Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-07-11
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
A DEAL oPTALK ABOuTGESRRALFITz JOHN
PORTER.
The Difference Between a Cabinet Officer and
SsnatOr---A STIR in Real Estate Circles
-.-HOw Congressman and Sen
atOs Spend Their Holidays

army of General Fitz John Porter al TINS
time than for years past. At no period
durino the heat of the discussion OF the
question. unless it was upon the first intro
duction into Congress of the proposition 10
reinstate General Porter, has so much been
said of the case in its various phases. The
old regular army officers are talking great
deal. and they are reinforced by the men
who served in the war Of the reDeihOn'
The fact that Porter is about to begin
drawing the pay OF retired general OF the
army makes the enemies of his recognition
vince wofully. Porter's case has stmulat-
ed all the people in the country, 1t seems,
who have claims against the government
growing out of the late war; and especially
men who have the charge OF desertion
against their military records, and VINO
have accounts in the way Ofpay for services
rendered against the government.
Senator Mitchell, of Oregon, who is one
of the most active workers of the Senate
Committee on Claims, told me to-day about
a case which has been exhumed since the
reinstatement of Porter, which affords quite
ss much latitude for debate in the public
mind As did the Porter case. 1t IS the
claim OF Lent. Schomborg This man IN
1896 81 second lieutenant in the regular
arnrg tat that time it was customary lor
officers of the army to ten" IT their reslgna-
tiou and to eerEtc=inand it by private
letter in order to secure furlough or leave
of absence. Lieut.. SchombOrg desired
leave. and following the custom sent his
resignation to the officer in command, sup
plementing it by a private note stating
that the tender of his resignation was mere
w the usual matter of form, and was not
to have effect. The leave OF absence was
granted and Lieut.. Schomborg went off ON
his Journey. About thirty days afterwards,
by an order of the general OF the army,
this custom of rendering designations IN
in order to obtain leaves OF absence was
abolished, and the order included the
acceptance of all the designations then IN
the hands of the superior officers. So the
resignation of Lieut.. Schomborg was ac-
cepted. His name, however, was not
stricken from the rolls at that time because
he made application for reinstatement IN
the army and took his case at once to the
President The matter was looked INTO
very carefully and it was readily seen that
the resignation was through misappre-
hension and unintentiOnal. The President,
therefore. reappointed Lieut.. SchOmborg to
be first Lieutenant in the army. His NOM
nation went to the Senate where the facts
in the case were looked into. In rejecting
the nomination the Senate recommended
that the name of SchOmborg should be
stricken from the rolls of the army. The
President, however, did not act until eleven
wears had elapsed Meanwhile SchOmbOrg's
name appeared on the rolls Of the army as
a first lieutenant, although he was never
assigned to duty and was never recognized
rs soldier. When finally his name was
stricken from the rolls he went 10 Congress
and put in his claim for eleven years pay
as a first lieutenant in the army. The claim
has laid in Committee ever since. SchOm-
borg served during the late war and was a
faithful soldier. He pursued his claim,
which amounted to about $4,000 until a
few months ago when he died, Since the
reinstatement of Fitz John Porter the heirs
of SchOmbOrg have dug up this claim, and
Senator Mitchell, who is one of the best
lawyers and most impartial and fair men
in the Senate, has been given the case to
look into, He aays that it is just and
should de allowed, and he has no doubt
that it will be by Congress,
~
''There is a very great difference in the
work attaching to the office OF U. ). Sen
ator and that of q Cabinet position, " said
Attorney General Garland to some friends
the other day. 81 used to think" con-
tinued the Attorney General that | had
q pretty tough time when answered from
so to 100 letters a day and kept up my
committee work and was on the floor of the
Senate during the active debates, but since
| have gone into the Department of Justice
| find quite another condition of affairs.
Instead of fifty letters to look into | have
hundreds of them, and instead of two or
three cases in the COMMITTEES | have scores
of them evey week. True / have as
sistantS, but the responsibility all settles
upon me. The position ola cabinet officer
is very enerOus, and TO my mind Is far IN
excess in the matter of labor to any held
about Congress.
The other two eX-SenatOrs who occupy
positions in President Cleveland's Cabinet,
MesSrs Bayard and Lamar, have often,
am told, compared their duties at preSnt
with those they had when in the Senate.
Secretary Lamar has of course more COM
phcations in his office, and has position
of greater perplexities than either one of
theOther officers named, although the Attor-
rney General Is looked upon as an officer of
more farreaching influence then either the
Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of
State. The Attorney General not only
makes precedents but he makes laws.
True the decisions of the Secretary of the
Interior are precedents-and precedents
are unwritten laws in official life-but the
Attorney Generals opinions are printed
and are laid down laws for future genera
tons
1t is an unusual commentary upon the
life of Senator that all three of these cab
met offers, who have served long terms in
the Senate, are dissatisfied with their pres
ent positions and envy those of their con-
ferees at the capitol. Each of the three
men wish they were back again and each
hopes to get back, and is Watching for the
wheel TO turn around to the place where
the spoke is out. 1t is impossible, am
told by politicians from Arkansas, MiSSiS-
Sippi and Delaware, that either Garland,
Lamar or Bayard will ever occupy seat
in the Senate again. When they resigned
their positions they did so to improve their
opportunities. Their constituents believed
that if these men made mistakes they
should stand them and not complain.
~
Quite stir in real estate circles in East
Washington has been created by the deciS-
ion of the Jury selected to condemn prop
erty on the site of the proposed Congress
sional library. Every man who owned
property in the two blocks to be covered by
this magnificent and expensive building is
dissatisfied with the price set upon it by the
jury. A mass meeting was held few
nights since to formulate program upon
which to proceed to have their appraise-
ments reOpened with hope of securing
higher prices. The chairman of the meet
ing, to get an expression from those present,
asked that every man who was satisfied
with the appraisement should rise and be
counted. The whole mass of men kept
their seats. Then he asked that those who
were dissatisfied should stand up. Not
man was left sitting down.