Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-11-21
THE POLITICAL ARENA.
Something About l ON Ochiltree and
Theo. Roosevelt.

oil the Hoffman House the other night,
surrounded by select coterie of friends.
wisdom flowed from his lips, and Ills
auburn locks sbone like guinea gold in
the glow OF the electric lights. After re-
failing score OF fire.. b "reminiscences the
how of conversation ran into the field Of
iocal politics. Mr.. OchHtree astonished
tne company by averrIng that he might
nave been elected TO Congress- this fall
| from city district il be had chosen to ac-
| cSpt X publican nomination. Itseems
tnat young Roosevelt desired him TO enter
the lists In Tim Campbelrs district. The
Dltter hight between Tom Grady and
campbell left showing for Republican
candidate of worth and respectable an
| tecedents. Roosevelt thought that OchIl-
tree would fill tie bill. On the stump be
would be more than a match for botn
Campbell and Grady. HIS candidacy
| would also he p swell RoOsevelrs vote.
| Inc Colonel, however, declined without
\ LOOKING the field over. 1t Is understood
mat be was disguised with young TheO-
dore,s devotion to civil service reform
Inc Texan Is an out-and. ut Blaine man
| ana believes In Repubhcanlsm that re-
turns rewards propOrIIOned to the amount
Oh mental pahuium and physical
strength wasted in an active campaign.
Roosevelt " as the head and front OF civil
service reform In the late city canvass.
Inc boys fell IN at his back because they
mad nowhere else to go. Despite civil SER
| vice reform and ugwumpery, however,
mere are some queer mutations in New
YORK politics. The officials who have per-
formed Ire best service and have been
| the most faithful in tue discharge of their
duties are bv no means the Cnes who are
retained In Office here. | recently met
Weil-knlt gentleman with keen eyes, q
| grlzZied beard and a head as polished as
| the head of George +. Edmunds. He
served In this city as special Treasury
| agent under Secretaries Boutwell,,
Richardson, Bristow. Morrill,, Sherman,
| Window. Folgcr and McCulloch. Beforp
that time he had been Fire Marshal and
well-known police Captain. While spp cial
agent he saved the government from s., 000,-
QUO 10 50, 100000 He spent twenty-seven
consecutive years as a detective. He
was so active in the detection of snug
| CLING at this port than mis- name became
household word throughout the country
AS an Illustration OF his marvellous
shrewdness and sagacity and special
adaptahilitv for his work, one case NAV
be mentioned.
El2nL years ago the silk expert OF A.
L. Stewart d Co. told this agent that be
mad attended an auction sale or silk
piece goods, and was surp ised to see
what was known as Ponson silk ceiling
at 81 30 per yard. His surprise was in
tensihed when he bore In mind the fact
that A. L. Stewart & Co. were the sole
agents of this silk IN this country, and
tnat It cost the firm 81 so per yard. du-
ties paid, TO place it on the shelves. The
special agent saw at once that the gov
eminent was being swindled. He visited
| tue auction rooms and found a piece OF
The silk which had not been sold. the auc-
lioneer gave him sample of it. He took
The sample to Stewards expert. The silk
vas inches wider than the silk made for
| The American market and was worth 10
per cent. more. The expert said thai
such silk was made only for the London
market. with this clue the special agent
turned his attention to the London ste am
ships. He watched them carefully some
Time. Que day his suspicious were ex-
cited by the care taken of what were ap-
parently i've barrels Of cement landed
rom the steamship Denmark. He kept
nis eye on the barrels. They were take.
t. an express office in West Broadway.
and by the express agent forN arded to a
| stable in Thirty-third street. After the
lapse OF two hours the United States
special agent entered the stable and dis
covered the secret of the cement barrels
They contained $4,000 worth OF silks,
which were being transferred TO dry
Goods boxes marked with the initials OF a
prumins MT auction house. The express.
man owned up. He confessed that the
cement barrels came from the Denmark.
and added that be had been employed in
taking siuIilar barrels the stable for
Two months. Prior to that hey bad be n
AIKEN by him To dru store on South
Filth az nue. There the work of trans
ierring the silk to boxes was done bl
night. The agent then made d-scent0 on
tee drug store, AID found there a set of
books which showed that $500, 0G0 worth
II these 81 ks had been put through in ce.
ment barrels without paying duties.
THIS is only one OF 80 similar cases OF
smuggling detected by this specia agent.
OF course the smuXg ers and others in
terested in false invoices combined to ef-
Iect his removal from Office. After the
advent OF the pi esent administration al
Wasnlng ton his place was filed by a
gentleman VINO has had no experience
either as detective or as a pubic Off
cIal. He has since thrn been succeeded
by a hotel proprietor from Boston. Very
few sc lures are now reported, and the
smugglers appear TO be in high leather
This is no reflection on the nav special
agent. He may b. thorough My honest, hut
be certainly lacks The shrewdness ami
experience OF Capt. Charles n. Bracket,
the Old one. WnIle Bracket was 81 ecia,
agent seizures We're made almost dali,
and the columns OF the newspapers were
flied with the details. The old Imp orters
are much discouraged and make bitter
complaints. They have learned that II
dues ot pay to be honest, and they de-
clare that the importing business is gOina
INTO the bands OF foreigners who do not
scruple to use false invoices.
All this has occurred under the reign Of
an adm nistration which might have re-
appointed Capt. Bracket, and which ap-
parenIy makes ciyIl service reform its
law aud gospel. Bfackett retired COW
cred with scars received by an explo-
sion on a steamshi p where be was search
ing for struggled silks. lie was a poor
man when ne became a special agent,
and, despite all temptations, he retired
poor man.
To-day he Ia running n detective agency
in Wall street, backed by Tue Adams Ex-
press Company. eX.C0llector Robertson.
Thomas -. Acton, Ge0r.e Bliss, Stewart
l.. Woodiord, Elibu Root, and scores OF
me best cluz sns, hutuany an bon st i'm
porter wonders what Ktnd OF a civil SER
vice reform 1t is That sends such u man
outoi the publlc service and makes the
7pecaal. agency apreY 70 polltc'ans.
''&FO t ~ CC'O Il ZIsKA.