Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-04-17

WASHINGTON, April 10, 100

valid objections to the present manner OF
selecting this class of officials, Mr.. Lodge
has made failure in his attempt to de-
wise practical substitute. Should Mr..
Lodges bill become law the country
would be divided into postal districts,
and postmaster inspector in each DIS
trict would inspect the patriots who
should offer themselves and pass on
their qualifications. 1t would then be
the duty of the inspector to prepare a
list of the applicants, placing their names
in the order in which he regarded their
respective merits, and this list would be
filed with the Postmaster General. Then
the latter official would be called on to
send to the President the name which
heads the list, or else furnish in writing
sufficient reasons for such refusal. But
what Mr. Lodge and other reformers pre-
fer to designate the "spoils" system of
choosing postmasters has many advant-
ages over the visionary and romantic fad
which is now being considered by the
House post-office committee. Under the
present system, the member of Congress
practically names the postmasters in his
district, and he in tnrn is responsible to
the voters of such district. If he fails
to recommend good officers, and the SER
vice suffers, the people have the remedy
in their own hands. They can turn the
Congressman out and select representa-
tive who would give them competent
postmasters. While under Mr.. Lodges
proposed system the district post-otlice
inspector, protected by inconsistent and
complicated rules, could appoint whom
he pleased and laugh in the faces of the
people when they saw fit to object.
There may be some room for improve
ment over the present mode of soliciting
postmasters, but Mr.. Lodge and his re-
form colleagues have failed to present it
in practical form.
~
The Capitol has never known quieter
season than that of 1890. But if the
months usually devoted to gaiety were
dull, lent, sarced to sackcloth and ashes,
has been gay in an extreme way never
countenanced here before. There have
been breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, teas,
theatre parties, coaching parties, riding
parties, driving parties, walking parties,
literary symposiums and what not. But
for the warning church bells the
fashionable West End would hardly
have known lent existed. Paradoxical
as it may seem, this lent has been es-
pecially rich in dinners of the epicurean
sort, where there have not been only a
feast of reason and flow of soul, " but
fat canvas-back ducks, delicious terrapin
and forced vegetables. The President
gives few dinner parties, but he has
many friends to dinner informally. The
Vice Presidents family have been away
during nearly the whole Of lent, hnt
since their return they have had one
large official dinner and many small
ones. The Pan-Americans have been
feasted to safety, and whatever else
they take home with them they will
carry back an excellent opinion of Ameri-
w.
The informal afternoon "at homes
among the official people have been very
popular. 1t is astonishing how many
busy men find the opportunity to DROP
in for a tifteen-minute chat with the
women who are attractive because OF
| beauty, cleverness or the excellence OF
their madeira. Messrs. Blaine, Cabot
Lodge, Reed, Hit, and all the foreigners
can be met any pleasant day on theil
way to or from making call. 1t is es
| pecially pleasant for a statesman to si
behind the tea table with some pretty
women and listen to her remarks abou
his policy and politics in general-a milo
sort of dissipation that is much INDUCED
in by our great men. Mr.. Blaine is de
voted to driving in the country, and h,
is often seen in the State Department
carriage with one OF his daughters ol
Mrs. Hit or Mrs. Cabot Lodge as a com
panion. Cabot Lodge is fond of riding
He owns magnificent animal and ha'
investigated all the roads in the vicinity
Riding grows in popularity here every
year. Most of the society women ride
and cavaliers are in such demand tina
men who have heretofore had no socia
standing, but who own a decent anima
and can sit it well, have been known t.
ride straight into the sacred precincts o
vanity fair.
~
The tariff bill will be reported to tn
House this week, probably as early a
, Wednesday or Thursday. The bill an
, the report of the majority of the Way
and Means Committee are now ready
r and probably by this afternoon or t.
S morrow the report of the Democrat
majority of the committee will be read
Mr.. Carlisle is now engaged in drawing
up. At one time there had been SON
! intention of submitting a minority bi
: on the lines of the Mills bill, whiC
passed the House in the last Congress
but that intention has been abandone,
t The majority of the Democrats on IL
: committee and three-fourths of I'll
, Democrats in the House regard thi
politics are altogether inadvisable. The
are satisfied that the Mckinley bi
is wholly indefensible and as opponen
| of that bill merely think they can affor
to stand before the country. Some {
the leading Democrats regard the Nj
Kinley bill as so bad that they cannt
: believe it is intended to stand alon,
, They believe that Secretary Blaine hf
had hand in preparing it, and that hig
duties have been put upon raw hide
) and some other things, in order to facil
tate dicker looking to free trade wit
South and Central America.
~
Senator Blair is not readily discoura,
ed over the lack of enthusiasm with whic
the most of his great legislative propos
tions have been received by the Unite
States Senate. Immediately after til
defeat of his famous educational bill h
re-introduced it in a somewhat change
form. Saturday he sent to the desk
great batch of reprint bill, which ha
= been previously introduced by him i
, various Congresses. Some of thes
measures are sweeping. For instance
to prevent any person, corporation {
partnership from owning more than 81
acres of agricultural land, or more tina
$40 acres of land of any description
Another one of these back-number bill
provides for the settlement of dispute
between railway companies and the EN-