Smyrna times., 1890-02-05
For he Smyrna Times.
Washington Letter.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. l

When one learns that Mr.. Peters, of |
Kansas, receives on an average one |
hundred letters every day, there is |
seen at least one reason why he writes |
to his constituents that private inter- |
ests must take him back to private
life. Think Of what it is to write one
hundred letters a day when you know
what to say, and then add to that the
labor CT referring in many cases to the
various departments for information on
which to base a reply. OF course in
some offices, as in the Pension Office, a
reply comes to the Congressman in the
shape of letter to his constituent and
all it generally needs is to be indoased
and transmitted, but even this repre-
sents double labor.
OF Representative from the central
states Mr.. McKinley's mail is the
largest, though this has only been
true during the present Congress.
Owing likewise to his position, Mr.
Reeds mail exceeds that of any East
ern member. Mr.. Carlisle, of course,
receives the largest mail of any South
ern member. The Western members,
are, however, the most richly favored
or cursed with correspondents.
Apart from the letters received from
pension and other claimants which
always have a legitimate purpose,
there are a wonderful number of idle
and purpOseless letters received by
Congressman, and generally answered.
In every community you will find some
man who is always offering the Con-
gresham advice by mail. In private
life he may be the soul of mild good
nature, but he harbOrs about him a
wild desire to write and in the secret
watches of the night he indites reams
of wisdom to his member. Perhaps he
is an influential man in his way and
can control dozen votes among his
relatives, and If 80 the Congressman
probably know it and he gets a patient
answer.
Senator Ingalls, gets more letters
than any man in the Senate, his mail
often reaching three hundred letters
in single day. No other Senator gets
nearly so many. Senator Plumb, his
colleague, receives a very large mail
and SO one must conclude, considering
also Representative Peters immense
correspondence, that Kansas is a great
State for letter writers.
To certain extent, Senator Ingalls,
succeeds John A. Logan as the man to
whom old soldiers most frequently
write about pension claims. Senator
Logan's mail was simply enormous as
regards pension matters. 1t grew so
burdensome during the last few years
OF his life that the majority of the let
ters of reply from the Pension Bureau
were never transmitted to him at all
but were mailed by the bureau directly
to the claimant.
The only men in Congress who es-
cape a great mass of Correspondence
are new members from remote Eastern
and Southern districts and extremely
Unpopular old members serving their
cOnfessedly last term. The amount of
labor attached to many years of such
work is appalling. The secret of sue
cessfully doing it lies in never neglect
ing it. Up to his last illness, Sunset"
Cox never retired at night until the
days correspondence was disposed of.
The letters that he could answer intel
ligently were ans Wered at once, be the
reply ever so brief. To this unVarying
prOmptness and to the courteous char
acter OF his communications, he owed
in no small measure his very long and
successful public career.
Now that everyone is trying his hand
at civil service reform, General Rose
Grams has turned up with bill which
he has submitted to several members
of the House committee and, he claims
has been received with favor. 1t pro-
vides that the clerical force of the gov
. ! ahn h.
to Congressional districts, each district
to have its proper quota. and when
any vacancy exists the particular Con-
gresham entitled to the appointment
J shall be notified. He shall then nom
1 mate not less than four candidates fol
, the place, who shall present themselvel
, for examination before the Civil Ser
: vice Commission, and the one passing
the successful examination shall be Sc
8 lected. The period of Office holdinl
C shall be six years, but the Congress
: man may renOminate the man and b.
: may, after submitting again to a com
: petitive examination, be re-appointed
The government clerk would by thi
simple and pleasing system be Oblige,
: to hustle around and keep in the goo
: graces of his Congressman or take tn
j consequences at the end of his si
e years.
s 1t is difficult to realize that the giant
t of the early part of this century ofte
/. moved the Supreme Court to tears
y Nowadays if an ambitious young Law
v yer-thOse old to the practice neve
# hazard it-attempts oratory, he is Gu
If short by the chiefjustice or some a.
st sOciate with a polite request to site
is to the law and the facts in the caus,
z The arts of persuasion are never pc
l. mitted to be exercised. There mui
D. be just as eloquent masters of pleadin
ct as there ever was, but the argument
n before the Supreme Court are du
affairs to an outsider. The calm, co
lOquial tone. the business.like relatiO
- of facts surprise the visitor who
present for the first time.