Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-09-14

some lines which would decimate auy
gathering ct people in five minutes, il
read aloud, but I do not remember ' Q
to have run across SO much unrestrained
poetic ability concentrated in one poem
before. l intend to apply to the health
authorities OF Minnesota at once, and see
if I cannot have the muse bound and
gagged, and confined solidarity until the
public has had an opportunity to digest
the already large mass Of poetry which
has been cast in the rhyme foundries Of
the -four state.
The political atmosphere having been
rent into long, thin shreds in the course
OF the past few weeks by the dismal
croakings OF the disciples of populism,
over the employment Of clerks in the de-
partment of state, it may not be alto
gether inappropriate to gaze with a
mildly critical eye into the methods Of
the populist officials in selecting materi-
al for the performance of the clerical
duties which attach to their positions.
The populistic end of the state govern
ment during the past two years, has been
a delightful little aggregation Of family
circles, each one grouped in serene.
contentment about some official hearth
stone, and e~ndeavoring to absorb as
much of the appropriation for salaries as.
was consistent with the number Of rela-
tives possessed by the officials in ques-
ton, who were physically able to draw
salaries. This official prediction for.
the employment Of relations is conspicu-
GUS on the part of each of the populist,
state officials who has rejoiced in the,
possession of a relative sufficiently able
bodied to be listed upon the pay rolls Of
the state, and the number of those who
have enjoyed these benefits of consangu-
unity is Unfortunately large. In the office
OF the governor, a nephew is closely oc-.
cupied in approaching the pecuniary
benefits Of a gubernatorial relationship,
and the auditor of state has also one or
two relatives who are of material benefit
in consuming a liberal appropriation and.
keeping it with scrupulous care from
escaping into that portion of the worlds.
population which is without the audi
torlal family. Relatives have Auctuated
somewhat in the department of the treas
ury, but there has been no f%uctuation Of
the eagerness with which the family abb
sorption OF salary has been character
lied, except perhaps on a rising scale.
In the department Of public instructions.
also, the entirety Of the official family
has been called upon to wrestle with the,
amount of funds which is dispensed for,
salaries through that source, and the re-
Spouse to the call has been nothing short
OF patriotic-the public teat has been.
presided at with or %unfagging persis-
tency and devotion which is impressive.
The attorney general also has endeavor.
ed faithfully to render unto Caesar the
sum total of the things which are
Caesars, he, in the particular instance
Of salary absorption, having transformed
himself into Caesar, and there is no leak
in the tube through which the delicately
favored nectar Of public pap b a sAowedin
an uninterrupted stream into the family
reservoir. The neutrality-suspicious.
want.your-back-scratched policy has
been pursued by the administration in
every minute detail of the performance
of official duties, the spoils system
which is IN force is of a greedy variety
which would have cast the widest
dreams Of old Andrew Jackson into the
densest of shade, and the capitol addition
is a source of populistic support which
is looked upon with exceptional favor
l do not propose at this time to estimate
either the capacity or %incapacity of this
administration Of families, except in the
art of nest-feathering, where its superior
capacity Is undoubted. My only object
is to recall to the persons who have par
ticipated in the dismal chorus of howls
which have gone up of late, that the
structures in which they live are essen
TALLY crystalline, and that the propul-
zion of pebbles in which they have
joined so unanimously of late, comes
with bad grace. When it comes to the
political pie-eating contest, the popu-
lists have demonstrated themselves the
most adept Of experts, and not particular
whether it be partaken OF with knife,
Fork, spoon, or after the digital fashion,
which ensues out Of q temporary absence
OF any Of the implements mentioned
above.
THE SPECTATOR.
The Eclipse.
II the sky be clear at the time, q small
partial eclipse Of the moon will be visible
here Friday night. The upper por-
ton OF the moon will then pass through
the lower part Of the earth's shadow, and
at the time Of greatest obscuration,'
10:3l:36 p. NJ, this shadow will extend
over only about one-fourth of the moons
i diameter. The shadow will first annaar