The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-06-06
Our Washington Letter.
From Our Regular Correspondent,

From Our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON. D. c., June l, 1885.
The return of Gen. John A. Logan
to succeed himself as U. S. Senator
from Illinois, is the great political
event of the season since March 4th.
AS he is an indefatigable worker. we'll
acquainted with the political ma
chine, and Republican of brains.
backbone and courage, he will be no
deadhead from this time on, Had
Blaine been elected, he would have
bounced nearly all of Logan's friends.
Logan in turn will demand the re-
m0val of all who snubbed him and
coddled up to Mr.. Blaine, and will
thus open the doors so that about
LOO voters employed as CLERKS in the
different departments, will be poin-
ted out to Mr.. Cleveland as proper
subjects for rest. Their places in
several cases must be filled by Re
publicans, but as a general thing
Democrats will come as the Blainites
go out. AS the Senate is Republican
and needed in political business, it
has corresponding power and priyil-
eye in naming clerks. The great con-
test Of 1888 has virtually begun al.
ready, with Logan in the lead as the
coming Republican.
With all the machinery and access
sories requisite for the printing of
postage stamps, obtained at a cost in
tinitely greater than that incurred by
any private concern, the Government
is asking for bids to supply the Post
Office Department with four billions
of postage stamps of various denOmi-
nations. Should any individual be
guilty of a piece Of folly SO unequivo-
cally stupid as this, there would be
no hesitation about cOnsigning him
to some institution for the feeble
minded. However, the syndicates
in New York and elsewhere have
somehow or other always managed
to get the best of the Government in
these contracts, and the expensive
machinery might just as well as not
be sold for old iron. When the con.
tract for printing the Government
bonds some few years ago was award
ed to the American Bank Note Com.
pany, it was demonstrated that the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
could do a better and finer work, fOl
about one-fourth of the contract price
awarded to the company; yet, in the
face Of that fact, the Treasury Depart.
ment continued for years to award
the contract to the same company. l
this manner of doing Government
business does not call for a reform
perhaps it were better to farm out
every other species of Government
work to private parties.
That was a very pretty broadside
to the civil service rules that was
given by the Interior Department the
other day, in the appointment of a
clerk of class four as 'chief of divi.
sion" in the General Land Office
That such an officer is not known tC
the law, made no difference to the
appointing power in this case, which
in its anxiety to provide for the fam
lily, did not hesitate to override the
law. With this exceedingly shallow
excuse for avoiding the rules laid
down in the civil service law, we
shall expect that chiefs of divisions
will be as thick as black. berries in the
Land Office, and who as such, will be
fired out" ad H6itun1, in order to
create vacancies for that hungry. and
"you may well suppose thirsty
horde who infest the corridors to sc
great an extent that standing room
only" is the admonition to the out
side throng.
TUrNUIrS