Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1886-10-22
ROSEBURG REVIEW
FRIDAY. OCTOBER %, 1886.
LETTER.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1886.


political and social events has been dis
by nothing momentous or
The President and his
with the exception of the
Secretary Of State and the Secretary /
of the Treasury, are now in Washing
ton. It is understood that Mr. Man
ming will resume charge of the Treas
ury portfolio early next week. Never |
before has this great department been
managed with such economy and sys-
tematic efficiency as under its present
head. The financial policy Of the adj
ministration has met the approval Of
all political parties, and last month
the National debt was cut down
$l1,000,000 Intelligence from all
sources indicates general revival of
business and the gloomy predictions
of Sherman, Blair and other Republi-
can Virgins, that Democratic success
would mean National bankruptcy are
now derided by their recent dupes.
The indications are very clear that
before the two and half remaining
years term of the present adninistra-
ten are concluded, the aforementioned
Virgins will be brought to further
confusion. Much has been done to
simplify the complicated and ponder
Gus Civil Service establishment which
the Democrats came into after twenty
five years Of Republican mismanage-
ment and debauchery, but there is
time to accomplish much more. Mr..
Benedict's first move was to discharge
over three hundred employees and
nobody in Washington is surprised to
learn that, paradoxical as it may seem,
more and better work is accomplished
with the reduced force. The condi-
tion in which Mr.. Benedict found the
Government Printing Office proves
conclusivelY that the change was not
made too soon. People who had any
chance to observe the inner workings
of this great establishment, have long
known that the reputation for efficien-
cy obtained by Public Printing Rounds
was myth created by the little mu-
tual admiration society he had col
lected about himself. The fact that
when he stepped out he was spend
ing each day about twice as many dol
lars as Congress had appropriated to
run the Office leaves nothing further
to be said.
The Mass. Civil Service Reform As
sociation has written to the President
asking for a list of all those appointed
to positions in all the departments
under the Civil Service law, embrac
ing the state each appointee halls from
and their politics, together with ages
and general character Upwards Of
thirty clerks have been employed for
some days in completing the list which
will contain about 450 pages of legal
cap. No one except the President
knows what is wanted with the list.
A member of the Cabinet said TODAY
that he supposed the Association de-
sired to know how the Civil Service
law is respected, and ''if it does not
suit the ideas of the aesthetic reform.
ers / will not be surprised to hear
that the association has issued proc
lamation to the President directing
him to remedy what they think are
evils" It has cost the Government
clerk hire about $3.50 to prepare the
list.
In the Post Office Department
which, includes by far the largest mum
ber of unclassed employees, the Office
appear to be about equally divided be
tween Republicans and Democrats
In the Department. of Justice some
sixty per cent of the unclassi6ed EN-
ployes are Democrats while in all th'
other Departments the proportion o
Democrats is something less than hal
<-in one case not more than ten PEI
cent.
The fiction that Senator Sherman
and other Republican orators are pro
claiming from the stump that the pres
ent administration is hostile to the Un
ion Vetefans can be easily refuted b,
figures in the Pension office. TIL
statement that the confederate ele
ment is beginning to dominate the Per
sion Bureau" is lie out of whole clott
There are employed at present in tn
Pension Bureau $50 clerks from th
Southern States. OF this number 81
are shown by the official records t
have been appointed by the previou
administrations and only 50 by Ger
Black. These 50 clerks were az
pointed after examination by the Civ
Ser vice Commission, and as the ag
limit-forty five years-is still in force
but very few of the number could pos
sibly have seen service in the Confe6
crate army. As matter of fact, bu
five Of them were ex-Confederate:
while sixteen ex-Confederates were az
pointed by fermer administrations
Theerecent appointees from the Sout
are young and energetic man of th
new generation that has sprung up i
that section since the war. The ret
ordslof the Office further show tha
more pensions have been allowed ur
der Gen. Blacks administration tina
any previous one in the Pension Ofic
and Notwithstanding the charges mad
that Gen. Black has been turning OF
ex.Union soldiers it is fact that ther
are now on the rolls of the Pensio
Bureau more ex-Union soldiers tina
under any previous administration
OF course few ex-Union soldiers hav
been dismissed and for very good res
sons other than political. To the va
cancies thus made other ex-Union so
diers have been appointed.