The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1885-05-16
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

OUR WASHING yin LEI En-
Counting the Nations Neutrality-suspicious.
Cleveland Chatting with Newspaper
Men-The Hungry and Thirsty PLACE
Hunters-White House Notes. etc..
WASHINGTON, D. c., May II, 1885.
EDITOR CHIEF.
They are counting the money il the
Treasury now and the sight is very Gu
rious one. Around the performance Is
thrown much mystery. The Trophonlan
Cave was not more awe-lnsplrlng III lts
fateful shadows than is the dark room
where the nation. wealth is being reck-
oaea. You go in, and after your eyes
have become accustomed to the DARKNESS
of gloom, you notice all around you piles
of bags full of something that is heavy.
Money is all about, on shelves, in eases
and in heaps and rows. You see nothing
but money, that thing for which men have
struggled end scrambled and lied and been
damned. What an awful element III the
history of the world is it that has made
some happiness and brought so much mis-
cry. 1t has purchased everything we NOR
tails believe good, and bribed all things but
death. It can be mans best friend and his
most bitter enemy. It is we'll that, like
the genii of Solomon thing so potent for
good and evil should be under the strong
est bolts and bars of triple steel.
About one hundred persons are engaged
in counting the cash now in the Treasury
vaults. There are 100000 of silver on
hand in bags. each containing $1,000, weigh
ing 50 pounds, B ounces. So 100000 in
silver would pull down the balance at almost
three tons and 81 900 would be nearly
$4,000 pounds. The entire amount OF
coined silver now in the Treasury vaults
they estimate will weigh 543, 700 pounds.
A pound of gold coin is worth $24O, and
$3.50, 600 of it weighs a ton, and there are
nearly twelve tons of gold in the country's
strong box at the Treasury. Of paper mon
ey, too, there is an enormous amount. One
, hundred and fifty millions of dollars IN
SIS, s. and 81 bills. About seven OF these
, bills measure yard in length, so green
. back belt that would reach around the
E world almost twenty times could be made
. Of The United States notes now in the vaults
q and in circulation. The money, of course, Is
o not counted coin by coin. The gold and silver
: is weighed very carefully on the finest ane
}, most accurately fitted scales that we're eve
d made. Though one thousand pounds cal
# be weighed at a time, pin on the balance
l. will tip it.
r Three persons are responsible for the &C
n curacy of this count. Mr.. Whitney, VIII
1t is the person selected by the Secretary t
}: represent the Treasury Department, ha
q assisted in seven counts before this, and
s, always glad when the job is done. Nj
L. Cassell is present as tine ait ego of Nj
u Wyman, Just retiring, whcaA accounts mus
x ne declared correct before his bondsme
& are released, and Mr.. Jordan, who will II
s- Mr.. WyInan's place, has Mr. Smith to rel
resent him. Even with the modern pla
ty of weighing the coin the entire count wi
ID not be completed much before June l, an
a. it usually takes month 8 hard work to clos
I'd up the business and make detailed repo
|
r Tie President Saturday afternoon wake
We out of his Office into the large room occuil'
s. >by the private Secretary and spent SOD
st time chatting with the newspaper men al
u others who happened to be present. Ih
k; was his first free Gay and proved We
no agreeable to him. The President will n
1t, remove his residence to the cottage at t
n Soldiers Home this week. He sees no re
sr- son for going away from the White Hous
ok which will be during the coming month
les really delightful place to live, thou
IN some of his friends tell him he would 6
OF more rest from office seekers if he went
90 the Soldiers Home. But Mr.. Clevela
no evidently knows that a hungry and thl
ee. ty" Office seeker who has travelled x
VI miles would readily add two miles mo
0" so that going to the Soldiers Home wo'
OF not place him beyond the ''hungry a
MS thirsty" crowds. 1t is question whetl
fof the hot weather, when it does come, v
'"e debil,tate the Office seekers. There
III been no falling off during the past we
hs A couple of Senators who went to til
''iy home fortnight ago have returned. II
40 left here in desperation because there
ltie no relief from the crowds. But they
me- to return to get rid of their constituents
his home. The only respite was on the tr
'me going and returning.
pe I believe that Miss Cleveland, who
IKE be back at the White House this week,
10
oos her return from New York. As woman
nj housekeeper she will appreciate the tt
IA and knack of ex-President Arthur.
ioA made the q presidents cottage" habitt
few r: .1o Uh;to uo,eo
os cottage never looked as well before.
''eo Arthur took the old East Room and I
'eo Room carpet out to the cottage and
Dies them made with rugs for the rooms tn
ness he also gathered up old pieces of furnit
Vofe from out of the many corners III the W
lote, House, and put them i'll the not over
lred nished cottage. Altogether, Mr.. Art
lote; made the "President's cottage"
rger home. Whatever Mr.. Cleveland's indl
ex- ual tastes may be, he has already sh
and that ba fullv appreciates the ine taste
in ~. ,,rodocossor in his desire to make
change, but to enjoy The White House
''ro as he found it.
but ne .,,,roacb of racing week draws
'rite statesmen back to Washington, almost
WV a session of Congress.
ALER
mia.
ting The Old, Old Story.
min Why do we hear so much about dyspe
very Simply because so many people have It,
....x-.. talI.i .haut their