Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-05-06
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, May 8, 1897.


mind to curtail some of the extensions o.
the civil service rules made by Mr.. Cleve-
1 land, but be lacks the nerve to do SO until
public opinion has been worked up little
on the subject. That is why members o.
his cabinet and other prominent officials
are making public their opinions against
those rules. OF course every body under
stands that the rules do not keep the pres
ent democratic occupants of the positions
in Office, but so long as they are in forct
they do operate to keep those republicans
who are not already in the government
service out of office. And that is the milk
in the cOcoanut. Promises have been made
that have got TO be kept, and the only way
to keep them is to withdraw the civil ser
vice rules from some of these places. Had
Mr.. Mckinley been man of backbone ht
would simply have rescinded Mr.. Cleve
lands orders extending the rules and said
no more about it, and that would have
been much more manly way than this
beating the devil around the bush in order
to make it appear that the public demands
their abrcgation, when every body knows
that the public doesn't care a continental
who fills the minor offices under tht
government.
The Dingley tariff bill should now BIZ
known as the Allison AldTich-Platt bill
since those three Senators have added more
than a thousand amendments to the bill
which was to-day laid before the full Fl.
nance committee of the Senate. The
amendments have not made the bill any
less Objectionable as a whole to democrats
but some of them have started many repub-
means to licking at a lively rate, but there
is no likelihood that any of them will kick
out of the party traces.
There hasn't been a determined fight
made in the Senate against any appoint
ment yet made by Mr.. Mckinley. but if he
persists in trying to make j. W. Lyons
the negro member of the Republican
National Committee from Georgia, pos :
master at Augusta, Ga, there will be a
fight and very bitter one, too. The entire
Georgia Congressional delegation made q
respectful protest against appointing this
negro postmaster at Augusta, taking the
ground that there were plenty of places
paying just rs well that could be given him,
wher the performance of his official duties
would not ne cessitate constant irritation OF
the entire business interests of city and
the greater part of its probably
nine-tenths of its mail receiving population
Postmaster General Gary had given the
Georgia delegation to understand that he
was opposed to making this negro post.
master at Augusta, but it seems that the
negro, who was a McKinly whOoper-uI
previous to the ST. Louis convention, had
boss Hanna's positive promise of the post.
office, If Mckinley was nominated and
elected, and that he has refused all offers
of other places, although some of them
carry more salary and insisted upon being
nominated postmaster at Augusta. The
Georgia Senators believe they can defeat
his nomination in the Senate, and il is
certain that they will fight it to the lasI
ditch, and hang it up if they can't defeat it
"Oh, its just the regular pendulum
swing" is the substance of what members
of the administration say when their atten'
Iion is called to the large amount of gold
more than 81 engaged last week
in New York for shipment to Europe, land
it will all come back again in the fall tC
pay for our crops They may be right
but those with good memories have moi
forgotten that Secretary Carlisle and his
assistants talked the same way in 1894
when nearly $102 100000, in gold went to
Europe, and in 1895, when the value ex.
ported almost reached $l05 000,0O and
again in 1896, when it went close to $751;
100000, and they know that this gold was
only brought back by issuing $261 900 00C
in q S. bonds. Mr.. Mckinley has said
that he would not issue bonds, but he has
also said that Mr.. Cleveland did right in
issuing them when the continued demand
for gold caused the gold reserve in the u
s Treasury to fall below the arbitrary
limit set without any legal authority by
John Sherman W hen he was Secretary OF
The Treasury. Every body hopes that this
gold raid is not made by the New York
and London money changers to force an
other issue of bonds, but that doesn't keep
people from wondering what Mr.. Mckinley
would do, should it turn out that way.
Democratic employees of the Treasury
DEPARTMENT who are not SO unsophisticated
as to expect 10 be protected by the civil
service commission are preparing to "get il
in the neck" A committee has been ap.
pointed to investigate all the bureaus Of
the Treasury Department, and to report q
plan of reorganization that will enable the
most efficient employees to get the largest
salaries. That sounds all right, doesn't iti
But every wide awake democrat knows
that the plan reported will give the biggest
salaries to the republicans, and is prepar.
ing to take his dose of reduction with as
good grace as he can, if he isn't in posi-.
ton to show his disgust by resigning when
the reorganization is made.