San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1885-04-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Prom our regular cOrrsspOhd NJ,

" hA1 AHhb many VI thN ES'''"HNA'N w
Y fees in Washington have accomplish
q cd more work in the last month thal
b WAS accomplished in any two raonth
( Of the preceding year, l say man,
0 OF the oilies, for some Of them hav
! not done much for the reason tina
r there is not much for them to do, !
, large number Of tho officers, owing I,
the negligence, idlencss, and incom
petence of tho clerks are far behint
with their work, This is especial.
the case with the patent, pension, ant
land Offices, but within thelast montl
wonderful progress has been made
and it is probable that the voxatiou'
and unnecessary delays that have
driven applicants for patents ant
pensions to despair will be suffered nc
longer
From the president down to his
last appointment, the personnel Of the
administration is capable Of hard
work, and it has evidently this object in
view. more than pleasure, emolument,
or fame. Tho cabinet of the new pres
ident are not men with itching palms.
They are all men of sufficient wealth,
or men to whom their wealth is suf
ficient So it is with the recent
bureau appointees, gentleman whose
fortune is not less than $4,000 was
last week appointed to nm Office in
one of the departments, the salary of
which is only $4,000. He did not
need the Office, but the Office needed
him.
Heretofore the staples of recon-
mendation for Office have been power
ty, and patriotism. He needs Office,
he has u large family, and he was
good soldier. No question as to
fitness was considered, and the civil
service has been made an elegant and
lucrative asylum for incompetent dis
abled soldiers, and dishonest repub-
lican politicians. It is needless to
say that this is n perversion of the
object of government offices, which
have for their end the transaction of
the postal, military, naval, and linan-
cial business of the country. The
United States pension and bounty
laws have paid with q lavishness I'M
PARALLEL in history for the service
which every man owes to his country,
and it is time this false philanthropy
and sentimental craftsmanship of ap-
pointing men to offices they do not
need and are not competent to fill,
should end.
There are great many office seek
ers in the city ut present. The old
crowd that came here on or about the
fourth of March is pretty well thinnod
out. Some of them linger because
they cannot borrow money to get
home. But new crowd has come in
the last two weeks. Their disappoint-
ment and chagrin on learning the sit
uation of affairs is picturesque. AL
applicants are handed II copy of the
civil service law, and blank applica-
ton for examination. The president
does not consider any appointments
for small offices, and none will be
made until after the first of July.
The new administration seems more
anxious just now to empty than to
fill Offices, and each week results i'll
the discharge of number of those
who have been kept on the govern
ment pay rolls, although they have
rendered no legitimate service. If
the discharge of this class shall be
made through and exhaustive, literal
millions will be sayed annually, and
the morale of the service will be
greatly improved.
The daily routine at the White
House involves an immense amount
of work And although President
Cleveland is relieved of much work
by his secretary, Col Lamont, yet a
great quantity has to receive his per
sonal attention. The president is
ready for work at eight o'clock in the
morning, and is usually busy until
midnight. About ten o'clock he be.
gins the perusal of such letters as re-
quire his special attention. The great
bulk of those sent to the president |
marked personal and confidential,
is never seen by him. They are from |
all sorts of people and on all sorts of
subjects. Many of them are of a
character that would seem to entitle
the writer to a place in the lunatic
asylum. 1t is not uncommon for
these writer's to send ten and twenty
page letters, and some of them en-
close their photographs. These let