Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-02-07
SHAKE IT OFF.

It now appears that Senator Bayard's objection to accepting Cabinet position is not because he thinks himself too good for such a place, but because he is too poor to stand the expenses Of keep ing up the show and parade that is ex- pected from the chief Cabinet officer. It has been said that ''the social expenses of Cabinet position have grown to such an extent that no man without a large fortune could afford 10 accept one. The declaration about MT. Bayard IS confined to the assumption that he was to be offered the Secretaryship of State. It is true that his fortune IS not large enough to meet the social requirements of that place, It Is almost necessary for a President to have rich Secretary of State in his Cabinet who has ample means to entertain and reeip
 rocate the social favors which are show cred upon the President and his Cab inct family. The Secretary of State must, ID the first place, live in a large house. He has to entertain the entire body of foreign representatives here. For that reason alone he would be Ob- hged to have a large house. MT. Bay ards present house is altogether to small for anything of that sort. The Secre- tary of State is also obliged to entertain all the members of the foreign Relations Committees of both Houses. He Is i'm pelled b. the circumstances of the situa- ton to have such a staff of servants that he can give an elaborate dinner upon q very short notice. He IS obliged to be the host of all distinguished feTeign vi-l- tors who come to Washington during the year. He Is the host of GU the special friends of the President. When the President has friends visiting him he can save himself all trouble by turning them over to his Secretary of State The latter is also the leader of the fashionable society here. He Is obliged to entertain all the first families OI Washington. It is all very well te talk about Democratic simplicity, but any man who attempts to fill this office with. out yielding to its social requirements would find his influence impaired in l thousand different directions" Now il the "social requirements of Washington will ''impair the influence of a Secretary in B thousand different ways Il he does not spend two or three times tie amount Of his salary to please them, then in our humble opinion 1t ii about time the society that lives and fattens from the pickinGs of government officers in Washington was thrown over board, that we may begin anew. Such | custom Is wrong and contrary to our simple democratic ideas of etiquette, ana the sooner they are eraiIcatei from oul social customs the easier 1t can be done IT money Is to be the standard of quail ficstion for Cabinet positions, 1t will bt but a shCrt time until the social requIre ments of Washington will force all Cab inet officials up to the standard-"maI with money-bag.' Then We shall have such men us Jay Gould for Secretary oi State: Russel Sage, Secretary of the Treasury; William Sharon, Necretary Oi War; Freddy Gebhart, Secretary of the Navy and Mrs. Green-the thirty five illionaire-Postmgster General. This may seem an overdrawn picture, but il the abuse is allowed to continue, it Ii about what it will lead to.