The herald., 1893-02-26

GREAT GOVERNMENT BUREAU.
tion has such vast interests, measured by
the amount of money OF number of people
involved.
/ Crest Britain would be an exception to
this IL all the operations of that empire
were managed from the central seat ofgov-
ernment In London, but they are not.
Three-fourths of the empire is colonial, I'M
der home rule, except In certain Inattars
This is the only nation which does q ''busi-
ness" every year Of SEQ, 100000. Fix an
adequate conception of sum Of money Ike
this In your mind, II guu can, The chances
pre- you can't The greatest business house
In the world, that Of the Armours Of Chi
cago, handles million dollars a weak, the
greatest railway systena, she Pennsylvania,
Including all lines, &s,o0o00o week.
Uncle Sans transactions in actual ex-
penditures reach the astonishing total of
kbout $10.0O0,0d0 a week. Tits amount
hnust necessarily increase as the years go
by. Not only is the country growing at a
pfodigious rate, bat the functions Of gov
ernment are being extended to fields I'M
heard and unthought Of a few years ago.
The evolution Of things is always from the
simple to the complex. with corresponding
and constant reactionary struggle Of all the
involved forces TO evolve order and sinplic-
lty out Of the increased cornplexity. So it
Is in nature and in ell the affairs of mnn; SO
also in the great government Of which our
good Uncle Sam stands as the figurehead.
Evidence Of the order which permeates
every department Of the government from
highest to lowest ais found in the fact that
the transfer of March next and the ensuing
months viii be accomplished without fric-
tion or stoppage, and with such ease and
smoothness that no one concerned with the
operations and not with the place holding
OF the great organization would ever know
that change was taking place unless he
was told Of it or read it in the public press.
Nothing will wait, nothing suffer, nothing
stop ON account of the political revolution.
T.ha, the contracts let, the navy kept 60
ing, the army run on. the mails be collected,
CARRIED and delivered; tho books Kept, and
all the infinite operations Of government
continue as If nothing had happened.
The American people, greatly assisted by
the American press, have q way OF making
a great ado over the filing of few thou
sand Offices, and from the din and confu-
sion some persons gain the idea that a
change of administration means complete
revolution in the personnel of the govern
ment. OF the 10000 civil employees of the
their work and drawing their salaries a
year hence.
In Washington, for instance, where about
1900 persons work for the government and
where the rewards of politics are popularly
supposed to be bearing down the tree of pat
fonage, no more than 1900 or 5000 changes
altogether are likely to take place during
the four years Of the coming administra-
tion. Throughout the country the changes
are not very great or rapid. Presidential
postmasters will step out as their commits
Sions expire, and posbmasters at some of
the minor Offices as soon as their Successors
can be agreed upon.
But perhaps $1,000 or more of the 10000
postmasters in the country will not be dis
turbed at all, and the great army of letter
carriers, mail carriers, railway and star
route agents will go on at their work as if
nothing had happened. Compared to the
whole number Of public servants the num-
ber affected by the political change is small
indeed.
This general truth only seems to en-
phasize the vastness OF our governmental
machine. Here is city Of 25o,0O0 souls