The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1886-09-25
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Special Correspondence to the Echo.
WASHINGTON, Sept, 81, 1888

| WASHINGTON, Sept. II, 1885.
Washington has been somewhat
dull since the adjournment of Congress
and the departure of the President.
The earthquake shook it up little,
but nothing in comparison to the cleo
tion of Democratic President. Since
that event nothing surprises the aver
age Washingtonian, who looks upon
all sublunary and subteranean disturb
ances with an indifference which seems
to say
"With that dire retrospection curst
My only solace is to know
Whate' e'eEbetides, I've seen the worst"
What is that worst 2 Why to bet
on Jimblaine and lose the money he
had borrowed at ten per cent interest
per month, and then to be dismissed
for offensive good-for-nothing-ness.
But this, as we Democrats say of the
war, is ancient history.
Modern or contemporary history as
viewed from this standpoint is fiat
enough. 1t will be more interesting
when the President returns and when
Congress gets back. After the fall
elections it will be livelier still.
The Departments are moving along
in their old ruts. In the Treasury
Department they are keeping books,
counting the revenue, making con-
tracts, calling in bonds, auditing ac-
counts, and paying the great army of
clerks known as the civil service, as
well as the small but expensive army,
and the formidable on the payroll
navy. Now that Geronimo and his
band of forty thieves are captured the
United States army will be able to
take rest, for it is the intention of
Secretary Lamar to shift the Apaches
from Arizona to Florida and end In.
dian wars forever. All the other war.
riors have either joined Buffalo Bil's
circus or are so civilized and cowed |
by Government tough beef that they |
are as harmless as their wooden effigies
in front of tobacco stores.
Without any Indians to fight, with
diving torpedo boats that can blow up
the great iron-clads Of foreign navies,
and with diplomacy carried on by |
special envoys, how much longer will
these triplets of barbarism, the army,
navy, and sham foreign service have
reason to be2 Your correspondent is
not quite ready to announce the mile
mum. Jimblalne has broken out in
the old place, and the government of
the United States is still mall admins
tered, in great part, by the convicts
condemned by the last presidential
election to outer darkness with wailing
and gnashing of teeth. When will
the sentence of that election be carried
out, and when will we have in the
Departments at Washington a body
of employees placed for some other
purpose than to work for the Repub-
lican party, and who now have no
dearer object than to hamstring the
Democratic administration
All the Cabinet officers, Mr.. Bayard
excepted, are out of town. Mr.. Lamar
is up in Vermont, writing big speech
that he is expected to deliver at the
of a statue of Calhoun in
Charleston, S. G. Vermont is as near
the politico geographical antipode of
the Calhoun cult as the eloquent Mis-
sissippian can get, but | predict that
his speech will be as far removed from
an advocacy of disunion as the Green
are from the centre of
The wonder is that Mr..
Lamar takes time to write his speech,
for the impression prevails that he can
say brilliant things on any subject for
two hours, watch IN hand But the
necessity for accuracy and precision
of epithet is great now days, and Mr..
Lamar perhaps does not wish to have
to reeant as had MIR. Blaine and Mr..
Frye in reference to expressions IN
their recent speeches.
The usual summer improvements,
both public and private, have been GO
ing on in the city. Many houses have
been built, parks have been extended,
trees planted, sewers dug and streets
paved. The great Improvement of
the Potomac Flats with
q view to the expurgation of ma
aria is going on, and it is thought
hat the city will be in trim be-times
for the great centennial celebration
of the Inauguration of the first Presi-
lent in 1889, when the Washington
entwined with the national
,olors will look like BARRIERS pole,
md the Grant memorial bridge SPAN
ling the Potomac will furnish an easy
approach for the Virginia truck gard
,neIs. But this is sacrilege, and will {
% discontinued till next week.