The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-04-16
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondence
WASHINGTON, DC,
April 12 1226

ApfAl 1o, 1COO.
The stars and stripes no longer
wave over the north wing of the Cap
itol. Although the Senate has adj
journed, many Senators with their
families linger in Washington and
enjoy the spring weather which came
promptly on the first day of April.
The are in bloom in the
parks. The shade trees are putting
forth their leaves, and the detestab.e
English sparrows are as numerous
and as nasty as ever, despite the sys-
tematic and desultory efforts that
have been made to exterminate them.
Fashionable Washington is on
wheels, or in the saddle, and unfash-
ionable Washington too. Old lash
Toned pedestrianism is in danger of
becoming a lost art. The miles of
conci etc pavement furnish such a
skating rink as no other city can at
ford, and children of all ages, shades,
colors and conditions live on roller
skates from early morning to late at
night. There are cycles, bicycles, tri-
cycles ard quadracycles, to say moth
ing of the old fashioned vehicles that
have horses for a motive power. This
is a peculiar city, and every sue
ceeding year seems to draw more
sharply the contrast between the
pleasure loving, easy going Capital,
and the great commercial and manu-
featuring marts of the New World.
1t is expected that Washington, not
withstanding the absence of Con-
gress, will continue to be the center
of political interest during the sum-
mer. The president and his cabinet
do not expect to go on a trip to the
Yellowstone. or to Long Branch, nor
will they cruise along the Atlantic
coast in a government vessel. They
will remain in the District of Colum-
bia, giving close and personal atten-
ton to their several departments, set
ting an example to the thousands of
clerks who have been in the habit of
absenting themselves during the
summer, to the great and serious Diet
riment of the public business. There
is a great deal TO be done in all the
Departments before they can be re
dueed to their original purpose of Of.
fees for the transaction of the bust.
ness of the great nation. This work
has been planned; it has been un
d%ertaken, but it cannot be success.
fully consummated without the
strictest supervision of responsible
heads. lido not think it can be done
withouta corps of subordinates in ac-
cord with the purposes and principles
ofthe administration. A very large
lumber of the idle, useless, obsrruct-
i've parasites in the government Of
fees must be, will be, cast out. Civil
service reform will become a byword
and a Kissing unless this is done.
But this alone will not do. There
are hundreds of others in government
employ, who have no sympathy with
the new men OF new methods. They
are not altogether idle or incompe-
tent, but they + creatures of rou-
tine and vessels Of malice. They
would hate nothing worse than to see
the present administration succeed.
They live in ideal exile, hoping and
praying for the return of the Repub-
lican party four years hence. Can
the new administration gather fruit
from such thorns and thistles as
these?
That the president was wise in not
expecting too much in the way OF
confirmation of his appointments by
the Republican Senate the sequel has
proved. The Senate adjourned leav-
ing n score. of the ITO whom he had
nominated unconfrmed. The signi-
ficance of this neglect is apparent.
Republican leaders have been COM
pletely nonpluss ed a. the wisdom,
temperance and judgement with
which MIR. Cleveland has begun his
administration. They have seen in
one short month the refutation OF
their auguries of demoo ratio blum
ders and crimes. They have seen
their political capital OF stale lies go
down in a calm sea. They have re
allied that they were on the point OF
becoming practical democrats BY &C
quiescence in the nominations and
pol cy of u thoroughly patriotic ad
ministration. The situation was EN-.
b~arrassiug, and the thoroughly con,
founded body of old politicians put
their heads together in caucus and
said we will adjourn and get out Of
this, lest we stultify our record, and
commit particlde.
Tom.