Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1888-02-29
For the Smyrna Times
Washington Letter.

Washington Letter.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9th. 1883
IL takes Congress a long time to
pull itself together for the tariff f(,bt
1t Is limited however, that when il docs
get good and ready it will maxi ~
wool fly, to say nothing Of the coal
lumher, sugar, with other raw o%d
plooay material. Well, we shall see
ouU Judging the future by the mast
congress will talk and talk and do
nothing, or, at best little. Too NAM
conflicting selfshnesses for the general
good. Too long since Congress ~, yo O..
erected Tor the remembrance of Mot
forms and pledges. r'''
70, Apropos OF this it was Mr.. Grain of
ltXaS, who presented the bill In hava
congress get together and to work in
UIlFfe months after the election instead
ol 'llrteen as 1t now is. ANYTHING tn
cure the evils of the "short session. If
Congress. tits argued with reason that
under the proposed plan Congress will
I ot IreSher from the people and less
10y 10 forget the promises made in
Uhe platform and on the stump.
Oh those stumps what frustrums of
broken pledges of iron jawed dema-
gogues It's nothing to laugh about.
ouU deadly serious thing. This conn.
Try mas grown big and unwieldlv it is
Urue' quite too large for the small
clothes OF 1888, and the unwieldliness
OF the legislature has far outgrown
mat OF the country. Congress posi-
Soy VIII not work. 1t deVOtes Itself
TO society, Irritation, verbal flatulence
and adjournment.
Every two years the districts send
mere lot of fresh statesmen onan
mouthed with wonder like a rustic at a
circus. By the time their two wears
noViIlate Is over and when they are
nail prepared to do something. thew
are relegated to private life and a LOT
OF other utterly unseasoned men are
elected. The dreary rate is reDeated
every two years. The country is vouno
and vigorous and has so far survived
IL. But 1t must be reformed altouetbar
dut deteHdd crit repubiica.
Ihen when the Congressional SEES
SONS are reconstructed, or before for
IhaU matter, we want another COnstitu-
tIonal amendment fixing Inauguration
Day upon the anniversary of the first
Inauguration, the Both. of AnriI
pleasant season of the year Washing
toulans are not the only holiday maxi
ers on that day. The thousands Of
visitors from the States who Aocked
mere 10 shlVer and catch pneumonia, as
tney ana on the occasion of Grants
second Inauguration, for instance. will
all be delighted at the change. while
the steadily increasing multitude which
comes to Washington on these occa-
slons TO revive patriotism and give the
new President an enthusiastic send off
Will also be interested in the matter
since Mr.. Villas has taken charge of
the Interior Department il feels the
impulse of an energetic and strong
nahd. a shaking up was badly needed.
Inc Patent Office and the Public Land
Once are deplOrably behind with their
work, and the former is in a state Dor
derlng on decentralization. The pres
ent Commissioner of Patents. an exem-
plary man, and good real estate law
yer, came to the Office with little or no
knowledge of the intricate and resnon-
slOle work before him. But few neo-
pie are aware of the immensely and
Importance of the National Patent
Office.
The Commissioner of Patents found
himself at the head of a corDs of nrin-
clpal Examiners, a Board of Appeals. a
court Of interfeTences, a draffsman's
division, the Patent Office Gazette and
large corps of clerks. 1t is no exag-
geratiOn to say that there is not an |
examiner in the corps but knew more |
about the intricate and perplexing rou-
tine of the Office than his Chief.
Had Mr.. Hall addressed himself to
the actual work of the Office, which.
on account of the idleness and Sinking
OF employees, was far in arrears. he
might IN spite of his freshness have
done well. But like many neOphites
he signalized his advent by a series of
rulings that have thrown the practice
INTO confusion worse COMPOUNDED. and
set back for months the pressing and
angOrged business of the Patent Office
The situation is truly deplOrable, and
ne only remedy would seem to be to
nave Mr.. Hall join Mr. Sparks. the
ate commissioner of the Land Office.
Certainly if Mr.. Cleveland had
;nOwn anything about the business of
he Office, he would have appointed
ONE one from the ranks. There are
It least score of experienced men
Vho have been in the Department for
ears, any one of whom would have
made a good Commissioner of Patents ,
To day were held the Obseduies of
Yashington's noted philanthropist
V. w. COrcOran. According to the .
expressed wish of the grand old man
is funeral was transformations. He
ad himself named his pail bearers.
nd he was laid away in the beautiful
larble mausOleum beside his wife and
hildren, in Oak Hill cemetery, which
e, many years ago, presented to his
alive town, (GeOrgetown). His death
xclted as much comment at the Capt.
d as if be had been in public life. A
congressman who had known him
nd, he was one of the finest expo.
ents of practical Christianity 1 have l
yer known.