The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-03-20
ANXIOUS FOR OFFICE.
...r.st Between the Applicants
Of 's9 and 80.
-. Company of .Exes'--The
--,a-pxersr Modest and Hope
..,--rbs Various Candidates.

- oxersv Modest and Hope
saI--rhs various Candidates.
,r.surxsTox. March i0.--An except
- hundred OF the 10000 sight
more or less, who thronged the
- - II the national capital on Mon
have vanished; Lent has arrived,
great centennial do nothing"
- .rsss i dead, and yet Washington
we he called dull The Office
- I.ssrs are on hand in considerable
- Init. after all they are less ntI--
80. IONS and obtrusiye than they were
60 Years ago. They differ in other
ssrscts also. The other day avisitor
s,stred . bathing house
can get bath here2'' he asked.
4yes. sab, . replied the colored at
tsndant. !.
acan / gel 1t now; am in Ia hurry.
..xo sab, not right away. sab You
s.. IN these gentlemen has tickets,
n they Is ahead OF you
The man who was sin hurry
.a.need down the long line OF men who
-, waiting, then turned on his heel
md exclaimed: We'll, was here
-, vexrs ago about this time, and
~ ~ anly thing could get in this blank
sovn vas bath. II was no trouble to
sIerk at one Of the downtown
h.es,s remarked, well, yes, we are
Ss;nr about as well as we did four
,.ssrs AGO. The bar bills of our guests
3 maIler, but then their laundry
Hs are big enough To balance the ac-
fsese incidents will explain one
Int Of difference which strikes even
A. most casual observer.
The army OF oifice-seekers like this
oue contained majority OF 'exes :"
Nast of them were ex-coufederates.
rh0se titles were won In the Rebel
military or naval service, or gained in
nolities or In the civil service under
fbe administration of Jefferson Davis.
This army which now besieges the
White House and hesets the execut-
10 departments also contains a
majority OF 'exes." There Ii a
heayy sprinkiing of old soldiers, and
fht buttons of the q. A. X. and the ro-
cites of the Loyal Legion are more
conspicuous than ever before. There
seems to be general conviction that
honorable service in the Union army
ar navy will not be regarded as a po-
iitical disability By this admin;stra-
tion--five members OF which, including
the president, wore the Union blue
bat the ex-soIdiers are out numbered
by the .exes" who obtained their titles
Ia the civil service of the government
before the DAYS of cleveland and re-
FORM Perhaps one out of every four
men one meets is not an 'sex, but
three OF them at least are ex-something,
from ex-secretary down TO ex-messen-
ger--and every mothers son OF them,
almost, wants his sold place" or
something better. They know all
the ropes of oflice-seeking and office
getting. and therefore are formidable
competitors in the race with men who
who have now entered il for the first
time, despite the prejudice which ex-
ists against ex-oifice holders who de-
yote their energies 10 efiice-seeking.
Another striking feature of the
crowd which nightly gathers in every
hotel Is that Ii Is composed of men
who are described as ''hold lovers. y
meaning persons who escaped the OFF,
cias guiIlotine during Cleveland's
reign, usually by playing the role of
"informer" against their former OH
tial superiors and protesting to be ar
dent Democrats. bat sometimes be-
cause their services were Indispensable
The .'hold-oversr who have retained
their places by informing or by toady-
ing or professions of political CONVEX
sion are among whose anxious faces
haunt the hotel corridors. Like Jefier-
son Davis and his fellow-conspirators
all they want is .'bc let alonc.r One
OF them was Virginia postmaster APP
pointed by President Arthur.
at the instance of Senator Ma
hone. When Cleveland came
in this postmaster repudiated
his party and Senator Mahone's
recommendation, in order To be
''hold-oyer.n Now he Is wondering
how he can rehahiiitatc himself and
keep his Office. Some of the hold
overs are justly alarmed over certain
indications 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 RepubII-
can party I'm 1854 and continued TO adhere
10 the Democratic party have deserted not
only the cause of honest government, of
sound finance, Of freedom aud purity OF
the ballot. but especially have deserted the
cause OF reform In the civil service.
These words apply with even greater
force 10 the Mugwump beneiiciaries 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 resigna-
ton OF no such officer has been re-
ceiyed.
Not all the Republican "exesn OF the
tiitieth aud previous congresses want
Offices, but great many of them do.
and some OF them are both able and
deserving. Ohio alone has a hall
dozen or more, including Messrs. Rob-
inson. brown, Hart, Lawrence and
Neal, Illinois probably has as many
more, including Thomas, Davis and
Baker; Wisconsin presents the name
Of uuenther, who ably represented
Republican district in the last CON
gress; Tennessee Republicans have APP
proved the applications of Butler and
Zach Taylor; South Carolina Re-
gnhiieans favor the appointment of
Robert smails, whose seat was stolen
hy the Democrats, North Carolina
Republicans would be glad 10
zee John Nichols appointed;
Iowa Republicans favor the appoint
:nentof kasson and Hepburn; Mich
igan men hope and expect that Ros-
well g. Horr will be handsomely rec.
ogni1ed; in Indiana, Steele. Caikins
and Johnson are regarded rs among
the probabilities the Fiftieth
congress graduated no less than -
hepuhlican "eNes" from the house
alone.
The Democrats and Magwumps find
great deal OF comfort in saying that
Tie number and demands of office
seekers are greater than they we're four
years ago. That is not trae. but ii IL
were one fact might be pleaded in ex.
panauon aud excavation. il Is that
~ TIE last four years more new offices
nave been created than in any like
Period OF our history, with the excep-
bon OF that covered by the adnainis-
UStien of Abraham Lincoln.