Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1893-04-13
Our Washington Letter.
(From Our Regular Correspondent.


of hard work, and it has been put to a
severe test since his Inauguration, as
it has been the exception rather than
the rule when he has been able to re-
tire before o'clock in the morning.
and he is always at his desk again be-
fore 8 o'clock. Feeling the need of a
little undisturbed rest, he, in company
with secretary Gresham, left Wash
ington Saturday afternoon and they
will not return until tomorrow. His
destination was not made public for
fear they might be followed by some
OF the importunate Office seekers, anx-
ious personally present their claims.
They went to see Ambassador Bayard
at his>home in Wilmington. Delaware.
The investigation of the Weather
Bureau, now being publicly conducted
after Office hours at the Department. of
Agriculture is very nasty messAas
far it has gone, and it promises to
grow even nastier. The property of
the bureau has, according to the tes-
timony. been stolen and sold to junk
dealers whenever certain of the minor
officials needed little extra whiskey
money. and the stealing was done in
broad day light, the employees of the
bureau being used to load it upon
wagons. About everything seems to
be included in the thefts. upon one
occasion stone step being taken
from the building itself. The princi-
pal men implicated thus far are the
foreman Of the press room and the
Captain Of the watch, but others high
er up are said to have received a
portion of the money, and it is expect
cd that the evidence will prove it.
Secretary Morton is determined to get
to the bottom OF the filth and to see that
every guilty man is punished. regard
less of who he may be or who may be
his friends.
Maj. Gen. Schofield and Major Gen.
Miles have had squabble at long
range over the trouble in Indian Ter
ritory. The quarrel is understood to
have occurred over the carving out OF
an order for the detail of an army Of
ficer to investigate the trouble. No.
U. s. troops will be sent there unless
the Sec. OF the Interior requests it.
President Cleveland said he intend
ed to get the very best man in the
country, who was available, to be
Commissioner of Pensions. and the gen.
eral appreciation Of the nomination of
Judge VIM. Lochren, of Minnesota to
the position indicates that he succeed
ed. Judge Lochren was not an ap
plicant for the position. indeed. he at
first declined to accept it, but with
drew his objections when his party
duty and loyalty were appealed to by
the President. His war record is of
the bravest, although he is not
member Of the G. A. K. no member
OF that organization has so far as
known had word to say against his
special fitness for the position. He was
born in Vermont, but has resided in
Minnesota since 1857. with the excep.
tion of the time he served in the army,
He will take charge of the Pension
Bureau about May first,
Secretary Morton found not only in
dividuals employed by the Agricultur-
al department who were not render
ing services in anything like fair
proportion to the salaries they receive
but a whole division of employees who
have been practically paid for doing
nothing for more than year. This was
the quarantine division OF the Bureau
Animal Industry, which Sec. Merton
has just abolished. Quito howl has
been raised by the republicans because
the chief OF the abol ished division hap
pened to be the late Mr.. Blaine's
brother. altho ugh it is difficult to un-
derstand why that should have made
the slightest difference Surely they
did not expect that democratic ad-
ministration would feel called upon to
take care Of the poor members Of the
Blaine family.
Sec. Lamont hasn't been doing
much talking--he never does-but that
he has been doing much investigating
and thinking is shown by his state
ment that no more army officers will
be detailed for ornamental, purpose.
This may be alittle rough on the army
officers who have been ca llating 10
spend the summer at the Worlds Fair
and the various simmer resorts, but
no one can deny that it is just to the
pc ople who pay these men their sal
ries, and doubsy just to the officers
without "pull'' who have to perform
In addition to their own, the duties 0
the butterflies Of the profession.