New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1885-04-22
WASHINGTON LETTER.

clearing up the parks, trimming the
shrubs. and setting out plants has at
least begun, but the seasons several
weeks behind that of last year. Under
Republican administrations the trees
have been in the habit Of putting on
their garments of green and the grass
in the parks and lawns has demanded
the, care of the mower early in April.
But then it is the boast and pride of
ths Democratic administration that it
goes slow.
Nothing of note has been done dur
ing the past week, either at the White
House or at the Executive Depart
ments. Some important appointments
are predicted for this week, in the
Treasury Department. Secretary Whit
Gney has issued an order to the effect
/ that the current business of the day
in his Office must be completed each
day before the clerks leave, or in cases
where this is impracticable, must be.
continued until five p. m. The clesi-
cal force of the Navy Department is
small and in many Of the Offices it is
overworked and the work is behind.
So after such loud and prolonged
shouts about Democratic retrenchment
and Republican corruption in the
Government departments, what has
Secretary Whitney discovered? He has
discovered that the pruning knives of
successive Democratic Appropriation
committees, have cut down the Navy
Department force until there is not
enough Left to perform the required
work in the designated hours. He has
found bis clerks earning their salaries,
and striving unsuccessfully to keep up
with the daily routine work. A con-
science contribution of five dollars has
just been received at the Navy De-
partment, the first ever known to have
been sent there. 1t was from Boston.
The Secretary of the Treasury also re-
ceived one of twenty-five dollars, from
New York, and short time ago one of
1915 post-marked Boston. Every now
and then some anonymous person for
wards to the Treasury of the U. S.
a contribution to the conscience fund.
Many may suppose from such an
nouncements that there is somewhere
in the Treasury separate fund made
up of these contributions from the con-
science stricken, and that it must be of
considerable size. But such contribu-
tions have always been covered into
the Treasury under the head of miscel-
laneous receipts. The term soon
science fund.- was the invention of
Treasurer Spinner. Twenty years ago
a letter was one day received at the
Treasury Department from man who,
inclosing check of 1900, said it re-
presented little misrepresentation of
Government funds of which he had
been guilty. Treasurer Spinner said:
eve will call that a contribution to the
conscience fund. We will have it an.
nounced in the papers, and perhaps
we'll get some more" The announce
ment was duly made aud the Treasury
promptly got more. From that time
on for ten years the contributions were
very numerous. During the past ten
years they have been growing more in
frequent. 1t is not known whether this
is in consequence of the conscience of
the country growing more callous or
more tender. The largest contribution
ever sent was $4,000, the smallest nine
cents. It's estimated by Treasury
officials that the total amount of
these contributions would be about
$3.50. 600.
The crowd of place hunters which
waited for the Senate to adjourn under
the impression that when the Republic
can watch dogs got out of the way the
1eSAueAI WOu1u Oe5lu wholesale
sweeping of the stables, is swooping
down upon the White House in large
numbers. They are the smaller office
seekers who are pouring in now, and
they are very ravenous and Emporium
ate. The President sends all applica.
tons for recognition that come to him
to the civil service commission, and
they are answered by sending to the as
pirants for Office blank form of the
application for examination under the
civil service rules. This has greatly
Disguised the patriots who expected to
get appointments through influence,
petitions, endorsements, &c. Still,
since it has become apparent that the
''barbed wire fence as the civil SER
vice Commissioners call it, was not to
be let down even TO the faithful, the
number of applications to the commls.
sion for examination has greatly in
creased.
The subject of the recognition which
colored applicants for Office shall re-
ceive at the hands of the present admin
istration is being agitated Register