Omaha daily bee., 1886-09-01
GOSSIP ABOUT OFFICIALS.
Some of the Traits and Peculiarities of
State Department Officers.
THE NEws.GATHeRER's FRIEND.
a Natural Disability That Caused the
Arrest of the Second Assistant
Secrctary-Postal Cards
on the Decline.


NASlIINGTON, August SJ.-lSptCldl tOI-
respondcnce of the BEE. The man who
above all others is the most respected in the
state department is Ex-Governor Porter OF
Tennessee, first assistant secretary of state.
While the other high officials, including the
secretary, Private Secretary Bryan and
Chief Clerk Brown, are auStere and difficult
to approach, Governor Porter is genial AHA
bic and, what is more important than all,
get-at-able. lie is always ready to answer
any reasonable question not i'm the nature of
a diplomatic secret, and never indulges in
prevarcation or Justification for the purpose
of throwing the inquirer off the scent. Gov
ernor Porter will give q direct answer to
every question put to him. If the question
is one such as he cannot answer because of
its encroachment on the line of diplomacy,
he will tell the questioner so frankly For
this reason Governor Porter is more highly
esteemed by people having business with
the state department than any other official
there.
AN AWKWARD DILEMMA.
Tho second assistant secretary, MIR. Adee,
is an experienced diplomat He has been
connected, with the state department for a
duty of writing nearly all of the
letters letter which are from from, time o,,,,rh to
ments. Mr.. Adee is the gentleman
few years ago by attempting to arouse Judge
Wyle from his bed at midnight. Mr.. Adee
was born deaf and dumb. He is now able to
hear only such words as are shouted in his
ear. Ills articulation is entirely mechanical
and is of most peculiar character. When
Secretary FoIger died it was deemed i'm
portant to appoint t, new secretary, of the
treasury without delay, Judge Gresham
was chosen and Adee volunteered to secure
judge competent to administer the oath.
He did not hear the other gentle
men present say that they they w. would ,,IC
ceeded at once to that gentl6man's house for
tnepurpose of arousing him, although it was
then midnight. He rang. the bell. Judge
Wylie's nghtcapped head was thrust from
the window and he inquired what was want
ed. Adee could not hear him, but he tried to
explain his business. The Judge couldn't un-
derstand him and for a few minutes there
was considerable commotion between the
doorstep and the chamber window. Neither
could understand the other, and the judge,
who is somewhat irasciblc, concluded that
some crank had designs upon him. Seeing
take that crank to jail: The officer pro.
ceeded to do so. Adee tried to explain, but
the policeman, like Judge Wylie, was unable
to understand him, and it was only when the
the affair was put in its proper light and
Adee was released from the clutches of the
law.
DECAY OF TIE POSTAL CARD.
the last fiscal year, which is now being pre-
pared at the department. shows some inter-
estng figures i'll relation to the postal ser
vice. One curious feature shown by this
report Is the point at which the ordinary
American draws the line of economy. From
the time the postal cards were first introduced
into this country until the rate of letter pos
tage was reduced to two cents per ounce
there was steady and constant increase in
the sales of postal cards This change i'll
the law went into effect on the 1st of Octo.
Der, 1888, and for the preceding twelve
| months the department had disposed of some
| thing like 3S5, 900, 900 postal cards. Thus, in
| ten years the annual consumption of postal
| cards had increased from few millions up
to q, third of billion. The ordinary increase
in the value of postage stamps sold is in the
neighborhood of Ii to 15 per cent per annum,
and the sales of postal cards should, in the
| ordinary nature of things, increase in about
| the same ratio. but since 1888 there has been
| no increase to speak of. During the last
| year there has been a decided falling off:
| This. is, due to the fact that
| people have, since the reduction
| OF letter postage, gone back to sealed cores;
| pondence. as the margin between one and
| two cents is not sufficient to induce them to
| use the postal card to so great an extent as
| formerly. Officials of the department be-
| leve that the high water mark in the use of
| postal cards has been reached, and that that
| once favOrite method of communication is
destined to become less and less popular each
| year, and that the postal card will finally re-
main Ill use prlnclpaiiy aS an alNertsnB
medium through the malls. Notwithstanding
| the inroadS into the revenues of the depart
ment, which has been made through congress
sional action each year, the receipts for the
| fiscal year ending 1885 will show a net in.
| crease over the receipts for the year 1884 of
about one million and q half dollars The re-
| ductiOn of postage on newspapers from two
cents to one cent per pound caused falling
| off in the revenues last year of about 81, ,lOO,-
000 This shows that upwards of million
pounds of newspapers were deposited
| in the mails by publishers alone
besides the tons which were sent out in
postage stamps were affixed The depart
inent is Just recovering from the effects OF
the reduction of letter postage, and if there
| shall be no further cutting down in rates il
| will not be five years before this important
branch of the government is again selt-sus
| tanning,