Los Angeles herald., 1891-11-10

| ~~2iA anu PiOlouHN, dlJcT tud ira
ditions of diplomacy, they say the secre-
tary of agriculture talks too much. But
"Uncle Jerry" has small patience with the
mystery and mystifcation business, and
bluntly says SO. "This is not my bust
ness" he is wont to say, "but the peoples.
Ii 1t were mine l would keep still about it,
| or tell it, just as l had mind. But it Is
the public's affair, and why shouldn't the
public know it? guess I'd make poor
diplomat, but"-and here the secretary
stopped, so l shall have to finish the sem
tence for him-"but l get there just the
| same"
Congressman Roger Q. Mills, of Texas,
was in town few days ago, resting from
his labors in the Ohio campaign prepara-
tory to taking part In the campaign in
Massachusetts. He talked very interest
ingly with me about the hardships of a
campaigner's life. 81 was three years in
the war" he said, land l campaigned
against that brilliant soldier, Tecumseh
Sherman; but the hardest campaigning /
have ever experienced is that on the
stump in northern state. do not mean
| to say that the people are unkind to me or
| discourteous, for they are universally re-
| spectful and pleasant. A man from the
south is as well treated on the stump in
What / complain of is the apparent as
sumption on the part of the campaign COM
mittees that public speaker is sort of
animal who can stand anything. We ar
| rive in town, after speaking two hours
| the night before a hundred miles or more
away, tired and hoarse and very sleepy.
We want nothing SO much in the world as
| q chance to lie down and rest and be alone.
| But the campaign committee orders it
otherwise They appear to think we are
In need of amusement, and if they don't
entertain us we will go away feeling neg
lected and lonesome. So they bring in the
prominent men of the place to be intro
duced, they take us carriage riding, they
pilot us through their factories and their
public buildings, they show us their seen
! cry, they get up dinners for us and finally
ask us to stand out on platform and view
a long parade. All this is well meant and
all interesting enough to a man who is in
condition to enjoy it. But the weary cam
paigner, who has had two or three weeks
of it, wants to go away to some place where
| there are no bands, no torchlights, no din
ners, no prominent citizens anxious to
shake hands, no scenery, no anything Of
| that sort and lie down and die in peace
"Then there is the outdoor meeting"
am. can hardly speak above whisper.
/ don't believe you would be able to whis-
per if you had been making speeches in the
| open air every night for two or three
| weeks as have-out where the cold fall
wind blows down your throat and puts
husks on your organs of speech. Another
dreadful thing about this political cam
! paigning is the way in which the local COM
mittee puts a fellow upon a platform built
about ten feet high. Every man who has
| had experience at public speaking knows
| that good, spirited, kindling speech
| is impossible from such an elevated posi-
ton. The ideal platform is about eighteen
inches or two feet above the level of the
| ground or auditorium. The speaker wants
I to be.as nearly on level with his hearers
| as possible One can't throw his voice
down at people as he would fling stones at
them from an eminence He must be
where eye looks into eye, and man stands
face to face with man in a normal, natural
position. Eye kindles eyeand spirit warns
spirit, and the public orator who wants to
magnetic his audience, and be magnetized
by it in turn, will not suffer himself to be
| perched upon scaffolding."
A queer feature of official life at Wash
| ington is the first nights at the theater. A
ment. The manager is anxious, naturally,
for good start. He wants his first night
to attract attention and ''catch the town"
The first thing he does is to go over to the
White House and invite the president and
his family to attend placing box at his
disposal. If two boxes are needed to ac-
commodate the presidential party they are
! forthcoming. Then he goes to two or three
| cabinet ministers and tenders the remain
| ing boxes, and if these invitations are not
accepted then enough foreign ministers
are invited to fill out the quota. Often
half hundred seats in the parquet are
| given out to high officials and senator's
! At a recent first night one of the local
theaters every box was occupied by the
president and his family or by cabinet off,
GERS and members of the diplomatic corps,
while fully a hundred seats in the audi
forum were occupied by officials and their
wives. 1t is rather odd that the president
of the United States and members of his
cabinet can be used for advertising pur-
poses in this way, but it is done almost
every week of the winter season, and has
been done for many years. 1t is one of the
customs of the capital
There has been great deal of talk of late
concerning the government of cities.
AdhSJ ihouy VI NY IcdutrS Will De Sidu W
learn how this, the national city, is gov
erned, for in the Judgment of many STU
dents of the science of government it is the
best regulated municipality in the United
States. Of course every one knows that
the president is virtually the mayor of
Washington, while congress is the local
board of aldermen; but not every one
knows that the administration of the local
government is placed in the hands of a
board of three commissioners-onea Dem
ocrat, one Republican and the other an
of11cer OF the engineer corps of the army,
and known as the engineer commissioner
These commissioners are appointed by the
president, and are generally chosen from
among the most highly respected citizens
of the district. The board collectively
manages all departments of the local gov
eminent, but a division of labor is made
for convenience and better attention to de-
tails The engineer commissioner, of
course, takes charge of public works, such
as bridges, water works, sewers and build
ings One of the other commissioners
takes the schools and fire department; the
other the police, finance and streets. There
Is no politics in the administration, direct
ly or indirectly. The politics of a candi-
date for appointment or employment in
the city government is never asked, and If
known cuts no figure whatever. The civil
service law applies to majority of the
clerical employees of the district, and civil
service spirit pervades the entire organiza-
ton from top to bottom. With such con-