Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-05-09
OUR WAsHINGTON LETTER.

- Your correspondent mot have
his usual six hour confidential inter,
view with the President of the United
States this week, and il consequently
not able to give you the news report
hot and steaming from the lips of the
administration. Maybe the reason
why / did not call on the President
was because my friend did Ihave a
wild Western friend who found him
self in Washington last week with
two whole hours at his disposal. He
decided that the time was not quite
sufficient for him to see and talk to
everybody in Washington (though he
could come as near doing it rs any
living man or even woman) and mas
much as he had to draw line some
where, he called only ON the Presi-
dent, Secretary Lamar and your cor
respondent. / will not attempt to tell
all he told me, for he talked without
punctuation. But to the President he
made the original remark that he had
no friends to reward, no enemies to
punish, and no iavors to ask. The
"no favors to ask" clause seemed to
please the President. and he replied
II am nearly worried to death by those
who have nothing but favors to ask
NY friend then called at the Interior
Department on Secretary Lamar and
told him that he wished tosee his bath
tub The Saturine secretary at once
set down my wild Westerner for a
crank, but glance at his nice clothes
and his face painted red with intelli-
gence and humor convinced him that
he had struck character rare. So
he showed him the little zine bath-tub
and the two four dollar rugs, to buy
which, he had sold the ten thousand
dollars worth of government carriages
and horses.
The President and members of his
Cabinet have gone to Gettysburg to
celebrate the anniversary OF the bat
tie. This is the first respite that Mr..
Cleveland has taken since the 4th OF
March, Miss Cleveland is away in
New York. Col. Lamont and his fam
lily, consisting of his wife and two lit
tie daughters, have, at the urgent re-
quest of Mr.. Cleveland, moved into
the White House and they will soon
accompany the President to his coun-
try residence at Soldiers Home. The
Presidents cottage at the Home is
about three miles from the White
House and about mile and half
from the northern boundary of the
city. 1t is situated on commanding
elevation with fine view of the city
and the Potomac river. Surrounded
by trees and acres of green sward it
will have all the advantages OF a sum-
mer resort with the additional advan-
tage of complete retirement from so
ciety and fashion that cannot be OBJ
rained at Long Branch, Saratoga or
Newport.
The illness OF the Presidents private
has revived the old talk
about the peculiar Washington mala-
ria. Every i'll that flesh is heir to in
this city is attributed by the non-pro-
fessionaI writers for the press to rnala-
ria. A Senator cannot eat or drink
too much but that his indispOsition is
malaria, and one of them went so far
as to attribute the accouchment of a
prominent woman to the same pro-
life cause. Washington, as the statis-
ticts show, is universally healthy city
and its death rate shows as smalla per-
centage from malaria as any city in
the union.
What will the administration do
official changes? is ques-
ton that is being very earnestly asked
at this time. There are in round
numbers about 100000 salaried office
1OIuCIS ttIIuC1 kllC ESuCAdA oOfNAA
ment. They are the regular army OF
politicians, for it means their bread.
Their discipline enabled the Republic
can party to keep itself in power for half
a century. Nine tenths of these Off
Gals are still in position. What is the
President going to do about it? A
gentleman who holds very response
BILE and prominent appointment under
Mr. Cleveland, and who comes from a
powerful state occupying a most I'M
portant political and geographical po-
sition, spoke very plainly and fully
the other day respecting the matter of
changes. He said: mo one better
the necessity for COM
DIete change in all commissioned
officials than does the President. He |
s perfectly aware that the people, In |
the change in Presidents last |
all, did not mean simply to put one
nan out and another man in. They |
meant that the entire system should
,e altered and renovated, and you may
depend upon it that is precisely what
he President means to do, but~he will
lot be hurried"