The Osceola times., 1885-04-25
WASHINGTON LETTER
(From Our Regular Cores poadent.)

kr rom our litgular CORES pOadchtD
President Cleveland has had much
hand shaking, as usual, to do this
week, and unless some one shall
soon invent and patent an automatic
presidential hand shaker there will
be need of a deputy or assistant
president to perform this duty alone.
Negro delegations have predominant
ed at the White House this week
The bishops and pastors of the At
rican Methodist Conference called
upon the President, and their fore
man made an Introductory address
which was nearly as long as n SER
.aon. The same day Mr.. Cleveland
with his cabinet reviewed the eman-
cipation procession Of colored peo-
pie, which passed before them as
they stood on the front portico Of
the presidential mansion.
In the Departments the work
goes bravely on, and to those who
know the past condition Of the De-
partmcnt this is saying great deal.
A remarkable change has come
over them. The clerks are all doing
real work, and surprising everybody,
and most especially themselves.
For several years past it has been
very unusual to fnd department
or bureau OF a department here in
Washington with the current work
up to date. 1t is not uncommon to
find offices months behind, and some
of them even longer than months.
Whenever anything of this kind
has happened little success has at
tended efforts to even up the busi-
ness. Sometimes, it is true, this
has been occasioned by much extra
work imposed on a force not quite
sufficient in number, but generally
it has been due to inefficient and
lazy clerks, whose interest in the
payroll over shadowed completely
their concern in the work of the
Government. Changes now going OH
indicate that this hap-hazard way of
doing business has had its best days.
Those Departments and Bureaus
which are behind with their accounts
and reports are to catch up with the
current business, and when that is
done each days work is to be fin
ished each day.
This is as it should be and Just
what every well-regulated house
would have done by its own en-
ployes. 1t will necessitate, of course,
thorough overhauling oil the diff
ferent bureaus and the discharge of
Idle and incapable clerks of both
sexes, who have hetofore relied upon
political influence to keep them
in place. 1t will demand the re-
tention of good servants and the
displacement of bad and the general
recognition that days work must
be given for a days pay.
An occasional howl of rage IN the
Republican morning paper an
nounccs that the official head of a
Republican worker has fallen into
the place of wailing and gnashing
of teeth, but as yet this good work
has hardly begun. There will be
more of it anon, and if the Republi-
can paper is going to howl about
such little thing as chopping off
official heads, it will have to issue
a double sheet and an extra
edition.
Some Democrats are impatient at
the delay IN discharging a class of
Republicans who are notoriously
unfit for their places; but these
should reflect that it requires time
to select the proper substitutes, and
consider the tremendous dillicultics
that confronts the Administration.
There are knotty legal questions to
be considered in the manner of re-
movals. 1t would be Just as reason
able to substitute full force Of new
employees in watch factory at a