Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-30
CLEVELAND In HIS PEW.
THE CONGREGATION INCREAs.
ED FROM 800 TO 1,2OO.


Hoary- Headed Old PharIsees FiockIng
TO the Shrlne-The President not Over
worked by the Duties of His Office.
WASHINGTON, March %. = President
Cleveland, with his family, occupied his
pew at DR.. Sunderland's church this
morning. The congregation had swelled
from the 300 people ordinarily present to
1900 people. The contribution boxes
were better filed than for a long time
back. DR.. Sunderland preached from
Isaiah, Goth chapter and 81 verse.
The church promises to become the most
popular house of worship in Washington.
1t is situated at the corner of Az street
and Louisiana avenue, near the City Hall,
where Guiteau's trial was conducted.
The immediate vicinity is filled with
lawyers offices, cheap boarding houses,
and drinking saloons. Polite society,
| which followed Arthur from the MethO-
| dist Church, where Hayes wOrshiped, to
/ st. Johns Episcopal Church, on IL street.
! does not relish the idea of going to AZ
/ street 10 practice Its devotion, but it will,
nevertheless. In fact, the tide has
already set in that direction. Quite a
/ number Of applications were made last
| week for pews centrally located.
"What price are you willing to pay"
was asked Of an Ofice-holder, who in
| quired for a sitting yesterday.
money is no object if can sit near the
/ President" was the reply.
The price of the pews, in anticipation of
/ the demand, has already advanced 90 per
/ cent, and as the number of pews de-
creases the figures will probably 90 higher.
/ 1t is noted with some surprise that sew
/ eral of the applicants are Republican
| Federal officials, who are desir0us of re-
| tanning their positions under Cleveland's
/ administration. Another class who are
/ engaging seats are certain old Bourbon
| Democrats OF the District who are after
/ the local offices, and who, rumor says.
/ have not seen the inside of a church In
/ the last twenty years.
| The story of how DIR. Sunderland came
| to be pastor of his present church, is told
| as follows: When the father of Z. j Phelps,
/ our new Minister to England, was in the
| Senate, and f. j. Phelps himself was
! Second Comptroller Of the Treasury, he
| heard prominent Presbyterian say at
| dinner one day that his church needed
4 bright young clergyman as pastor. Mr..
| Phelps said, 81 know just the man. He
/ was classmate of mine, bright fellow
and a good preacher. His name is Byron
/ Sunderland. He's preaching out in West
ern New York somewhere now. He's
| just the man you want" Mr.. Sunder-
| land was asked to come. lie accepted
| the invitation, and he has been here ever
/ since.
| CLEVELAND NOT OVERwoRKED.
The President has been surprised to find
that the duties of his Office are much less
| arduOus than he expected. He did not
expect to get on SO easily with the neces-
sary work of his office. He finds time
enough to look into and thoroughly ex-
anime all the questions that he is called
! upon to decide. His habits of hard work
and long hours would enable him to per-
form good deal more labor than he finds
| necessary. He is being somewhat tired
| by the people who come to s. him and
the matters which he is required to attend
to, but he is in first rate physical coudi-
tiOn, and never found himself more ade-
quate to the performance of his official
duties than now. He does not worry or
fret about anything. He is not
| pulling wires or laying pipes for
future political results. A friend
of the President suggested to him
the other day that certain appointment
| which it was known would particularly
please certain newspaper might be ad-
visable on that account. 1t would secure
the friendship of that paper for his admin
! istration absolutely. His reply to this
was: son, well, they have all got to
come to it anyhow" He does in fact be-
lieVe that every reputable newspaper in
the United States is bound to come to his
| support, because he does not intend to
adopt any course of action as President
! of the United States which reputable
journals can succeed in persuading their
readers is wrong.
CHANGES IN THE DEBT STATEMENT.
e. ID. Jordan, an expert accountant in
| the employment of Samuel j. Tilden, has
! been quietly examining the books of the
! Treasury Department for two weeks with
a view to getting information and sug-
/ gesting improvements. He has suggest
! ed to Secretary Manning changes in the
monthly debt statement which will proba-
bly, appear in the statement tor March, to
! be issued on Wednesday. They will at
| tract great attention from those who
| regularly read the statement, and may
create some excitement outside of that
| limited circle. They will certainly indi-
! cate that for some time to come there will
be no bond calls. One of the two most
| important changes will be in the
position of the $31 ,000. 900 Of fractional sill
| yer in the Treasury. Instead of being in
| cluded under the head of :'cash avail
! able" as at present, this silver will be
| given place by itself in the assets. This
will of course reduce the ''cash avail.
| abler bv S3I. 600. 900. The other most i'm
portant change will be in the place given
the Pacific Railroad Indebtedness
$50, 100000 principal and $40,000,O00
interest. This has always been
| given at the foot of the statement.
! Hereafter it is to be included in
the grand total of liabilities, thus ap-
parently increasing the Indebtedness
! of the government $lO0,0O0,000. The
statement is made that expert
Jordan suggested to Secretary Manning
| that hereafter all outstanding gold GER
| tificates should be deducted from the gold
| in the Treasury in the statement, but the
| Secretary proposes to deduct in the future
as in the past-only the certificates in cir
culation, and not those held by the Treas
| ury. The statement will be generally re-
arranged, so that it will present more
| plainly than 1t now does the actual state
! of the governments finances. Nowadays
| it requires an elaborate explanation to
make plain from the statement the actual
! condition of the Treasury.
! M'DoNALD's PROsPECTs-A DOUBTFUL
STORY.
A Democratic official of high authority
! is responsible for the statement that Nc
| Donald's recent visit to this city was to
! receive an assurance from the President
| that ere would be resignation IN the
| Cabinet at the end of this year. and that
| Mcdonald might have the place if he de-
| sired. Upon Mr.. Mcdonald asking what
portfolio ne was expected to accept he
was told the post office. Mcdonald was
\ also informed that he might go abroad II
| he so desired, and represent this govern
ment at st. Petersburg. He declined this
| on the ground that, inasmuch as he would
/ succeed Col. Villas within the next nine
months, it was better to remain at home
J and settle up his business affairs.
1t is said that Col. Villas will leave the
4 Post Office Department Jan. /, 1886, to
resume his law practice in Wisconsin,
and that he accepted Cabinet portfolio
! with that understanding.
MINISTER PaELPS-HOw HE CAME TO BE
A MINISTER.
! Last winter Prof. Phelps, our new Min
| lister to England, wrote letter to Con-
! gressman Stewart, of Vermont, in which
| he described in a very satirlcal fashion
| the duties of Congressman. This letter
! was passed around by Senator Edmunds
| and his friends all through the winter. 1t
/ was read at a number of hilarious dinner
tables. Senator Bayard himself enjoyed
the letter very much. 1t is probable that
the satirical phrases of this letter
strengthened Mr.. Bayard's original in
tentiOn to appoint Mr.. Phelps. The
author of such witty and flowing phrases
would certainly De able to hold his own
| in the realms of after-dinner ora
| tory with James Russell Lowell. Mr..
/ Bayard, besides being a great friend Of
/ Mr.. Phelps, through the intimacy of their
respective fathers, is under some sort of
| political obligation to Mr.. Phelps. In
1880, b. fore the meeting of the Democratic
| National Convention at Cincinnati, Mr..
| Phelps published long letter advocating
| Mr.. Bayard's nomination for President.
| This letter was very elaborate presenta-
| tiOn of the claims of Mr.. Bayard, coupled
/ a r-oru IN arOuuaarf er0fnn m