St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-04-11
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent
MARCH 80, 1885.

Government machinery is running
very smoothly under the new manage.
ment, and it is conceded on all hands
that more and better work is accom-
plished under the new regime. As YET
the heads of the different departments
have been able to do very little in the
way of reorganization and reform, but
the needlessly complicated systems of
the various bureaus are receiving care
full study, and it is expected that from
t. 1900 to 1000 clerks will be discharged in
Washington alone.
A large crowd gathered about the
stables last Thursday at the sale of
Government horses and carriages or
dered by Secretary Lamar. The ele-
CANT equipages brought good prices,
but the money returned to the u. S.
Treasury is but small portion of the
amount that will be saved. An elegant
and expensive stable with grooms, driv-
ers, and horses, all costing not less than
$4,000 or $4,000 per year will no longer
be maintained at the expense Of the
taxpayer, and the example of honesty
and democratic frugality will be felt in
all the branches of the service over
which the Secretary of the Interior pre-
sides.
1t appears that the example Of econo-
my has already been felt by the Repub-
lican majority in the u. S. Senate, for
the caucus has debated proposition
to reduce the expenses of that luxurious
body $4,000 or 100000 per year. Tn
the first place. they propose to return to
Gen. Ben Butler the House for which
the Senate has paid an annual rental Of
$4,000, and next, to reduce the number
of clerks and employees of whom there
are many more than are needed.
President Cleveland is maintaining
his reputation for thorough worker.
He keeps cool, does one thing after an
other, never attempts to do two things
at once, and has ample time to look into
and examine all the questions he is
called upon to decide. His habits of
hard work and long hours will enable
him to give the great work before him
conscientious and careful attention.
There is no doubt that he is more or
less bored by the crowds of curious
people who more than mere Office seek
ars are anxious to see the President but
he does not fret or worry. A friend
to him the other day that a
certain appointment which it was
known would particularly please a GER
tain newspaper might be advisable on
that account. 1t would secure the
friendship of that paper for his adminis-
tration absolutely. His reply to this
was: "Oh, well, they have all got to {
come to it, anyhow"
He does, in fact, believe that /,
9very reputable newspaper in the Unit s
ID States is bound to come to his sup
port, because he does not intend to l
adopt any course of action as President !
# the United States which reputable t
ournals can succeed in persuading their T
eaders is wrong. =
When our bilious republican friends s
ecall their gloomy auguries of what !
you'd follow the election of Demo- +
ratio President, they must be amazed Y
t the inaccuracy of their imaginations. t
few weeks ago they were indulging y y
a horrid visions of long haired tobacco o
ating bandits who they thought would
AXE the Capitol by storm and rob the Q
truly good" and daintily nice of their q
oft seats and their salaries. No civil s,
ervice law, they predicted, could stand c.
etween these long famished "outs" y !"
nd the long withheld good things of Al
hce. The Union soldier would have tt
give way to the gaunt ard hungry u
rey coats. The dreaded Democratic ~ y
resident is in the seat SO recently oc- ct
1pied by Grant, Hayes, Garfield and pI
rthur. And yet things in Washing q
N go on very much as before. There f. r.
no decline in real estate consequent th
pom the dismissed government clerks d.
avlng their houses forced upon the !,
arket. In fact there is no depression ri
lyWhere. except in the minds and bt
carts of those clerks who are conscious th
at they have nothing to do and have &C ae
reason or right to draw salaries from ha
g public treasury. Outside of this an
my Of Republican spoilsmen, loafers pi
ID creatures, male and female, who ~
I've been appointed and upheld solely pr
! Influence, ,"-all is peaceful and ad
osperous at the CAPITOL, and npmar- it.