Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-30
FEMALES AS FAVORITES.
"A BOLD ATTACK ONTHE WOMEN
IN THE DEPARTMENTS.


which viii be Hard to Beat.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2s.--Amoug the
best known women in WASHINGTON just
now 10 Mrs. Charlotte Smith, the Presi-
dent Of the Woman's National Industrial
League. She is q sister Of Robert Odlum,
who leaped from the Brooklyn bridge to his
death about year or 80 ago. Mrs. Smith
is preparing an elaborate article ON the
Inconsistencies and injustice OF civil
service as practiced In the departments" !"
which, it is said, will make very interest
Ing reading for the masses. She intends
showing how promotions are made, and
how the provisions OF the law are evaded
10 get unworthy and incompetent women
Into Fat places, while well educated
women with families dependent upon
them are left out in the cold. She will
cite many instances and make some seri-
Gus charges against heads of bureaus and
different department officials. 1t is said
she knows every member OF Congress and
all about him. She knows too much of
some OF them, so they think. She is ''on
to-, nearly all of their "anairs" and fir
tations with the women in the different
departments and bureaus and
has made it very interesting
for some OF them. Her object, she says,
IS to break up the pernicious habit Con-
gressmen and politicians have Of billeting
their lady friends on the government and
having them appointed and RAPIDLY pro-
NOTED over women who have been work
ing at their desks for years, and who are
In every way far more meritorious. She
has fearlessly exposed number Of these
1agrant abuses, aud they are having
salutary effect. The revelations she and
her assistants have made regarding one
or two politicians have resulted in their
relegatton to private life. Mrs. Smith
says that there are many women in the
departments ofdoubtful character. These
are the "favorites" OF public men. Tney
get their positions through men in high
positions. Mrs. Smith has had In her
employ number OF female detectives for
the past two years who have followed
these women about from one boarding
house to another until she found out
all she wanted to know about
them. One went 10 lady
who had rooms to let a few weeks ago
and wanted to engage a couple of rooms.
She was stylishly dressed, aud, by way of
adding to her Importance, referred to sew
eral Congressman as acquaintance and
among them mentioned the name OF man
very prominent in the nation az a particu-
/. lar friend of hers. That settled the busi-
ness for her at once. The woman who
had the rooms to rent and needed the
money would not take the recommends
tion OF one in such a lofty station. She
had heard about him before. Whenever
woman gets into one OF the departments
on his Influence" she is at once put ION
the list" A girl who works in one OF the
departments went out driving a few
weeks ago with man high in power, and
In some way both were thrown out OF the
buggy, when she received injuries which
have prevented her from being at her desk
since. She will probably be lame for life.
This little episode cost the man $500,
which he was only too glad to pay, as he
held $4,000 place, which was
in jeopardy. Mrs. Smiths article
will be addressed to the Knights OF Labor
country, appealing to them to sustain her
in her efforts to aid helpless women to re-
form the public service on decent, If not
a civil service, basis.
BITTEN BY A LAND SHARK.
Adjt. Gen. Drum had a provoking ex-
perience with land shark q few days
ago. Since President Cleveland's pur-
chase suburban residences have become
the rage with people both in and out OF
official circles. After looking over the
entire surrounding country Gen. Drum
closed trade with the owner OF 1ue
place near BrlghtwOod, a mile or two
from the city, for $4,000. He began
b0asting OF the beauties Of the place and
the great bargain IL was at the price. A
real estate dealer heard OF the purchase,
and learning that the deed had not yet
been signed drove out to BrlghtwOod In q
hurry, looked over the Drum purchase,
and rushing back To town offered
the owner $4,000 more than he
had agreed to take from Gen.
Drum. The offer was accepted,
and when Gen. Drum called with the pa
pers made out for signature a day or two
had been cold 10 another man, who held
il at S25, 900. Gen. and Mrs. Drum had
sent number OF wOrkmen TO the new
home, and the grounds were beautifed and
considerable work done here and there.
The General was very angry, but the
''shark" only grinned. Since this episode,
however, Gen. Drum has purchased an
other country home near The Cleveland
place. But for this purchase there would
probably have been law suit over the
first transaction.
AN EFFECTIVE NEW RIFLE.
Editorial columns and Congressional
orators are almost constantly alludinR TO
our defenseless condition and the losses
we would suffer In case of sudden war
with a foreign power. There seems TO
be no good reason for all the talk on the
subject. When the war between the
States began this country was not noto-
riously far ahead OF other nations In the
implements and Instruments of warfare.
When the war closed, however, the Uni
ted States. as Is known, was considera-
bly, ahead OF all the other coun-
tries of the world in the matter
OF improved ordnance, IN big guns AS
well as small ones. Since then the cOun-
try has made no progress iD this respect
and is now pretty far behind other great
nations in the character of It's ordnance
for land and sea service. Should war Oo-
cur, however, history would repeat itself
and the country would soon bristle with
armament far in advance Of any now ex-
tant. The ordnance bureaus OF both navy
and army have done great deal of good
work within the last few years, and the
country will soon be pretty well fixed
whether we have q war or not. The navy
bureau OF ordnance has had recently
manufactured two high power muskets,
which are very greatimprovement upon
the regulation army musket now In use.
The frat OF these was turned out at the
proving ground at Annapolis, and
weighs from twelve 10 thirteen
pounds. 1t has shown in experimental
tests o muzzle velocity--that is, the ve-
locity of the projectile at the moment II
leaves the muzzle of the gun---of 1000 feet
per second. AS the highest velocity Of
the army musket Is from 1,200 to 1900
feet, IL Will be seen that the new navy
musket is an Improvement In the EXPERT