The National tribune., 1885-11-26

animation of the contents showed that while
| some of the mail matter had been almost de-
stroyed by the action of the water most of the
letters were sufficiently preserved to be for
warded directly to their places of destination.
THE TARDY CLERKS.
Very few Government employees die from
| overwork. Asa general rule-which, of course,
has its exceptons-it may be said that the
amount of hard labor performed is generally In
| inverse ratio to the compensation received
the more pay the less work. The hours at the
Departments in Washington are from 9 to 4,
with half an hour at noon for luncheon-six and
| half hours for a days work, which does not
seem to be oppressive. The people of WASH
ington are not devoted followers of Ben Frank
Inns maxim, Early to bed and early to rise"
Most of them 60 to bed late and get up corre-
spondingly late. The thousands of Govern
ment clerks have not been rending their gar
ments in their frantic rush to reach their re-
spective Offices by o'clock. In fact q habit of
tsrdiness has been growing for years, and
hundreds were generally from Ave to 30 min
utes late.
The other day the clerks in the Treasury
Department were brought up with a round
turn. The Secretary thought he would see If
be could not secure the same promptness on
the part of the clerks that would be expected
by q private employer. He quietly stationed
!
the names of those who were late, and the time
| Of their arrival. The first mornings harvest
was 235. During the day polite note was sent
| to each of them, calling attention to the viola
tion of the rules, and suggesting unpleasant
consequences if the offense was repeated with
out valid excuse. 1t is scarcely necessary to
say that the next day all those 235 were ready
for business promptly at 8. All the other
clerks found out the deep-laid plot of the Sec
| retary to cut short their matutinal slumbers,
and there was general spurring up all around
The scheme worked SO well in the Treasury
that it will be tried in the other Departments
All the clerks, however, have taken the alarm,
and tardiness is now even more rare than was
punctuality before.
THE INTERNAL REVENUE.
Internal Revenue Commissioner Miller in his
annual report says that the receipts were $112,.
421 121 &c. 16S 9lS less than the year before, and
$25 134 431 less than the mean Of the three pre-
| viouS years. He blames the seven months ex-
tension for expectation for this falling of, but
thinks the current year will foot up $115,000,-
coo. The tobacco crop, as reflected in the duties
collected, was good, and increased expectations
are reported. Concerning the direct tax the
| Commissioner says there is a discrepancy be-
tween the books of the First Comptroller and
those of the Register Of the Treasury as to the
amount which has been collected and as to the
amount still due. He, therefore, recommends
that an examination be made to ascertain the
exact amount still due, and that proper action
be taken to obtain sttlement of the accounts
of the direct tax commissioners which are still
| unsettled.
He recommends that legislation he had
which, in lien of the present method Of taxing
and eXeppting fractions of gallons of spirits,
| shall authorize the assessment and collection
| monthly of the tax upon the whole number of
gallons which the fractions of gallons removed
from each distillery warehouse may aggregate.
The commissioner also recommends that the
provisions of the act of March 3, 1877, under
| which grape brandy producers are afforded the
advantage of three years storage Of their pro-
| duct in special bonded warehouses be made ap-
plicable to distillers of brandy from all fruits
| The equantity of distilled spirits in the United
States, except in customs bonded warehouses.
| on Oct /, 1885, was 80 107,026 gallons distrib-
uted as follows: In dstillery and special bonded
warehouses, 47,502,534 wholesale liquor deal
ers 15 256 1872; retail liquor dealers q, BAT 700.
The quantity of spirits (74915, 1863 gallOns) pro-
| duced and deposited in distillery warehouses is
less than the production of the previous year
| by $40, $40 gallons. The quantity (67, ,6i9, ,321
gallons) Withdrawn tax-paid from distillery
warehouses is less than the quantity with
drawn from distllery warehouses during the
previous year by lO,693. 153 gallons.
GEN. RAwLINss STATUE.
The location of the statue of Gen. John A.
Rawlins, in Washington. was an unfortunate
one 1t is in an unfrequented and neglected
spot, back Of the White House grounds, where
| few persons see it unless they go purpose.
Not half the people in Washington can even
| tell an inquirer where it is. At the last meet
| ing of the Army of the Tennessee committee
was appointed to confer with the Secretary of
| War and if possible secure his cooperation in
| urging upon Congress the removal of the statue
to place more beftting the character and SER
vices of him to whose memory it was reared. 1t
| is understood that Secretary EndicOtt favOrs the
| plan, and will aid in the matter. AS Gen. Raw
Inns served at one time as Secretary of War, it is
thought that the NEST appropriate spot for the
statue is the esplanade in front Of the War and
Navy building.
| FRAUDULENT LAND ENTRIES.
| The forthcoming report of Land Commits
| sioner Sparks will throw considerable light on
! the alleged frauds in the West. When Mr..
Sparks assumed control of the Land Office he
determined to break up, if possible, the system
of frauds which hebelieved had for many years
been carried on. He put his agents at work in
a careful and systematic way, and as the result
WILL 1t is said, lay bare some facts that will as
tonsh the people. The alleged frauds, while
extending all over the West, are said to be more
| generally practiced in the Northwest. Accord
ing to the report Of Mr.. Sparks fully rs per cent.
| of the land entries are fraudulent. He realizes
that this is most extraordinary, and will recon-
| mend prompt and thorough action by Congress
to circumvent the land grabbers and swindlers.
CALLERS AT THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE OFFICE.
Among the visitors at The NATIONAL TRIB-
UNE Office this week were Comrades J. i.
Follett, n. Y: ]. L. Lovett, N. j.; S. F. Shaw,
r. L. Matthew's aud John Taylor, Quarter
master General, all of National Council Of
Administration.
LOOKING AFTER THE INDIANS
Congressman Holman, of Indiana has settled
himself in Washington for the Winter. He
spent several months the past Summer with
the select committee appointed by the last Con-
gress, travelling through the wild West, looking
after the management of affairs at the Indian
| agencies 1t is understood that the committee
will recommend some very radical changes in
the method of furnishing supplies to the In
| dians.
An Insane Mother.
On Thursday last wretched- looking woman,
accompanied by two young children, applied
at the Brooklyn IN. " Nursery for relief. She
was taken in and kindly cared for. Early on
the following morning one of the attendants
passing the room to which the woman had been
assigned SAW her messing a inflow on the face