Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-25
CLEVELAND'S GUlLLOTINE
McCONVILLFS NOMINATION THE
DECAPITATION OF A SCAMP.

the present Sixth Auditor, was the most
surprised man in Washington. He has
been accustomed to regard himself as
impregnably entrenched in his place. he
is a Minnesota man, brought here by
Senator Ramsay as his clerk. Mr.. Ramsay
put him in the Auditors office.
He rose 20 be Deputy Auditor.
He is weak man, who has
devoted himself most assiduOuslY
to the cultivation of personal popularity
among public men. He is not an efficient
official. He is not aggressively honest.
The best that can be said for him, in view
of the proper method OF administration in
his office, is that he is negligent. The
office has been in the hands of either fee
BILE or wicked men for years. Auditing all
the accounts of the Post Office Depart
ment, its managers have at times main-
tanned compromising relations with postal
contractors of the star route and other
varieties. The business of the office has
always been conducted in a loose if
not dishonest way. At the present
time, for example, it is charged
that certain officials in this office have
formed a combination with McGrew, the
former Sixth Auditor, removed for COM
plicity in the star route robbery, now a
claim agent here, under which they fur
nish him information from the books of
the office respecting balances due Post
masters, which enables him to get through
numerous claims at a large profit TO him.
self. The President and Postmaster Ger
eral desire vigorous reform in this office
by positively honest man. McCOnville
is said to be such man. He was recon-
mended by Gov. Hoadly and Senator
Payne.
MAHONE's PATRONAGE.
Senator Malone Is allowed to dictate
appointments to two places in the office
of the Secretary of the Senate. In one of
these ne has kept his son Butler for year
or more. Buffers recent performances at
Welcker's brought him into bad repute.
It is understood that the Secretary of the
Senate objected TO retaining such young
man in responsible place under him.
So Malone has made the young man
clerk of his own committee, and has ap-
pointed, through the Secretary of the Sem
ate. Brown Allen, formerly of Virginia,
a well-knOwn ReadjusteT, to the vacancy
thus created. Allen, while Auditor, so
mismanaged his office that the State was
heavily mulcted in the courts in subse-
quent suits for damages by parties in
jured.
RANDALL NOT A POWER.
Encouraged, as usual, by Republican
newspapers, Congressman RandaIPs
bringing
him out as a candidate for Speaker of the
next House, in opposition TO Carlisle.
They profess to see in certain prominent
appointments made recently the hand Of
Randall. They profess to think that Ran
dalPs advice has peculiar potency with
the new administration, and as evil
dence of this they claim that
the new Commissioner of Internal
Revenue, the new Commissioner of In
a A raf ire nj ha
Postmaster General, officers having much
influence over very large amount of pa
trOnage, are all Randall men. There are
indications that this claim and similar
claims are being used by Randall's friends
in their efforts to start for him Speaker.
ship boom. They are aware that without
the advantage which these assumptions
and these claims might give him Randall
would be much weaker than he was two
years ago in his contest with Carlisle.
UNFOUNDED CLAIMS.
But RandalPs of1icious friends, and
especially his Republican newspaper
supporters, are, as usual, far too liberal
in their large assumptions. There is no
ground for the claim that either Commits
siOner OF Indian Affairs Atkins or Com
missioner of Internal Revenue Miller or
First Assistant Postmaster General Hay
are likely to aid Randall by their Official
ship. There is much more ground for the
assertion that they are Cleveland men or
Tilden men than that they are Randall
men. Furthermore, there Is no room for
doubt that as TO questions of in
ternal revenue taxation and Gus
toms duties the President and his
Cabinet are much more nearly in
accord with the views of Carlisle than
with the views of Randall, and inasmuch
4hs, Frfn oF h.
ing to magnify his influence with the ad-
ministratiOn, 1t is not too early TO predict
that the administration will not permit
itself to be involved in the Speakership
contest, or to influence the result of that
contest, further than the views of the
President and decided majority of his
Cabinet advises in favor of customs reve-
nue. reform, and their opposition to the
abolition of internal revenue taxes may,
in a general way, affect the result of that
contest. There Is not the slightest reason
to doubt that John G. Carlisle will be
Speaker of the next House.
PROFITS OF THE PATENT OFFICE.
The Patent Office is the only depart
ment of the government that is self-sus-
tanning. Regularly every year it turns
into the Treasury from $4,000 to $50, 600,
and in this way has paid in over $3,000,-
600, counting the interest. The post Office
did one year make profit, but the reduc-
tiOn IN postage rates used that up and
there is now an annual deficiency. Pat
ent lawyers and other disinterested par
ties here assert that the present force in
the Patent Office is inadequate to the
necessities of the times. 1t is said that
Mr.. DyrenfOrth, who is the acting Patent
Commissioner, is now OVerwOrking the
clerks in order to make an exceptionally
good report at the end of the fiscal year,
with view to being appointed to the va
cant cOmmissiOnership or at any rate Sc
curing his retention in office. it takes
from three to five years for clerk in this
Office to become an expert patent exami-
ner, and no spokesman has yet had the
courage to assert that inexperienced
Democrats should be put in these places.
The salaries are altogether too low, as
whenever an examiner knows enough to
make him valuable to the bureau he
leaves and sets himself up as an inde-
pendent patent attorney. All of the pa
tent attorneys IN Washington graduated
in this way. The Office is now greatly
behind in its work for want Of more
clerks.
CLEvELAND's RECEPTIONS.
The public receptions still continue to
take up a good deal of the Presidents
time, and they are of such free and easy
nature that they are even becoming
popular among the Washingtonians. 1t is
a common thing for two men walking by
the White House seeing the crowd and
having nothing to do to drop in and see
the President 'just to pass away the
timev though they may have seen him
many times before. This view of the case
was presented to the President over a
cigar a day or two ago by gentleman
here, " 40 advised him to make himself
more secluded. Said Mr.. Cleveland: ''The
fact is, my hours are so long that / have
plenty of time in which to transact my
business and share an hour or so with the
public. l want the people to know that
thev can walk right in IN their working
clothes without ringing the bell. My time
belongs TO them except on Sunday, which
am determined shall be day of rest to
me, as il should be TO every other work.
ingman. Then l am Grover Cleveland.
On week days 1 am the President
The White House grounds are as public
as any street and children often 20 in
there to play. A guard at the gates
would be a curiosity to the Washington
ians.
The back of the White House CON-
mands magnificent view OF a long reach
of the Potomac river and the Heights of
Arlington, and a perpetual haze seems to
hang over these. Mr.. Cleveland likes to
look at this panorama out of his window,
and he says the pecu1ar atmosphere re-
minds him of Indian summer among the
Highlands of the Hudson. He declares
his intention at an early day OF making
pilgrimage to the tomb Of Washington,
which he has never visited, and manifests
great interest in Mount Vernon. 1t is
seid that the little steamer which runs
there will take Mr.. Cleveland and party
of friends down during the latter part Of
this month.