Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-02-01

! on IulS udIlCIs ~ pkOhlAuSho OCuOOl a
said at little gathering where the sub
iect came up in the course Of converse
ton;
IF poverty ought to disqualiiy mar
for Cabinet or other influential position
under the administration of Mr.. Cleye
| land, as these Senators seem TO think
then our President will have
to go to the Republicans
and other assistants. We Democrats are
almost without exception poor, and my
! poverty certainly does not make me
ashamed. l do not expect to be called
into the Cabinet, but l should be very
sorry to think that only rich men were tc
fill such places. That notion has grown
up slowly during the long Republican
| rule, and 1t certainly has, in measure,
changed for the worse the character OF
| Washington society. Fifteen years ago
it was a very simple and really demo-
cratic place. 1t was so because jObbers
had not yet got into office, and it was only
during the last years OF Gen. Grants rule
that the Belknaps and Robesons set an
/ evil fashion of snObbish and vulgar dis
play and extravaganza, which has found
too many imitatOrs. Grant had liking
for rich men, but after all he had Boutwell,
/ in the Treasury, who was and remains a
! man OF very humble means, and was new
er ashamed to live in the simplest way. |
don't like the old mans politics, but |
have always respected aim for his honor
able poverty. Then there was Rawlings,
| Grants first Secretary of War. He lived
and died in a little house IN Grant place,
which is probably now occupied by a
small government clerk. Gen. Cox, an
/ other of Grants Cabinet, was poor.
THE FISH REGIME.
secretary Fish was, OF course, a man
! ,hftp.c
! Washington in his day knows that his was
/ one Of the most truly democratic houses
here. The old gentleman was very far re-
! moved from the ridiculous snObbery which
/ seems to be now in the air. When Mr.. and
/ Mrs. Fish gave an evening reception YOU
I were sure to find there an immense jam Of
4 nice people of all grades in the public
/ service, and the humblest clerk and his
/ wife were as graciOusly received and as
j surely invited as the richest or most
/ prominent in Washington. Secretary
/ Fish and his good wife maintained hon
4 Orably the traditions of the old Washing
/ ton before the war, in which mere wealth
was no passport, and gaudy and vulgar
! display was looked down on, not only
with contempt, but with suspicion. |
remem Der with what severity Mrs. Fish
! spoke to a reporter on one occasion whom
/ she noticed making notes Of the toilets Of
/ the ladies at one Of her afternoon recep-
tons. She said:
: You are cordially welcome to my
/ house as a visitor, but If your purpose IS
/ merely to take notes on what my guests
wear, l must respectfully ask you to leave
/ the house.
In the succeeding administrations
/ SchurZ, DeVens and McCrary were all
/ poor men. Lincoln is a man of very mod
/ crate means. Evarts' Saturday evenings
/ were simple and agreea bic, and l doubtif
/ his dinner parties ever helped his diplO-
macy or the fortunes of the Hayes adj
ministratiOn. Folger lived on his salary.
and no one whose opinion is worth hear
/ ing thought the less Of him for it. There
were some rumOrs that the GARFIELD adj
1 ministratiOu was to make very bril-
/ liant social time in Washington, but
/ Guiteau put sudden stop to any snob-
I berry that may have been designed
UNDER CLEVELAND.
/ i hope our President will make some
( changes when he gets into the White
( House" said another speaker. Il do not
remember Washington before Grant, but
the old General never excluded the public
from his receptions. Mrs. Grant, / re-
member, used to received every saturday
/ afternoon and she received all who came.
| Grant held several leyees in the evening.
To which also all who came came freely
d
1 nlomatists and members OF Congress at
( dinner parties. 1t was that poor fraud
/ HAYES. who, to save the expense Of din
ners. first began to give exclusive even
/ ing receptions, to which 20 one not espe-
/ ciall7 invited could go. i am sorry that
/ Arthur has followed this bad example,
/ and ! hope Cleveland will 90 back to the
/ simpler and better style of Grant and
I Lincoln ana the Democratic Presidents
/ before him."
! Il guess he WILL said 4 Senator who
/ knows the PresidenJ-elect. He is
PLAIN. simple man, a thorough democrat
/ in ali mis- Ways, and L believe ne will set
/ such an example here of democratic SIM
plicity as will root out good deal OF the
/ snObberv that has got fOa-nO.d in " ash
ingtOn Of late. l prophesy TO on that he
( viii not come here IN deadhead train OF
/ cars to be inaugUrated. as did Hayes and
/ Garfield. He will not put himself at Jne
I beginning of his Presidency under obi
cations to some great corporations. lie
/ will come here like pialn citizen Oh the
republic. with his sisters and two OF
three friends, perhaps and pay MS way
( like any other honest maU, and with such
a beginning as that l think we may hope
to get Washington back to what it was be-
/ fore the present Republican snobbery cor
rupted it.
THE FORTUNE ACCUNIULATORS.
e.We Democrats ought to be proud OF
/ our poverty. IL can not be said that We
: have stolen any thing; we are not Otthat too
/ numerous class among Republicans who
! came here poor, were uninterruptedly IN
! Congress and on $1,000 a year have accu-
INFLATED great fortunes. For my part l
shall be very happy il 1t so happens that
the whole Of Cleyeland's Cabinet Shall
consist of poor men, and don't consider
the poverty or narrow means of any man
in the party the slightest bar to his ac-
ceptance of any Cabinet place. 1t is
/ mere undemocratic snobbery to say So"
MR.. CLEvELAND's SENSIBLE COURSE.
The report that Mr.. Cleveland has re-
fused several invitations to receptions by
/ aristocratic clubs in New York and other
great cities, and has declined also all Of
fers of escorts" and free trains Of cars
to bring him to Washington, gives very
/ great satisfaction to all sensible men and
women here. and delights those who have
long been impatient at the too ready recep-
ton by some public men OF corporation Ia
I vOrs.
AS to the belief imputed to some promi-
/ nent Democrats that wealtA is necessary
in a Cabinet officer, 1t is, Of course, alb
surd. The Speaker Of the House OF
/ Representatives is, by the constitution
and by the power in his hands, very
] great peISODd9G-ltAb ~ LHC ASoAOtAAt ia
both power and dignity. The Democrats
have had three Speakers since the war
Kerr. Randall and Carlisle-au men OF
very moderate means. Mr.. Kerr, one OF
the ablest men this country ever had, was
never in circumstances to keep house
here: his narrow means obliged him to
live at hotel. Mr.. Randalfs little house
in a very questionable part Of the town.
has amazed some diplomatists, but has
never been a reprOach to him, as the great
mansions of some other public men have
been to them. Mr.. Carlisle, as MIR. Kerr
before HIM, lives at a hotel. Certainly
no one thinks the less of him.
Some of the greatest men in the Demo
cratic party and in the country live
here in humble quarters-men like Lamar,
Hampton, Morrison Morgan, and dozens OF
others-but they are faithful, honest and
able public servants, and every access OF
aristOcratic or wonld-be aristOcratiC
snobbery and eXciusiveness in Washing
ton has helped to make their lives harder
and has had the evil tendency to close
the doors OF public life to all except mere
rich men.
The Senate has for years become more
and more a club of men of great fortunes,
most of them acquired by dubious ways
and one result was mentioned by Senator
Ingalls, few days age, when he told his fel
loT Senators: Il do not need to appeal &C
! tho current strain of observations made