Omaha daily bee., 1885-08-24
WASHINGTON.
Secretary EldiCOtt'S Order Creating
Some Sarcastic Comment.
Committee of Knights Considering
the Wabash Strike.
Civil Service Reformers Kicking
Cabinet Gossip.
The Usual Amount of News of Ma
The Usual Amount of News of Ma
tionaI Interest Coming From
the Country's Capital.
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

tANOhlIAlom IN n wan IN NOI-
UNDERSTANDING THE RECENT ORDER.
Special Telegram 60 the BEE.
WASHINGTON, August 23.-A few day ago
the secretary of war issued general order No.
So, which bid fair to make him famous. It's
purpose was to give officers who had servsd
on the frontier a chance at the soft details
around Washington and other cities. AS it
provided that every officer who had been on
detached service for four years should return
at once to his regiment, there was great mourn.
ing about the war department ~ tho order APP.
peared likely to make q change in the mill
tary coterie, not only here but at all four d.
visions and department headquarters where
generals had gathered their friends around
them. 1t appears, however, that there was a
proviso in the order which escaped attention
of the public, put p~rovesto be very significant.
This proviso reads: UNLESS assigned to
special duty by The war department" The
first special order under this famous general
order was issusd to-day, assigning Lieut..
Willis Lyman, of the Fifth infantry, to duty
in the office of the publication of rebellion
records. Lieut.. Lyman has not seen his regi-
ment or company for nine years, during
which time he has served his country faithful
ly in Washington, and was one of those whose
comfort was destroyed when the great re-
form to k place. While there was a good
EGbsO w iuSluuS bLAo DlONiSO III RSHtEhl
order So, there will be a great
deal of criticism of the secretary of war for
taking advantage of it to benefit a particular
friend, who has no special qualification for
the duty to which he has been assigned.
Lieut.. Lyman is an accomplished officer and
an agreeable gentleman, popular In the city
and among his associates, but there is no rea-
son why he should not make the acquaintance
of his company, except that he is intimate
with the secretary of war and a brother-in-
law of Senator Edmunds,
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL
ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR,
which consists of T. V. Powderly of Penn
kylvania, the grand master workman of the
United States; General Secretary and Trea.
surer Turner, and Messrs. Buchanan of Col
orado, Hayes of New Jersey, and Bailey of
Ohio, and the other members of ths board,
arrived last evening, Mr.. Powderly, who has
been i'll for some time, coming from his home
in Scranton, and the other members coming
from st. Louia, They met here with the
hope of escaping attention, to talk over the
Wabash strike and consult with
to attend their recent meeting in
st. Louis. In order to avoid public notice
the party went to Mt. Vernon to-day, and
held their conference on tho little steamer
which carries pilgrims to the grave of Wash
ington. Since their return they have been
kept busy, lodging reporters and deny ing
that they are here. None of them ore regis |
tered OF the hotels, and all took more than
ordinary precautions to keep their visit secret.
1t is learned from reliable authority, however,
that the board, after talking over the Wabash
case, has decided to visit New York and con-
front Jay Gould and other Wabash magnates |
with the complaints of the railroad employees.
They say that they do not wish to inaugurate
O strike, and believe that if the directors of
the road will listen fairly to the complaints of
the men. the causes which led to the recent
order will be remedied. The railroad officials
in st. Louis refused to listen to them, and If
Gould does the same, there will be trouble all
along the line.
CIVIL SERVICE PERFORMERS KICKING.
The civil service reformers are again on the
alert over an act OF the commissioner of pen. |
sions. General Black seems to be singularly un. |
fortunate in provoking their ire. He recently |
held that pension examiners were not pro- |
tected by civil service rules. obtained a decis- !
ion from the attorney general confirming that
opinion, and was only prevented from making |
appointments by the presidents action in pr.t.
ting these positions under the rules. IL is
said that within two weeks after the president
took this decided stand Commissioner y5lack
demanded the resignation of seven of b is best
and most competent officers of thj s class,
giving soma of them the choice of accepting
lower positions or being perempt orilly re-
moved. 1t is this action into viii Oh the civil
service reformers wish to inquire. They are
quite anxiou, to see what Geners / Black pro-
poses to do with vacancies thus made, or to
ascertain what object he cou' ID have in de-
msnding the designations of 'Ais best officers.
A BIT OF CABINET GOSSIP.
Tho following, sent to a p .rooklyn paper, is
current gossip here: A &c ntleman who en-
Joys the confidence of the president, says CON
corning reports about F5ecretary Manning's
contemplated %resignatio a: If Manning offers
his resignation. the P resident will accept it
without a word, The day after the president
announced his CO binet, Wash Mclean
called at the white ! .ouke and found President
Cleveland pacing I ne floor of his office APP
parently IN the dc p.h Of trouble. Mclean
began to apologize for his seeming intrusion,
when the preside at said: II don't mind tell
ing you that . m troubled about my appoint
ment of Danie, Manning to a cabinet office.
] never wants d him. He was forced on me-"
Later In the day g gentleman called on Mi.
Manning at the Arlington hotel, and told him
what the president had said to Mclean.
Manning was naturally hot aud sat down and
wrote on { his resignation, which he said he
would s % at once and hand to the president.
he wa dissuaded from the course, but re-
marks that he will never serve six months In
Clev Glands cabinet.