Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-08-22
Washington Letter.
From our Regular Correspondent,

tFrom Our Regular Correspondent)
Washington, ID. G. Aug. II, 1889.
Secretary Window has returned from
his trip to Boston and win remain here
for few days before taking short va
cation. He has worked very hard since
the 4th Of March, as in fact have all the
cabinet officers. Few people outside of
Washington have any idea of the hours
these officials have been Obliged to put
in at their desks The opening of a
new administration always means I'M
| limited hard work for the men who have
to map out and put into operation its
policy, and this being such a radical
change from the democratic administra-
ton has made the amount of work to be
done much greater than usual. 1t is no
exaggeration to say that the members Of
the present cabinet have worked harder
during the last i've months than they
ever did before in their lives and sever
al of them have been for years at the
head of large and successful private
business concerns. They have all earned
q rest.
Sunset Cox, the ''funny" demo-
cratic Congressman from New York
never forgets to be- humorous. lie has
just returned to Washington from q
trip through the four new states and he
coely claims credit for the passage of
the bill making them states by the last
Congress. This is carrying joke al
most too far. II | remember Alright,
and | think do, the credit for the pas
sage of that bill belongs to the repub-
licans, who informed their obstinate
democratic colleagues that unless the
bill was allowed TO go through the
House the President would call an extra
session Immediately after his Inaugural
ton for the express purpose of passing
it. Mr.. Cox is entitled to the credit of
having had sufficient political sense TO
make virtue of necessity, and for
having persuaded some of his more near
sighted democratic colleagues to vote
for the the bill. Let Mr.. Cox be as
funny as he wants to. but don't let the
record of this subject be muddled or
confused
The government departments are hav-
ing good deal of trouble with the tele-
graph companies owing 10 the suspen-
sion of the contract for carrying Gov
eminent messages. The telegraph peo-
pie are making Uncle Sam pay cash at
| transient rates for all messages sent
The Postmaster General, who has au-
thority under the law to set the price
for this work, claims that one mill per
word is fair price this is denied by the
telegraph companies, and in the mean
time the Government officials have to
pay for their messages.
One pensioner of the Government has
just had piece of good luck. His
name IS Richard Whiting, and in 1888,
he was granted a pension Of S24 per
month. which was subsequently III
creased To $50 per month. Afterwards
through n mistake made 10y a surgeon
the pension was reduced TO IS per
month, The pensioner applied for y
reopening of his case, and Assistant
Secretary Bussey has just decided that
he is entitled 10 pension of $72 per
month and arrears since his discharge
will amount to 2,00o
Ex-Postmasters General Frank Hat
tons latest charge against the Civil Ser
vice Commissioner is that lists of the
questions to be asked at examinations
have been sold TO applicants. He has
not yet stated who sold the papers or
when the offense was committed.
1t is said that ex-Attorney General
Garland has been employed to repre-
sent the Northern Pacific railroad in
this city at a salary of $4,000 a year.
1t is to be hoped that his experience
with this corporation will be pleasanter
and more profitable than what he had
with the Pan-Electric Telephone Com
pany not many years ago.
Before leaving the city for short
rest Secretary Noble received the pre-
liminary report of the commission which
| has been investigating the re-rating of
pensions He has instructed the com
mission TO proceed with the investlga-
ton. He wants the proceedings for
twelve months. He declined to make
public the preliminary report but said
the full report should be given to the
public Just as soon as it is finished.
understand that the Secretary is salts
fed from the report that there has been
no serious wrong doing but he deemed
it policy TO have fuller investigation
made lest some of the enemies of the
Pension Office should say that the
months included in the preliminary in
vestigation December 1888 and May
1899 had been selected beforehand on
account of the showing they made.
Col. w. w. Dudley laughs at the idea
Of his being arrested while passing
through Indiana on his way to the G. A.
r. encampment at Milwaukee, says he
will certainly 60 if he can possibly ar
range his business SO that ne can get
away from here.
Secretary Rusk has returned from his
business trip to New York lie has
taken no vacation yet.
United States Treasurer Houston has
gone to Saratoga to attend a meeting of
the executive committee of the nation
al republican league.