The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1894-12-28
A GOVERNMENT CAB.
MAINTAINED IN NEW YORK FOR CABI.
NET MEMBERS.

tration Save Car Fare.
This great big glorious country owns
a second class carriage, which is fre.
quently in evidence about the Victoria
hotel, New York city. The employees
of the hotel say when they see it:
"Mr. Lamont s here.
Meaning the secretary Of war.
The bearing of the driver of this not,
able vehicle proclaims as unmistaka.
bly, as if he wore placard:
"This brougham is official -
Which it is, being an item of the as.
sets Of the war department. Into this
official envelope. SO to speak, the srcre.
tary puts himself, with directions to the
military coachman.
Certainly, says Lieutenant Colonel
James NJ Moore, the depot quartermas-
ter. He has right to use that car
riage OH official business 3"
Unquestionably
go to the polling place on Sixth
avenue" ordered the secretary whom he
last used the carriage.
Tho driver snapped up and snapped
down his right hand in good military
form by way Of signifying that ho ul.-
derstood Here is one account published
next day of tho casting Of yn4 vote:
Secretary of War Dsast. = Lamont
voted at the barber shop .- {!6 Sixth
avenue When the sccretals. a&compa
MED by his secretary, Nj. AeaIcr, drove
up to the polling place il "a coupe dur-
ing the morning, he found a line ot men
extending to TIE block beyond. Ic con
cluded to attend to some private busi
ness and return later. Toward noon
the secretary came back. Again he gaz
ed upon long line OF voters. Oao Of
them recognized him and offered him
his place in the procession. The sccre
tary thanked him, but declined and
took his station at the tail end Of the
line. Others soon found out who the
distinguished little man was and shook
him warmly by the hand, After wait
ing an hour and being :uSscd about like
football Secretary Lamont discovered
he had other business and again drove
away. While absent he pot some lunch.
He came back about o'clock and got a
chance to vote.
No mention of the fact that all his
vehicle, driven by IS government paid
driver! No intimation that this priv
ilege of the private citizen was charged
to the stable account of the war depart
ment!
Mr.. Lamont put his vote into this
official envelope, and it reached its des-
tination and was duly counted. gov
ernment brorgham is not an official Ell
velope in the ordinary sense of the term,
and to that extent the statement about
this particular incident of Mr.. La
mont's personal business in New York
on Nov. 6 is figurative.
Mr.. Lamont would doubtless scorn to
actually and literally use il department
envelope for his private business. Do
ing this literally, as everybody knows,
involves a penalty. Mr.. Lamont knows
that law He takes care, moreover, that
all his subordinates shall be familiar
with it. Orders and notices about it
signed by the secretary arc plastcred all
over the war department.
But there is a distinction, if not a
difference. between doing thing lit
orally and doing it in substance, or in
effect, or any way but literally.
There is such thing as legal six,
and there is such q thing us an illegal
half dozen. The law is literal, very.
The brougham in which Mr. Lamont
was driven to the polling place is kept
at 122 West Eighteenth street, this sta
BILE being q plain two story brick struc
ture, one of large row Of such build
ings, all used as stables The United
States pays the rent Of 1872 through tho
quartermaster's department Of tho
army.
The secretary's economy in the mat
ter Of hack fare-he goes to Coney Is
land. presumably on official business,
and where else he wishes to go in the
same broughanl-inay be regarded as
of q distinctly objectionable, not to say
pernicious, sort by contingent Of tax
payers with antiquated notions of pro-
priety.
The practice is condemned, to be
sure, by President Cleveland's often
quoted definition of public office.
But il definition-well, is only q def
milton. 1t doesn't threaten with penal
ty. And if there We're penalty, mind
Won. definitions arc made exclusively
for and the ponalty would apply eSclu
sively to other people.
Who went duck hunting in the light
house tender Violet?
The author OF tho definition.
Who used another government vessel,
the John D. Rodgers, for his personal