The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-09


SONS has returned Washington is
again one great bowl of vivid verdure.
Its soft. balmY atmosphere is once
more ladened with perfume. It's mag
noiia and tulip Frees. are in bloom. Its
newly leafed trees again shadow Its
smooth avenues and It's parks and
circles are freshene4 with roses and
beds of rare foWers.,
All is life and animation. Sparrows
twitter in the qraasBle plinths Of the
corinthian colq&m = s'adorning the Gap
itol. and rebins5 DART here and there
over the bright, green sward below the
marble esplanaae. fEhe'. aeolian notes
of the red-winged biackbird float above
the Botanic Garden, and the hoarse
cawing of crows is heard as they wing
their flight from their feeding grounds
along the East Potomac to their roosts
In Virginia. Grim beetles, uglier than
helgramites, fly to the city from neigh
boring swamps and encircle the electric
lights at night, casting ominous
shadows over the pavements.
Natures spring awakening spurs
Wheelmen to renewed activity. With
800 miles of asphalt and macadamized
roads at their command, they shoot
over the ground like swallows on the
wing. Girls and boys, women and men,
they troop around the street corners in
platoons and divisions. At night from
the plateau at the capitol their tiny
lights CLEAN in all directions They
sprinkle Pennsylvania avenue like fire
flies. It's sidewalks are carpeted with
shadow fretwork by the brilliancy Of
the electric light; delicate tracery. linn
ing every fresh twig and leaf in the
foliage above.
Nor Is nature alone animated. Up
from the South, East and West springs
the office seeker. Like the swamp
beetle, he has seen the effulgence OF
electric lights reflected on the sky, and
ne Is here circling around the flames
singing his wings. He makes fully as
much noise as the crows and black
birds, and Is quite as active as the
robin and sparrow in gathering straws
to thatch his nest. Yet his presence
has not restored the era Of prosperity.
The om1nous sign Furnished rooms to
Lett Is more thickly soWn than ever.
There are more houses to let and for
sale today In Washington than ever be-
fore. The office. seeker Is poor. Fifty
cents q night seems to be his limit. A
FEW OF the wealthy are Quartered at
the hotels, which are full to overflow
ing, but the vast majority are seeking
the cheapest lodgings.
Most OF the choice places are al
ready re-empted. and there appear to
be no others. The civil service law
stands like a stone wall confronting
the army Of place hunters They must
drive themselves against It, At places
the wall Is u nd ~
giving away. The most Of these weak
places are said, to be in the treasury
department, where favoritism under
the late administration held high revel.
TIE first beneficiary is the union
S Siier, who was sent to the rear
months ago under various guises and
pretexts. He is again marching to
the front, and resuming his place In
line.
Things are different in the navy de-
partment. There Gov Long, of Mas
sachusetts, preSides with true dignity,
attending to the duties devolved upon
him, undfsturbed by the splashing in
the pool of politics. With the apostle
of civil service as his assistant the
rules are not apt to be disturbed or
the law violated ar
In the war department Gov. AIger,
Of Michigan, receives his, friends with,
urbane Smiles He has q trusty lieu
tenant in the Hon. George d. Nickel
john, late a member Of congress from
Nebraska. Az popular man in the.
house, Meikeljohn is particularly ac-
ceptable to members of congress who
have dealings with the war depart
ment. The plums in this department,
however, are very few, and are mostly
gathered by army officers.
Grim John Sherman, patient. tena-
cious and brainy, sits upon the tripod
in the state department. The smaller
consulates, which were formerly per-
quisites of the secretary of state, are
now choice tid-bits Of civil service re-
form. Where vacancies occur, under
President Cleveland's order Of 1895,
transfer. Aside from this, persons
who have been in the service have
preference. New applicants are exam.
ined In the state department with
special references to their fitness for
the Office. It is under cover Of these
examinations that the spoilsmen may
gather a small harvest.
In the department Of, justice spring
opens brightly for Mr. Joseph Nc
the places are very few indeed. The
new attorney general is greeted by
scores Of his late congressional asso-
ciates, and they always leave him with
a CHEEKY feeling. The spoilsmen be-
siege him night and day, with vary
Ing results.
Cornelius N. Bliss, with Gladstonian
face, occupies a corner Of the patent
office building as secretary of the in
terror. The rush upon him for places
has been unprecedented. Under his
predecessors, Georgfans had overrun
the department, and were In strong
majority. The conditions, it is said,
warranted extreme changes. A score
of old soldiers have been restored. and
the wedding process still continues.
Calm and thoughtful, the New York
merchant has proved patient listen
err, but he seems sadly out of place
in the department of the interior. The
crowd of applicants, however. has been
very importunate, and he has been
compelled to close his doors at 2 p. m.
Across the street Postmaster General
Gary is enthroned. He is the only
cabinet officer with four assistants.
and he needs them all This is the
busiest of all the departments Post
masters throughout the country of
every grade are being changed quietly
and expeditiously, all under the opera
ton of an order made during Mr.. Cleve-
lands first administration It gives
each postmaster, a four years term,
from the lowest to the highest. The
ante-room of the postmaster general is
filled with congressman from the rural
districts, all, Of course, intensely inter
ested in the success of his administra-
ton. In an adjoining room will be