The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-06-12
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, June 8, Is

I
WASHINGTON, June s, 1885.
The tug of war still comes on and
goes on between the administration
and the Office seekers. The tugging is
to a great extent among the office seek
ers, that is they tug against each other;
but the president has TO bear the brunt
and suffer the wear and tear. He is,
no doubt, becoming very weary OF the
delegations that pursue him relative to
comparatively unimportant offices. Per-
haps no minor Office has made greater
demands upon his time and patience
than the Charleston, South Carolina
collectorship. The rival delegations
have been persistent in their claims
upon his attention. He told them last
week that they must agree TO settle
this matter between themselves, and
that IL they did not do 80 soon, he
would be compelled to settle it in q
way that would not suit any of
the contending factions.
The work Of turning out the idle,
the incompetent, and the otherwise
offensive partisans goes on slowly but
surely. The term ''offensive partisan
is in the mouth of every one here, and
| it is in danger of being not only abused
but misunderstood. 1t should be known
that these discharged employees were
not cast out merely because they were
jealous republicans, but because their
zeal in politics wholly interfered with
their duties as government employees.
They are those who have been draw
ing pay from the public treasury but
performing no public service, because
their time has Teen entirely taken up
with partisan work. While they were
doubtless very important factors in the
republican organization, collecting cam
paign money, falsifying statistics,
''skilled in the art Of making the worse
appear the better part upon the stump,
and through the press, they were the
pires Of our POLITICAL system, suck
ing its blood, and lulling it with lies
Many Of them have been discharged
and many more will be discharged
No matter who their "infuence' and
backing may be, the time has come for
them to go into scandalous retirement
and they will 20.
It is not alone in tie discharge oi
idle and worthless partisans that thin
administration is making itself mem
orable. There are other and perhaps
more important reforms going on
These reforms are not palpable anc
visible to the unskilled eye of the
public at large, but their cumulatet
weight will be seen in the reports o.
Cabinet Officers when congress assem-
bles next fall, in the message of the
President; and especially in the great
| ly reduced appropriations that will bt
asked for the public service for the
next fiscal year. -
1t is we'll known that frauds upor
the revenue have long been practiced
by impt,stors in connivance with
custom.house officials. So great had
this evil become few years ago tina,
it was found necessary for congress to
appropriate 100000 to aid in the de
lection and exposure of these frauds
But even this fund, designed as it wa.
for the prevention Of evasions and ire
gularities, was soon perverted to al
| fraudulent uses as those which it wa,
appropriated to rrect;and it is matte
Of notorious history that the create
part of this hundred thousand dollars ,
year went into the hands of disreput
able gang Of POLITICAL bummers il
New York, Philadelphia. and othe
cities as a reward for their partisan
services. Here was one attempted re
form, but the misfortune of it was
like that of most Republican reforms
that it was backward rather than
forward step. 'N
Such is one of many greater rascal
tiles in the customs service which SeC
retary Manning,as practical busines
man, set to work to eliminate upon hi
: taking charge of the Treasury Depart
ment; and how he has succeeded
best told in the language of prom
inent republican of this city to CO..
; respondent of the New York Herald;
II have occasion by the nature G
my work, to know what is being don
in the Treasury and by the admin
tration in the way of reforming Ion
standing and very grave abuses; and
say to you that, in the important ma,
tiers which I am necessarily familia
with, this Democratic administratio
has done more in three months tina
D has been done ir fifteen years before.