Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-01-28
THE CRANK'S MECCA,
q ueer and Amusing EPistIes which
Are Daily Sent TO Washington,
A Washington correspondent OF

1lOUibN1ltC wires 4.
Ali men in eminent public positions
receive moro or less attention from in
spirea letter writers. Speaker Carlisle
is no exception TO this rule. A few
days ago he received three funny let
tiers. One was from a PHILADELPHIA
man. He demanded that the speaker
should Immediately pass q bill abol-
ishing divorce; making the granting
of divorce By judges q capital offense,
and 'abolishing all schools in the
country excepting those promoting
the Roman Catholic faith.
Another was from gent in Boston.
who requests the speaker to send him
Immediately all the silver in the
treasury and not less than $3.50, O00,-
600, 600 in gold and paper besides. He
wrote that he wanted to go west and
buy three or four states, and as be
figured it out he would need that
amount of money. The gentleman
threatens to come on to Washington
in case the money is not sent soon
and take an appeal to congressing, in
which case the speaker would find out
whats what in very short order.
An enthusiastic laboring mans friend
in Chicago writes Mr. Carlisle that he
wishes bill passed forthwith raising
the wages of laborlng men to IS a day
and miners wages to $25 day.
The speaker receives many such
letters IS these. Frequently letters
are addressed Jointly to the president
and the speaker. There is no CON
ceivable topic these queer people do
not discuss and give their views upon,
Foe some weeks back their main hob
by has been the finances and what
should be done with the surplus coin
in the treasury. 1t may be observed
however, that there are a number OF
gentlemen in prominent positions
whom it would be impolite to classify
as money cranks, who are also quite
solicitous about this coin surplus in
the governments strong boxes, and
the vigorous expressions growing out
of this solicitude have doubtless
aroused more enthusiastic thinkers
in the same line into their present
state of letter writing activity.
Probably no subject was ever sgi-
tated in congress which has develop
ed more letter writing fanatics than
the money question. One man wants
to know why nothing is ever said
nowadays about the ereenbacks when
the money question is up. He has
been a green back man all along, he
says, but all of sudden the bottom
has dropped out of his politics. He
wants to know who has knocked the
stuffiug out OF the greenback issue,
and also whether all this silence does
not mean q conspiracy to rob the PEG
pie somehow by the gold-bugs and
bend robbers. He winds up by call
ing for an unlimited issue of green
backs, and wants the job of distribut-
ing or circulating them in his section.
This man lives in Michigan.
A letter, postmarked "WssLipgton"
proposes to sell a high official some
valuable real estate for IS 100000
cash. A minute description is given
of the property. 1t contains so many
square rods and feet there are so
many trees on it, specifying varieties.
and the buildings are composed of so
many million bricks. Other funny
details are also given vAlich are not
quite legible or tangible. From the
description given, the property must
be the government asylum for the in
sane on the heights opposite Washing
ton. The writer says he needs the
money badly, and suggests that if the
official should buy the property aud
afterward become dissatisfied the
remedy would be very simple one
lie, the writer. had the power of put
ting a spell" upon things, and he
would simply prime" the property
by touching It under the proper con
dltions, and it would Immediately
change its form and and become an
ornament for the shirt bosom, or a
ring more precious than q diamond,
and retain thefull value of the money
paid for the property, 1t is needless
to say that this very plausible pro-
position is still under consideration
or at all events has not yet been re-
piled to.
The ofiice-seeker also has his troubles
in the letter-writing party, Secretary
Lamar to-day received a letter from
Virginia, evidently written by a man
of cultivation, who wishes to serve IN
the capacity oil "bouncer" for the de-
partment of the interior The Virgin
ian wants a humble place as an assis-
tant to the appointment clerk. He
had read that the secretary's life bad
been almost pestered out OF him by
ofice-seekers. His plan was for the
secretary TO refer these pestenng dem
ocrsts to the appointment clerk, and
he, as his able bodied assistant, would
take them in hand. He writes: II
would get rid of 'em and Will guaran
Tee that when l once handle them, il
will be the last appearance of that oae
inside the department" The letter
= was referred to Appointment Clerk
= Hassler without recommendation.
Not SO Green as He Looked.