Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-02-09
Washington Letter.
From Our Regular Correspondent. ]

WASHINGTON, Feb. I.
The revision of the Civil Service rules,
upon which the commission has been laboring
for year. was approved Friday by the Pres
ident. Saturday the ten thousand employees
of the departments in this city were busily
studying an abstract of them published in
morning papers. The old soldiers were
pleased with the Presidents amendment to the
compulsory examination provision. The ex-
soldiers have arrived at an age when any
kind of an examination is terror. The new
rules exempt all of them from examination
for promotion or for the retention of their
places. There are good many clerks in
the departments who dread the ordeal of an
examination, especially since the percentage
has been raised from Is to 20. The weight
of opinion, as gathered in visit to several
of the public offices Saturday, seems to be
that the amended rules are in the direction of
reform.
The best prophets in this blessed city to
forecast the business prospects of the Con-
gressional season are the hotel and restaurant
keepers. One of the landlords of one of the
leading hotels here said to me the other day
Write it down and print it from Sbeol to
high living that this will be the dulest season
Washington has seen for many long year.
The society attractions will be as great as
usual, possibly more SO, and we will do a
good business in the hotel line. But the
lobby will be left in the lurch. This Con-
gress, at this season at least. will not do any
thing to feed the lobby. have felt the
pulse of the situation, and that is my diagno-
sis of the case. Here is the national cam
paign impending and every man on either
side in either House is afraid he
may do something that may
prejudice his own or his party's chances next
November And the lobbyists understand
that the same as | do. They are not coming
TO the front now and spending money as they
will in the short session beginning next De-
cember. No, sir, it will be a dull season
except in society way. The public bust
ness pending in Congress will be wrangled
over and attended to in tangled manner,
but outside of that very little will be done"
The features of the pending extradition
treaty with Great Britain. making persons
extraditable for larceny or embezzlement as
well as for assaults upon life with dynamite
and other explosives are not new. They were
in the treaty as it stood before the Senate
last session, and that was the great bone of
contention that under the dynamite clause
Irish patriots taking refuge in this country
could be extradited The embezzlement
itatuEt 10 tHe out VI ~ the
United States, in order that Canada may no
longer be a safe refuge for embezzlers flee
ing from this country. 1t is understood that
the foreign relations committee made some
change in these features looking to a clear
distinction between political offenses and
crime under the dynamite clause, but the
provisions are not new.
Second Comptroller Sigourney Butler is
responsible for the introduction of fashion
able fad. A navy paymaster informed him
recently that he was about to dispose of a
fine lot of seamen's coats. Mr.. Butler con-
ceived the idea of purchasing one for his own
particular use. They were warm and cheap
only $3.50 per coat The Comptroller
not only bought one, but he wore it, Deputy
Comptroller McMahan saw the coat, admired
il and concluded to secure one. He did so.
The messenger of the officials thought he
would like a seaman's coat at IS 80 himself
right WE'LL and the Comptroller got him one.
The craze is spreading fast among both the
rich and the poor. 1t is even said that dude
dom has an eye on the coats designed for
weather beaten tars, and will give dress
parade in the near future, the principal fea-
ture of which will be that all the dear boys
will have their manly forms enveloped in
S.. 80 navy blue coats. The fad is being
adopted by pretty much everybody in the
Treasury Department.
A postmaster in a small village in
Mississippi has written to the Postmaster
General, asking him to discontinue the Office
He explains that his neighbors who are wool
growers, became distrustful of his rabbit dog.
and in consequence, he states, lit turned up
missing. So am left here" continues the
postmaster, pathetically, without the means
of sustenance. so if you expect me to set
up nights for the train, you will have to for
ward at once some pork and beans or some
other nourishment, or a new postmaster will
have to be appointed at this place He adds
in postscript .Mr. wants ME to split
some rails if yon can get rid of this office,
so hurry up with the grub or the discharge"
The Office was discontinued in response to
this appeal LESox