Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1897-03-17

rom our Regular Correspondent.

phere of a house. Every visitor to
the White house who was familiar with
the exclusive frigidity which prevailed
in and around the establishment dur
ing it's occupancy by Mr.. Cleveland
comments upon this change. The
crowds which have focked to the
White house during the past week
have not been treated as unwelcome
intruders, but as friendly callers.
And all this without any gush on the
part OF President Mckinley, or of Mr..
Porter, his secretary Senators and
representatives are once more treated
as though they had an equal share in
running the government. In fact, so
far as appointments are concerned,
President Mckinley has let it be
known that they will have more than
an equal share. While it has been
virtually decided that only those ap-
pointments will be made at once which
are considered absolutely necessary,
the Information has been given to
senators and representatives that the
state delegations must get together
and agree upon the applicants for the
prominent appointments before they
Will be made, and it has been strongly
intimated that the division of a state
delegation will be fatal to an appli-
cant's chances. Beyond appointing the
assistants to the members of the cabi-
net, the ambassadors and more prom
1nent ministers, and filling vacancies,
there will be very few appointments
for several months to come, as PreSi-
dent Mckinley is more intent upon
giving the country prosperity than
upon filling few offices, and until
the work of the extra session is COM
pleted he will devote his best energies
to the entire country rather than to
the comparatively few who want office.
Chairman Dingley says there will
be no delay in reporting the new tar
III bill to the house at the extra SEES
sion. Speaking of the reported in
tentlon of the committee to provide
In the new bill that the duties therein
should go into effect upon the day
the bill is introduced, Mr.. Dingley
called attention to a constitutional bar
rler to make a law retroactive, and
said that the most the bill could do
was to provide that the higher duties
should be paid upon all importations
which might be in bonded warehouses
at the time it becomes a law.
Senator Hanna gives his private
| secretary, S. A. Perkins. who entered
politics as president of the Republican
College league a few years ago, and
who was on duty at the New York
headquarters of the Republican Ma
tional committee during the late cam
paign, Sc, 200 year, probably the
largest salary drawn by any private
secretary in the country
Secretary Long this week issued ad-
vertlsements for proposals for furnish
ing s, 100 tons of armor plate for the IL
linO1s, the Alabama and the Wisconsin,
the price for the same not to exceed
$500 ton, as provided by act of the
last congress. The bids will be opened
in April and they will be looked for
ward to with much interest, because
Of existing doubt as to whether there
is solid foundation for the talk about
new bidders entering this field, and
whether the Carnegie and Bethlehem
companies will bid
1t seems that most people failed to
realize the enormous extensions of the
| civil service rules made under the
last administration. Every day in
telligent men can be heard expressing
their surprise on this subject after
they have called at one of the big de-
partments to make enquiries about
places. Stated in brief, excepting
the assistants to members of the oabi-
net, their private secretaries. am
bassadors and ministers, laborers and
scrubblng women, postmasters the
heads of half dozen bureaus such as
pension, education and labor the entire
line of government employees are en-
braced in the classified service which is
controlled by the civil service rules.
Along about next summer, after the
tariff bill has become law and more
pressing matters have been looked
after it will not be surprising if Pres
ldent Mckinley overhauls some of
those civil service extensions made by
Mr.. Cleveland and considerably mod
ifies, if he does not rescind some Of
them outright. There is hardly
doubt that some of the extensions
have proved more beneficial for indi-
viduals than to the government SER
vice.
The following senators have been
appointed a steering committee with
authority to decide what shall be done
concerning the committee vacancies
and other questions: Allison, Hale,
Aldrich, CullOm, Davis, Sewell and
Carter. The silver Republicans and
Populists wanted the Democrats to
join with them in recognizing the
senate committees, but the Democrat
ic caucus did not accept the proffered
alliance. The senate sent the creden-
tails Of Hon. A T. Wood, appointed
by the governor of Kentucky, to the
committee on elections for investiga-
ton and report.