The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-04-15
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, D. G., April u, 1886.
A tariff bill will be reported by the
Ways and Means Committee in few
days. 1t embodies the best parts Of the
several bills heretofore presented, and ia
very different from the Morrison bill.
Under it the revenues will be cut down
about S25, ,OOO 900, the principal reduction
being on wool and sugar. 1t opens up q
wide field for discussion, and what the
fate of the bill will be no Solon can just
now predict.
When ex.Treasurer Wyman's accounts
were overhauled at the time of his resig.
nation, a large quantity of silverware'
jewelry, portraits, watches and other
articles were brought to light. These
articles were deposited in the Treasury
by the Secretary of War in 1869, as
property captured by the U. S. Army
during the late war. 1t is desired to
restore the articles to their rightful
owners, and with this object in view a
bill vas introducedin Congress this week.
1t is also contemplated to restore the
famous Van Buren Jewels to the family OF
the late Mr.. Van Buren.
At this season of the year the Agricul-
tural Department is one of the busiest in
the city. The assortment and distribu,
tion of vast quantities of flowers and
vegetable seed requires an increased
force of clerks, who have hard time to
keep up with the demand. Over two
thirds of the seed sent out by the De-
partment go to members of Congress.
The quantity to which each one is enti-
tied will fill eight large mail sacks, and as
there are over 400 senators and represen-
tatiyes, it will be seen that it is no easy
task to put the seed up in small packages,
label, seal aud distribute them rs each
member directs. The seed are used by
the Congressman as reminder to their
constituents that they are not forgotten
aud that their representative does not
propose to be.
Excursion parties to the Capitol from
various sections of the country are a
feature of the season in Washington.
There are several here now, and there is
not day in the year that scores of tour.
lists may not be seen, singly or in groups,
"doing" the Capitol, the department
buildings, the monument and the many
other attractions. Some of these visitors
one day this week, after the severe rain
and wind storm, saw in the Washington
Monument what they thought was a
crack of such size as to excite fears. as to
its safety. The discovery spread like
wild fire throughout the city, and under
such circumstances it does not take hours
for multitude of people to congregate
at the scene of danger. The officials
having special care Of the. immense shaft
of marble were not long in assembling,
and soon quieted the fears of all. The
examination disclosed the fact that what
was supposed to be crack was nothing
more than a streak of discolor flowing
from the joints between the blocks of
marble in which dust had accumulated.
Without exception every member Of
these excursion parties call upon the
President, and he is kept busy in hand
shaking. At his reception on Thursday
there were FIVE hundred persons present
for shake of his hand, and they all got
it.
1t looks now as if work of all sorts in
the building will be suspended here after
May 8. The mechanics have all given
notice that on and after that date they
will demand eight hours for days work,
and $500 a day as wages. The master or
boss mechanics have, organized and
determined to resist the demands of the
workmen and to shut down all work
rather than submit to the demands. The
material men have agreed to furnish
material to no master mechanic who is
not q member of the master mechanics
society, and in retaliation the working
men have adopted resolutions declaring
that they will work on no building or
job where the material is furnished by
material men who discriminate against
employers who accept the eight hours
rule. The plans for many a projected
large building have been withdrawn, and
1t is estimated that several million dollars
will be withheld from circulation owing
to the settled "dead lock" between en-.
ployers and employees.
Congress has at last passed the bill
providing for the National Library Build
ing and the President will sign it without
delay. 1t will take between one and two
years to erect the structure, but when
completed it will be the finest of the
kind in the world. The building will be
an oblong square with rotunda in the
center 100 feet in diameter canoped with
glass. 1t will have a capacity to shelye
4,723, ,120 books, exclusive of newspaper
files, unbound pamphlets, music in
sheets, etc. The site selected is the
ground just East of the Capitol. The
estimated cost is $2,S23,6O0. The plans
are those of Smythmeyer and LEM,
architects of Washington, who competed
with % other architects from different
parts of the country. This Congress has
provided for the erection of q greater
number of fine buildings than any previ.
Gus Congress, and is not through yet. A
cyclone of liberality appears to have
struck the National body and they are
now appropriating for what has long
been necessity, and at this time stern