The morning news., 1889-03-16
arpprExED coNGREEsMEN.
uow They Are Worried by Appli-
cants for Office.
From the Washington Star.

I.,blicans of the House have gone home. On
r., contrary. a number of the new
-.arhers of the Fifty-first congress
I've appeared at the clpital. In
.o House mail route, which is a fair sam
oIe of the rest, there were fifty odd MEM
bors and of these forty-three are still in the
o;+v Thirty-four are republicans and nine
oniy are democrats. hose who have gone
ore all. or nearly all, democrats. The re-
~aIresentatives of the party in power are re-
Gaining here to look after the patronage,
nhiaav and they are occupied in consider
80 how they can best distribute the few
nffices they can get out of the general divi-
oion among the many applicants who are
pressing for places.
pEprTBLICAN CoNGREsSMEN AND THE PRESI-
DENT.
The President has not yet given senators
.,d representatives of bis party to under
stand definitely what his policy with rela-
tion to the appointments is. His expires
sions in his inaugural, and the fact that he
iistens with attention to what is said by
congressmen concerning candidates, gives
warrant for the idea that he is going to
ralv upon them much more than Cleveland
relied upon the democratic congressman in
these matters
1t seems to be expected that in all the
,,aneral appointments the party leaders will
states will be left entirely to the senators
and representatives from the respective
sections.
this assumption and are receiving no indi-
cation that they are in error.
The more important appointments are
not so easily settled, as they involve con-
tention between sections
WORSE THAN THE PIG PUZZLE.
Before making any recommendation to
the President, the member Of congress him
self bas to select from among many appli-
cauts for each office. To do this without
making many enemies for every friend
gratified reunires skill few men possess.
During the past four years the democratic
congressman were able to turn much of the
resentment of their disappointed constitu-
ents from themselves upon President Cleve
land by merely declaring that they had no
influence to induce him to appoint the men
they wanted. In all cases it did not matter
whether or not this was perfectly accurate,
it served in measure to turn the tide of
local wrath from the members. But if
President Harrison is going to follow the
recommendations of his party congressman
in the matter of their local appointments
throughout the country, as they infer will
be his policy, it fixes upon them very
UNCERTAIN AND DANGEROUS RESPONSE
BILITY.
They are trying to solve the problem of how
to do it., Wherever group of congress
men is seen are found some per picked
countenauces. With half a dozen leading
politicians in some little town, al after the
same D stoffice, and all with about an equal
claim upon the member for services, it is
not an easy thing to make choice. The
member would like to be relieved of the
duty A certain number of men in each
Gro IF ha Iar
Offices outside of the state. AS to these,
when the delegations can agree they are ex-
pected to act as body, selecting from the
many candidates those they want to recon-
mend, one fJr each office. Then the Presi-
dent has but to choose between the candi-
dates presented by the several states for the
same office. As to the federal offices local
to the respective congressional districts, the
congressman representing each district is
supposed to have authority over those with
in his confines and to be responsible.
THIS is THE GENERAL SCHEME
in the minds of the congressman. It re-
mains to be settled whether or not Presi-
dent Harrison will follow it. The members
assume that he will, but at the same time
there is very general impression that in
the case of most of the offices, the commits
sions for which run for definite term, the
commissions will be allowed to expire be-
fore new appoi TIM nts ara made unless
the incumbent is especially offensive or in
competent. This proSp ct of delay is not,
as a rule, dstateful to the members who
expect to be allowed to fill the places. 1t
will give them time to make up their states.
Few members can afford to make a selec-
tion by their own personal favor for any
Of the offices within their district They
must select men who have the support of
most Of the republicans in their locality.
1t is not easy to determine which of a large
number of active candidates all around
with long petitions has such support, and
mistake is apt to cost great many votes
when the next election comes off.
COLD COMFORT FROM DEMOCRAT.
reporter was with a group of represen-
tatlves IN the almost deserted hall of the
House when this question was being dis
cussed with a serious desire to fix upon the
best plan to be followed. There was only
one democrat in the group, and he was en-
couI aging the rest by statement of the
number OF votes the selection of each post
master had cost him. He seemed to take
wicked pleasure in this. The rest appre-
clated the spirit that prompted him. They
were all in the same situation. One mem
Der said that he had long since discovered
thaC the only safe way to fill postoffice
was sto select the man whom a majority of
T Te republican patrons of that Office wanted.
me dlfflculty, however was to determine
"hlcn candidate had the strongest support.
THE UNCERTAINTY OF PETITIONS.
II petitions were followed, he said, it was
OiVen discovered That the man who had the
most names had secured them merely by
ysng the first in the field, and often the
eaSt desirable man would have the most
names to his papers. The democrat broke
~ mere to say that cases of that sort had
gsD MN four or five hundred votes in a sim
gle town.
another troubled congressman said that a
V.illeulty he hal found in following petit
ro1 uonS was that frequently the best names
"eTe I on the shortest petition.
4ne democrat said this was one of the
tsiu9s that had troubled him greatly when
1' was IN the position of his colleagues.
DOUBLE DEALINGS.
,r1ii "a tnlrd member. with his pockets full of
tplaleatlons Tor offices, remarked that q
,or,s -ns tnat was still more annoying was that
sii. me Oh the political leaders in small COM
ssuultleS mad way, after signing petit
canaa5N Dn ana generally espousiDg the cause of a
SaltuuilIste, OF sending "private and conf
na,.l nau'lal' letter asking the members not to
10Y Wy any regard to the signature, but to ap-
point some one else.
developed that every 'rnember present
Son iecelVed number of these letters, and
ny. agreed then and there that the rule
IA .bo ue enforced requiring mon to stand up
vi,hJter indorsements or else make their
'''"ufawai OF support public.
BRIBERY.
Another thing deyeIoned nv tha ooy,,.