Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-09-06
Washington Letter.


The consular service offers to a hard |
up and worn out politician an oppor-
tunity to gracefully retire from the /
world for time and give Mr.. Nj
cawber's something a chance to turn
up" Once IN a while you find an ex-
Congressman brave enough to accept
a clerkship, or the chiefship of di-
vision, but they are very few, as most
would prefer to take even a consul
ate worth $1,000 per annum, net,
rather than meet the patronIzing
sympathy of old associates. Even
post on some storm swept island,
VIII n vessel calls once in three
months, would be preferable to that
There is at least a high sounding
title and the respect of the natives in
it.
Not more than twenty-five per cent.
of the incumbents of diplomatic posi-
tions have been changed, although
the State department is stacked with
applications, and still they come.
Not a few of the positions yet to be
filed are really valuable ones.
The most important appointment
yet to be made is that of Minister to
Russia, which position has been va
cant since the death of Allen Thorn
! dyke Rice. The salary is S17,5O
The next in Importance is that Of
Minister to China, which is of the
second class, with a salary Of $I2
Then comes the Corean post, which
siIver-tongued Bill Bradley, of Ken
lucky, refused, saying he would not
accept it If the salary were doubled.
The position is worth So, 500 Boliv-
la, Persia and Siam remain to be
filed with republican ministers at
the rate of $4,000 per annum, and
there is a regular Kilkenny fight
among the cOlored republican states
men over the post at Liberia and the
$4,000 salary.
Only fifteen changes have been
made among the thirty-eight consul
ate generals. These positions pay
from S., 600 up, and the general aver
age is $4,000 Only one-fourth of
the consulates have been filed by re-
publcans, although the salaries aver
age s. 500 per annum. In the third
class only three out of twenty-fOur
have been filled. The salaries in this
class are only $1,000 per annum and
fees. There have been no changes
in the eighty-fve consulates Of the
smaller class, which pay only a few
hundred dollars per annum and are
given to permanent residents of the
countries in which these posts are
located
The disagreements of Secretary
Window and certain Congressmer
come to light every day When he
returned to his desk the other day
he found a letter from Tom Reed
asking why the revenue collector fol-
the district embracing Maine had not
been appointed. The letter set forth
, that the Maine delegation was solid
for one candidate, and it appeared tc
the writer remarkable that the ap-
pointment had not been made. Tc
this petulent communication he re-
piled that, as the district comprised
also the States Of Vermont and New
Hampshire, and the delegations from
these States had agreed upon candi-
dates from their respective States, he
hesitated to select anyone until he
could more fully investigate Think
of talking to a Maine man of the 20
l1tical rights of the States of Yer
mont and New Hampshire compared
with those Of the mighty common
wealth of Maine!
The latest sensation created by
Secretary Window is his order re-
garding special agents of the treas
ury department Hereafter all can
didates for such positions must ap-
pear before a board of examiners
and be examined as to their fitness.
MERIT WINS,
We desire to say to our citizens, thai