Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-11-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.
[From our regular Correspondent. J

WASHINGTON. d. c., Nov. 4, 1889.
Civil Service Commissioner Thomp-
sons friends Indignantly deny the state
ment charging him with having as
sisted In collecting campaign contribu-
tions for Democratic National commit
tee in 1888 from the clerks In the Treas
ury department while he was Assistant
Secretary of the Department. Mr.. YOU
man, who was chief clerk Of the Treas
ury at the time, makes the following
statement, which is corroborated by q
number of other officials, some of them
Republicans:
During the incumbency of Mr..
Thompson as Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury, / was the Chief Clerk and
Superintendent of the Treasury build
ing, and charged with the enforcement
of all orders. / remember distinctly
during the campaign of 1888, one of my
subordinates, without my knowledge,
had collected or received from the en-
ployes some seventy-five dollars and in
formed me of it, and wished to turn the
money over to me to be forwarded to
the Democratic committee. declined
to receive 1t, and at once reported the
fact to Assistant Secretary Thompson,
WuO dIu JOlu
me that such act was illegal and must
not be permitted in the department,
and directed ME to send for this subordi-
nate and order him to return the money
to the persons from whom he had re-
ceived it, upon pain of dismissal (which
Ibid and the money was so returned, }
and further to stop all that kind of work
in the department.
This silly charge was brought against
Mr.. Thompson by Republicans because
he has taken steps to prosecute men,
bers of Virginia Republican of this
city for collecting money from Govern
ment employees for the Malone cam
paign fund.
Ex-Secretary Bayard will be married
in this city next Tursday, to Miss Cly-
mer. This marriage has been reported
as about to take place at least half
dozen times during the last year. This
announcement is official, as your cor
respondent has one of the few cards
issued.
A committee of negro preachers called
on Mr.. Harrison last week and endeav-
ored to get him to commit himself to
the absurd scheme, proposed by the re-
cent convention of the negro Baptist
held at Indianapolis, asking Congress to
appropriate $50,000,000 to aid the
negroes of the South in emigrating to
the West. The same committee after
wards called on the Attorney General
and presented a long string of alleged
political outrages at the South. From
all that can be learned they did not re-
ceive much consolation from either of
the gentlemen visited. They only got
some very indefinite and diplomatic
promises.
L. B. Prince, the Governor of New
Mexico, makes a strong showing in his
annual report to the Secretary of the
Interior, in favor of the admission of
that Territory as State. 1t is expected
that the Democrats in Congress will
make a determined fight during the
coming session for the admission of
New Mexico and Idaho.
The Government directors of the
Union Pacific railroad, in their annual
report, say that the interests of the
United States demand early action by
Congress to secure the payment by this
company of its Indebtedness to the Gov
ernment. They indorse the (Outh-
waite) bill, which was pending when
the last Congress adjourned. 1t remains
to be seen whether the millionaire lob
by will be successful in again defeating
this much needed legislation during the
coming Congress. Representative Outh-
waite proposes to re-introduce the same
bill as soon as Congress meets, and to
use his utmost endeavor to push it
through the House. There is little
doubt of its being passed by the House,
but the danger lies in the Senate, which
has always been inclined for obvious
reasons, to he extremely lenient in its
dealings with the Pacific railroads.
Mr.. Harrison is understood to have
sat down somewhat heavily on Secre-
tary Noble in regard to the dismissal of
those employees of the Pension office
whose pensions were rerated by the
late Commissioner Tanner. The Secre-
tary wanted to dismiss them all, but
the President has given him orders that
none are to be dismissed unless it can
be fully shown that they are guilty OF
having violated the law. The only one
and it is only fair to Mr.. Harrison
to say that he was removed before the
matter was brought to the Presidents
attention.
The Postmaster General has backed
down from the dictatorial position he
assumed towards the telegraph compa-
nies some months ago, and has set the
rates to be paid by the Government for
official telegraph messages much higher
than the price he then named. The rates
are aabout the same as those charged
everyone by the B. & o. telegraph
company when it was swallowed by the
Western Union monopoly. Jay Gould
is bigger man than Wanamaker.