHINGTON, ID. C., July 10. 1884.
The American people seem to take 1t
for granted that for the summer months
at least, the President is justified III alb
dicating his power and leaving the gov
eminent to take care of itself OF all the
line OF Presidents, from Washington
down to the nineteenth, Grant was the
first chief magistrate who had ever taken
a summer junketing. Mr. Lincoln in the
last Summer of his life slept occasionally
out at the Soldiers Home, but in his four
years administration, he never lett WASH
ington. Nor was it particularly because
of the existence of war and the supervision
of military affairs that detained him, be-
cause these duties could as well have been
performed from any other headquarters,
but Mr. Lincoln would not establish the
precedent of leaving the CAPITOL and the
duties OF his high position, SIMPLY because
Of the climate and its malarious accom-
Is infinitely more healthful than it was
then, and the neurology of the White
House shows bat two Presidential DEM
ises-that of Harrison who was killed,
not by malsria, but by the office hunters,
and that of Taylor who ate too heartily of
lce-cream that was favored with the same
villainous vanilla that afterwards poison
ed Mr.. Buchanan and Others at the Ma
tional Hotel, and lis now slaughtering the
youth and beauty of our land.
This leads me to mention that Mr.. Ar,
thur, who has never spent summer in
Washington, never intends to. As soon
as Congress is done with its work, the
President will go in the Dispatch straight
to Newport, and during the summer will
go up and down the eastern coast, fishing
around Poppysqaash Point, digging clans
at Squantum and eating them at the Gut.
How the President will spend his days of
retirement after the 4th of March next. is
problem which even hs cannot solve.
He can hardly assume any prominence in
the political world, for the dignity o his
retirement will he aboye that, whatever it
may have been in the time of John Ouin.
cy Adams.
By the first of September the Washing
ton Monument will have attained height
Of 500 feet, when the shape of the strac-
ture will be changed to that of pyramid,
to continue on for 55 feet to the apex.
which will be the completion of the mon.
ument proper. The dedication of this
grand memorial will take place on the
22nd OF February next, just thirty year.
from the date of the laying of the corner
stone. One of the peculiar and appro-
pirate features of the dedicatory exercises
will he the delivery of the Grafton by Hon
Robert c. Winthrop, OF Boston, the same
orator who oficiated thirty years ago.
The ceremonies attendant upon the dedi-
cation will be the most elaborate that
have ever taken place upon like occa-
tion in this country, Congress having by
joint resolution appointed committee of
both houses, empowered to make such
arrangements as will be appropriate to so
august an occasion. The whole cost of
the monument when completed will be not
iesssthan 81 ,25o, 900, but to the everlasting
disgrace OF some OF those who had the
manipulation of the funds when the orig
inal Monument Association undertook the
work, about one-third of this amount
was stolen from the fund.