St. Landry democrat., 1885-09-05
OPELOUsAS
Saturday September 5tE, 1855
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent

Although the President and five mem
bers of his Cabinet are absent from the
city, there is no hitch and very little
friction in the work of the Departments
of Government. The Assistant Secre-
tary of State Ex-Gov. Porter is in charge
of the State Department, while Mr.. Ba-
yard is spending week at his Delaware
home. The Secretary of Treasury has
left the Department for few days in
the hand of Assistant Secretaries Fair
child and Coon. The able First Assis-
tant P. M. General Mr.. Stevenson has
charge of the Post Office Department
during the temporary absence of Mr..
Villas. The War and Navy Depart
ments are in charge Of their respective
Chief Clerks while Secretaries Whit
ney and Endicott are taking brief
rest. Secretary Lamar of the Interior
Department and Attorney General Gar
land are the only members of the Cabi-
net who remain their posts. STEPPED in
the suns OfArkansas Mississippi the dog
days heat of Washington has no terrors
for them.
The hotel keepers Of summer resorts
are much given to advertising the fact
that Cabinet ministers and prominent
officials of all SORTS are stopping at their
health-giving inns, where the scenery is
grand and the thermometer at advertis-
ing of this sort, and when it was an
nounced last week that he was at Rock
Enon Springs he got mad and gave no
tice that he had not been away and did
not intend to 60. He tramps down to
his Office as early as seven in the morn
ing and seldom leaves until 6. When
he goes out he rides in street car and
lives as plainly as the lowest grade clerk
in his Office.
Secretary Lamar also lives very plain
Iy. He is occupying for the summer the
house of Senator Mcpherson Of New
Jersey and he takes daily exercise in the
saddle.
There are three members of Congress
who have houses in Washington and at
present are residing here and making
this city their regular home, notwith-
standing their legal residences are many
miles away.
Mr.. G. r. Breckenridge. member from
Arkansas whose home is at Pine Bluff,
has house upon Capital Hill, and with
his family has been there all the summer
and intends to remain. Hon. John S.
Barbour of Virginia, lives in Washing
ton also, although Alexandria is his
legal residence. Mr.. Barbour also re-
sides on Capitol Hill. Mr.. Benjamin
BntterWorth, who, while Commissioner
of Patents, took house out at lie Droit
Park, has had his family there ever
since, and has paid little attention to his
home in Cincinnati.
Mr.. w. M. King, the new chief Of the
Seed Division at the Agricultural De-
partment, seems to be taking hold of
his work with real vigor. Mr.. King was
well known by Commissioner Coleman
before the appointment was made, and
it is said that he is peculiarly we'll post
ed on the various soils of the country
and the seeds that will thrive therein.
The difficulty with this Department in
the past, and the reason it has been
brought into disfayor is because seeds
were not judiciously distributed. The
Department is now sending out wheat
and rye. A new kind Of wheat, which
Mr.. King calls the Houghton farm va
rlety, he expects a great deal from. He
thinks it is one of the best ever d:stri-
buted. He is sending out new variety
of turnip seeds into the South also. Four
variety of Italian wheat have recently
been received at the Department, which
will be distributed to the experiment
stations.
The reported breach between the Pres
ident and Mr.. Tilden has fallen very
fat. Few persons took any stock in it's
truth, and as was very likely the expec-
tation of it's author. Somebody else will
probably take Mr.. Tilden's place in a
day or SO as the bitterly disappointed
and yindictive Democrat" and SO the
good work will go on until the name of
every prominent Democrat shall have
been dragged in. This is not very good
campaign material, but it is valuable as
any the Republicans can now lay their
hands on.