New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-03-11
ANXIOUS TO HOLD OFFICE.
POINTS OF CONTRAST BETWEEN THE APt
PLTCANTs OF $50 AND 's5.

y T.
A GREAT COMPANY OF aExsr-THE "HoLq
ovERsn MODEST AND HopEruL-cAHDr.
DATES OF VARIOUS STATES
IHy rxLEcaAra 10 rnE Ianunnf
Washington March i9--Ali except ftw
hundred Of the 100000 siehfseers, more Or ksx
who thronged the streets Of the National Cardtsl
on Monday have vanished; Lent hiss arrived. the
great Centennial do nothing Congress is dead,
md yet Washington cannot be called dull The
ofiee-seelcers are on hand in considerable force,
but, after all they are kss numerous and OBJ
trrsive than they were four years ago. They difa
in other respects also. The other day visitor
entered clearinghouse.
Can get a bath here p he asked
Yes, sab" replied a colored attendant
Can / get IL now. I am In hurry ?"
No, sab; not right away, san. You see Oh
these gentlemen has tickets sah they is ahead Of
you'
The man who was in hurry glanced dowa
the long line Of men who were waiting, then
turned on his heel and exclaimed: Well, / was
here four years ago about this time and the only
thing could get in this blank town was bath.
It was no trouble to get that
clerk at one of the downtown hotels re-
marked Well yes, we are doing about as wen
80 w NiN <ouk ycNfo Sto. Ako ss"A StAASf "a St~~
guests are smaller, but then their laundry bills
are big enough to balance the account
These incidents VIII explain one point Of
difference which strikes even the most c-susl
observer.
The army Of ofiee-seekers like this one con-
tanned majority OF exs.S Most Of them we're
ex-Confederates, whose titles were won IN tho
Rebel military or naval service, or gained in
politics in the civil service under tho adminis-
tration Of Jefferson Davis The army which now
besiegs the White House and besets tho Executives
Departments also contains majority Of exs's
There is heavy sprinkling of old soldiers, and
the buttons Of the G. A. T. and the rosettes OF the
Loyal Legion an moro conspicuous than ever
before. There seems TO be general conviction
that honorable service in the Union Army or Navy
viii not be regarded as q political disability By
this Administration members of which, In
cluding the President. wore the Union blue. But
the ex-soldiers ars outnumbered by the " "exs'
who obtained their titles In the civil service Of
the Government before the days OF Cleveland
and Reform" Perhaps one out OF every four
men one meets is not an . ex,' but three Of
them at least are ex-something. from ex-Secretary
down 10 ex1mesGnger- every mothers son Of
them, almost, wants his old place. or something
better. They know all the ropes Of Office
seeking and Office getting, and therefore are
formidable competitors in the race with men
who have now entered it for the first time, despite
the prejudice which exists against ex-oce holders
who devote their energies to officeseeking.
Another striking feature of the crowd which
nightly gathers in every hotel is that it is COM
posed Of men who are described as hold-oversS
meaning persons who escaped the official guilos
tine during Clevelands reign. usually by playing
the role of informer' against their former Of
fetal saperiors and protesting 70 be ardent Demo-
erats. bnt sometimes because their services were
Indispensable The hold-oversn who have re-
tanned their places by informing or by toadyina
or professions Of political conversion are among
the men whose anxious faces haunt the. hotel
corridors. Like jefferson Davis and his fellow
conspirators, all they want is to be let s1one"
One Of them was Virginia postmaster appointed
by President Arthur, at the instance OF Senator
Malone. When Cleveland came in this post.
master repudiated his party and Senator Mahone's
recommendation, in order to be q 4hoh-over"
Now he is wondering how he can rehabilitate him-
self politically and keep his office. Some Of the
hold-overss ore Justly alarmed over certain in
dications that President Harrison intends to keep
the pledges and abide by the declarations Of the
Republican party in its National platform, which
contains these significant words:
The men who abandoned the Republican party IN
have deserted mot only the cause Of honest govern
ment Of sound finance Of freedom and purity OF the
ballot, but especially have deserted the cause OF
reform IN the Civil Service.
These words apply with even greater force to
the Mugwump benefciaries OF the sham reform
Administration Of Grover Cleveland than they
do to Mugwumps who never succeeded in getting
their hands into the public crib. Thus far,
however, the, resignation of no such Officer has
been received
Not all the Republican aexss Of the Lth and
previous Congresses want Office, but great many
and deserving. Ohio alone has half dozen or
more. including Messrs. Robinson, Brown, Hart
Lawrence and Neal; Illinois probably has as many
more, including Thomas, Davis and Baker; Wis
n Republican dsres IN sSs
last Congress-; Tennessee Republicans have
approved the applications Of Butler and
ZACH Taylor; South Carolina Republicans
seat was stolen BY, the Democrats; North Carolina
Republicans would be glad to see John Nichols
appointed; Iowa Republicans favor the appoint
ment of Kasson and Hepburn; Michigan men hope
recognized; in Indiana, Steele, Cabins and john
son are regarded es among the probabihtes-but
a complete list would fill too much space, for tho
Lth Congress graduated no less shan sixty-fve
The Democrats and Mugwumps find q great
deal Of comfort In saying that the number and
demands Of offceseekers are greater than they
were four years ago. That is not true but IL IL
extenuation. Il Is that In the last four years
more new offices have been created than in any
like period OF our history, with the exception OF
that covered by che Administration of Abraham
Lincoln.
TRAVEL TO AND FROM WASHINGTON,
MARVELLOUS WORK OF THE pENNsyLvANIa
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