Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1889-06-27
WASHINGTON LETTER.
IFrom Our Regular Corrcsponient.l
WAsHiNGTON, June II, lSSg.

The president has had occasion to rebuke
all three Of the courts-martial that have
rendered decisions during his term III Office.
The latest sentence, that in the case al
Capt Armes, he has commutsd to restric-
tion OF residence to certain limits for five
years, and the suspension for that period
Of the right to wear uniform. The court
martial had recommended dismissal from
the service. The offense WAS a violation OF
army officer, who was u brilliant tighter in
his day. pulled Gov. Beavers nose in re-
taIiation for a more or less imaginary af-
frsnt put upon him by the gallant governor
in ordering him elected from the ina ugurxl !
parade.
In contrast with the severity OF this sen.
tence, as originally promulgated, is the yer.
diet in the ease cf Maj. Lydscksr. This
officer was at the head of the engineering
work GU the Washington acqusduct. The
acqueduct cost millions Of dollars, and the
city, by which it was badly needed. waited
ior it's completion. suspicions Of bad work
arose, only to he pooh -poohed by the gal.
liant major. Finally an investigation was
made. All the work Of years il "a loss. The
major has been either fool or a knave,
Tor he has approved OF rotten work and
falsely stated on his honor that he knew it
to he of good character. And yet the
court martial only sentences the dsgraced
officer to pay to the government u fine Of
500 = month for nine months. lie does
not lose his position or the order of his
rank; he is still a curled society darling; no
blush of shame tingcs his brazen cheek;
even his fellow officers are too ha r,lenel to
feel the disgrace inflicted upon the public
service. Why President Harrison has So
often expressed his contempt for courts
martial is not hard to discover.
The men in the public life of our times
who, like DIR. Johnson, retain the habits of
humble days in the prosperity of the pres
ent- are not surprisingly numerous. To be
sure, Attorney General Garland has never
invaded the mysterious wonders of u dress
coat. hut the slovenly men are common in
,ll walks of life. Very often in one of the
lairy lunch rooms down town you can see
a gigantic man with a round. carefully
shaven face peacefully seated, chewing ap-
pie pie and drinking milk. The summers |
heat has affected the inherent integrity OF
the pie, and no country -ra ised boy could he
deceived into believing that one of the thor |
Dughbred Attorneys. whose portraits grace |
he wall, ha'l been guilty of putting the !
milk on the market. Yet as this Herculean u |
I,,s H..
nunci,es and sips, a smile Of supreme 10y
, sort of supreme court JOY, as il were
reaihes his face and ties il SELF in - bow in |
he creasss of his neck
George Eliot, in descrbiny the death of % |
Door peasant, relates that he refused offers |
# food in his illness, being unable to eat
common food and not having sufficient |
Imagination To conceive VI anything better.
= II II lack or a superfuity 81 imagination
hat makes a ten-eent lunch "a delicate gas
ronomic triumph to member Of the sli.
'reme court of the United States, y man
dozen big dinners ~ week IL he will only
ccspi the ofiers he receives:
Justice Harlan pays his toll and walks
- the street to IA prominent tobacco onist's
huge box Of cigars il on the Counter, done
p in packages Of four four for ten cents.
The great jurist carefully selects a package
nj puts ten cents upon the counter. He
ontenteslly lights one. A smell ike the
ubtle flavor Of tannery permcates the
air, and there comes to you
gain the conviction that human ingenuity
as not yet reached the triumph OF good
igars at four for ten cents.
Now, these peculiarities Of the genial JUS
ice are not the outgrowth Of miserly dis
osition. lie is not that sort of a man.
is simply that the senses of taste and
nell refuse tn perform their wonted iunc-
ons.
The Anti-Mahons Republicans, repre-
.nted by sixteen gentlemen who went
ravely at their battle and were inmedi-
tely routed with great slaughter, secured
ie presidents ear, by appointment, for {
m minutes yesterday. The committee
sked the president to deliver the children
the true faith in Virginia out of their ,
ondags to Malone. They claimed that
the postofiice distributions, as an in
snce, no appointments had been made
.cept through the end dorsement of Malone.
he president told them that they were :
istaken. and wound up BY refusing per-
nptorily To interfere in any quarrel be. I
cen the factions. I
He Wanted to Telephone.