The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-03-20
hi, experiences with the senator at this

his experiences with the senator at Ems
time Said he: :,
I'VE hung around that hotel all after
noon and we could not &c. at ingalls,.
sent up my card as reporter ofthe Chicago
Post three times, and II came back every
time with the reply that the senator was
not in. At last | saw telegraph messen-
GER come in with a telegram for ingalls,,
and I thought to myself / would make
surety sure by giving my card to him. Ii
the message stayed the senator was IN
and | would know that he was playing me
false if nv card came back. l sent it MP
and the message stayed, and down came
my card with the same old story. l was
rather angry, and took out my card and
wrote on the head of it: Senator John
J. Ingalls,, what a id liar you are,
and signed my name to it. l put the card
in an envelope and left it in the senator's
box The next day 1 again sent up my
card, and / was told to come right up.
Senator ingalls, first asked me what
meant by the card had sent him. told
him my experience in trying to get at him,
and said was mad at the way he had an
swered me. He explained that he had
refused to see anyone because he was sick,
and he then began to chat with me and
gave me very good interview. He did
not seem very angry at my action in WRIT
ing the note, and he passed the whole
thing off with laugh"
The cabinet ministers are the presidents
chief clerks, and | have been watching
them for the past week or so to see how
they earn their wages. Nearly every one
of them gets to his department on time,
and l find the most of them working for
hours after the rest of the clerks have gone
away. Secretary Elkius is always in the
war department till O'Clock. He does
business rapidly and he can get rid
of twenty callers IN twenty minutes,
and send every man away happy. A
great deal of his work he does in the
morning at his house, and he usually
comes to his Office at IL. He says he
works best in the morning and that an
hour before breakfast is worth two after
wards. Secretary Noble spends full day
at the interior department. He is partic-
ular to do everything himself and he
doesn't like to trust matters to
manager or guard like Wanamaker
and Foster, and the result is he does
not turn out matter so fast as the heads OF
the postoffice and the treasury. Postmas-
ter-General Wanamaker comes to the de-
partment early, and you seldom find him
at leisure until after o'clock. He has
had big glass plate made for the top of
his desk, and map of the United
States fits under this so that
the country and its postoffices
are always before him. He does his bust
ness very quickly, decides matters at a
glance, and manages his department on
business principles. He has number of
private secretaries and he dictates all of
his correspondence. All matters that can
be attended to by others are given over to
them, and the result is that the postoffice
department is in better condition than it
has ever been. Secretary Foster is another
hard worker, and it is overwork in the
treasury that has ruined his health.
said a' to his fl friends: This treasury, they
say, killed Manning and Folger, but can
tell you I'm not going to let it kill me-"
As he said this his eyes were bright, his
dark face was full of iron and the rosy
molecules of pure blood shone through
his skin. His step was firm and his big
boned, broad-shouldered frame was the
personifcation of Western strength and
energy. He tackled the work, and after
few months he broke down and since then
he has been under the care of doctor.
He is q good worker, too, and he has as
much common sense as any man in public
life.
1t is funny to see how these rich men
work for fame. Foster must have an in
come of from $50, 900 to $l00, 900 year, and
he pegs away here like slave for less than
$3.50 week. His entertaining is costing
him more than he makes, and
his doctors bills will eat UP the
balance. Postmaster General Wanna
maker must spend three or four
times his salary to keep up his Washington
City establishment, and the profit OF his
big store in Philadelphia is said to be
100000 q year. He does business
something like $50, 900, 900 year and the
cash taken in over the counters every day
ranges in amount between $50, coo and
100000. He has big investments outside
of the store and you would think he had
enough to amuse him without taking
charge of the big postoffice mill. Still
he works here harder than a government
clerk, and has his soul rasped and worried
every day by a lot of congressman, some
of whom are not nit to run peanut stand.
Stephen B. Eikins is many times million
aire. He has nice family. a big income
and big business, but he is devoting him.
self to thank-you business. and is getting
little else for his pains. Leland Stanford
with his S75,000,000 spends hours
and hours every day answering his mail
and he has men trotting about all over the
capital getting Information and other
things for his constituents. His income
must be $4,000 day, but he works like a
coal-heaver for nothing. 1t is the same
with dozen other men I might mention.
There is nothing in public life for rich
man except trouble, and the higher up the
millionaire gets on the political ladder,
the more little fellows there are who like
to spit at him, kick at him and work him
for all he is worth.
FRANK G. CARPENTER