The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-05-07
FROM THE CAPITAL.
Our Correspondent Talks in Sage
Manner of Things in General
About Washington.
communicated
WASHINGTON, May 3, 1897.

/
Mr.. Mckinley has fully made up his
mind to curtail some of the extensions
of the civil service rules made
by Mr.. Cleveland, but he lacks the
nerve to do so until public opinion has
been worked up little on the subject.
That is why members of his cabinet
and other prominent officials are max
ing public their opinions against those
rules. Of course, everybody under
: stands that the rules do not keep the
present Democratic occupants of the
positions in office, but so long as they
are in force they do operate to keep
those Republicans who are not already
in the government service out of office
Aud 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
service rules from some of these places
Had Mr.. Mckinley been a man of
backbone he would simply have re-
scinded Mr. Cleveland's orders extend
ing 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
abrogation, when everybody knows
that the public doesn't care CONT
mental who fills the minor offices I'M
der the government.
The Dingley tariffbill should now be
! known as the Allison-Aldrick-P latt
bill, since those three Senators have
added more than thousand amend
ments to the bill, which was to-day
laid before the full Finance Committee
of the Senate. The amendments have
not made the bill any less objection
able as whole to Democrats but some
of them have started many Republi-
cans to kicking at lively rate, but
there is no likelihood that any of them
will kick out of the party traces.
There hasn't been determined fight
made in the Senate against any APP
pointment 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, postmaster at Augusta, Ga,
there will be a fight and very bitter
one, too. The entire Georgia Congress.
sional delegation made respectful pro-
test against appointing this negro
postmaster at Augusta, taking the
ground tibet there were plenty of places
paying just as well that could be given
him, where the performance of his Off
cial duties would not necessitate con-
slant irritation of the entire business
interests of city and the greater part
of its populatiOn-probably nine. tenths
of its mail-receiving population. Post
master General Gary had given the
Georgia delegation to understand that
he was opposed to making this negro
postmaster at Augusta, but it seems
that the negro, who was Mckinley
whoOper-up previous to the st. Louis
convention, had boss Hanna's positive
promise OF the postotfice, if Nc
Kinley was nominated and elect
ed, and that he has refused
all offers of other places, although
some of them carry more salary and
insisted upon being nominated post
master at Augusta. The Georgia Sen
ators believe they can defeat his NOM
lnation in the Senate, and it is certain
that they will fightit to the last ditch,
and hang it up if they can't defeat it.
"'Oh, its just the regular pendulum
swing" is the substance of what men,
6erss of the administration say when
their attention is called to the large
amount of gOld-more than 81, 900, 600
engaged last week for shipment to
Europe, land it will all come back
again in the fall to pay for our crops"
They may be right, but those with
good memories have not forgotten that
Secretary Carlisle and his assistants
talked the same way in 1894, when
nearly lO3,O00,000 in gold went to
Europe, and in 1895, when the value
exported almost reached $l05, 900, 900,
and again in 1896, when 1T went close
to S57 ,OOO,O OO,and they know that this
gold was only brought back by issuing
S26l 10000 in United States 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
United States Treasury to fall below
tne arbitrary limit set without any le-
gal authority by John Sherman when
ne was Secretary of the Treasury.
Everybody hopes that this gold raid is
not made by the New York and Lon.
don money changers to force another
issue of bonds, but that doesn't keep
people from wondering what Mr.. Nc.
Finley would do, should it turn out
that way
Democratic employees of the Treas
ury Department who are not so un.
sophisticated as to expect to be protect.
ed by the civil service commission are
preparing to ''get it in the neck" A
committee has been appointed to in
vestigate all the bureaus of the Treas
ury Department, and to report plan
of reorganization that will enable the
most efficient employees to get the
larger salaries. That sounds all right.
doesn't it? But every wide awake Dem.
ocrat knows that the plan reported
will give the biggest salaries to the Re-
publicans, and is preparing to take his
dose of reduction with as good grace as
he can, if he isn't in position to show
his disgust by resigning when the re.
organization is made.
Seems as if consumption always picks
out the brightest and best. Fully
one-slXth of all the deaths that occur