Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1885-05-01

WASHINGTON LETTER.
(From our regular correspondence
Washington, April "a, 1885

/
Washington, April q, 1885.
President Cleveland has had much
hand shaking as usual to do this week
and unless some one shall soon invent
and patent an automatic, presiden-
tial hand shaker, there will be need
of a. deputy or assistant president to
perform this duty alone. Negro DEL
egations have predominated at the
White House this week The bish-
ops and pastors of the African Meth
odist Conference called upon the
president and their foreman made
an Introductory address which was
NJ arly as long as a sermon. The
same day Mr.. Cleveland and mis- cab
met reviewed the emancipation pro-
cession of colored people, 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 koow
the past condition of the departments
this is saying a good deal. A re-
markable change has come over
them. The clerks have gone to work
in earnest and are surprising every
body-especially themselves. For
several years past it has been very
unusual to find q department or bu-
reau of department here in Wash
lngton with the current work up to
date. 1t is not uncommon to find
offices months behind and some of
them even more than months. When
ever anything of this kind has hap
pened little success has attended
efforts to even up the business.
Sometimes this has been oecasioned
by much extra work imposed on a
force not quite sufficient in numbers,
but generally it has been due to IN
efficiency and clerks whose interest in
the payroll overshowed completely
their concern IN the work of the gov
ernment Changes now going on in
Giieate that this haphazard way of do
ing business has had Its day. The
departments and bureaus which are
behind with their accounts and re-
ports are to catch up with the cur
rent business and when that is done
each days work will be finished each
day.
This is as it should be and just
what every well regulated house
would have done by its own employ
es. 1t will of course necessitate a
thorough overhauIing of the differ
ent bureaus and the discharge of
idle and incompetent clerks of both
sexes, who have heretofore relied up
on political influence to keep them in
place. 1t will demand the retention
of good servants, the discharge of
bad and the general recognition that
days work must be given for a
days pay,
An occasional howl of rage In the
Republican paper announces that the
official head of a Republican worker
has fallen into the place of wailing
and gnashing of teeth, but as yet
the good work has hardly begun.
There Will be more of it soon and if
the Republican paper is going to
howl about such little thing as
chopping off official heads, it will
have to issue double sheet and an
extra edition.
Some Democrats are impatient at
the delay in discharging class of
Republicans who are notoriously un-
fl. for their places; but these should
reflect that it requires time to select
the proper substitutes and consider
the tremendous difficulties that con-
front the administration. There are
knotty legal questions to be consid-
cred in the matter and manner of
removals. It would be just as rea-
sonable to substitute full force of
new employees in watch factory at
single stroke as to contend that the
president shonld at once turn the
Republicans out and replace them by
Democrats.
The committee on economy
ghioh is inquiring into the methods
of business in the treasury depart
ment will be engaged for some weeks,
perhaps months, before they are
ready to report. .'Thus far we have
simply scratched around in few of
the bureaus, said one of the COM
mittee to-day, ''and as 1t is our in
| tention to go rigit ahead into every
thing, we can MT rush things through
| in hHrry.,,
| With the entrance Of the new adj
minist1ation there was naturally
considerable interest felt in soci-
| ETY. circles as to the ladies of the cab
met and their characteristics. From
all accounts the impression formed
| by contact with Miss Cleveland and
the ladies who will for the next four
years be prominent factors in the so-
ciaI world, are Of the most 6attering