The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-04-02
BENZ. MURDOCK,s VIEWS
On Matters and Things in Washing
ton. D. c.

COny ~ u
T. B. Murdoch of Ell Dorado writes
some interesting matter to his paper,
the Daily Republican:
Joseph Bristow got the appointment
of fourth assistant postmaster general,
as predicted Joseph is an active man
and will chop off the heads of Democrat
postmasters as rapidly as the admins
tratiOn will let, him.
Senator Baker got 40 letters in one
mail, yesterday. That means two or
three hundred each day; and every let
ter requires an answer; while many of
them call for visits to the departments.
Mr. Curtis gets from rs to $50 per day.
Men write to senators and congress-
men about the most ordinary things.
Ihey ask hundreds of questions that
can be answered at home; and it is no
wonder public men die early. To be
elected to office means a lot of grief
Kansas men continue to arrive every
day The NOrmandie hotel is full of
Kansas statesmen who are mostly here
to save the country. There are about
20 ONCE holders in the government serV-
ice, credited to Kansas, who never saw
the state; but a little thing like that
don't count in Washington. Plumb and
ingalls, got them in, and as the most of
them are under civil service rules, there
is no way of getting them out
rms IS a sporty town. from several
standpoints. People seem to find a lot
Of comfort in eating and drinking, al
though there does not seem to be as
much drinking here as formerly. And
yet the biggest Illuminated SIGN on
Pennsylvania avenue reads: Pure rye
whisky" which can be seen from one
end of town to the other.
l am told there is a vast amount of
idle money in the eastern states. Mil
lions and millions of uninvested money,
with no demand for it. First class Sc
curitieS command high premiums
Baltimore man told me yesterday that
he bought $500, 900 of western bonds last
week, and that his bid on the entire lot
b7Tf &c nj
highest bidder.
Speaking of money reminds US to say
that have not seen a silver dollar since
leaving Chicago. Nice, new, one and
ways given in change. This is not
silver country.
A dozen Butler county people have
spoken or written to us about govern
ment jobs. If we get two or three I will
think we are doing well. We may get
three. Butler county has but few men
in the public service. 1 can recall but
in Kansas will go further than 800
here.
It takes 25 cents to buy a pound of
nice beefsteak here. Then these people
are learning a lesson of economy that a
western man wouldn't and couldn't
stand
There is a good deal of excIusiveness
here that must be narrowing to the free
American citizen. Unless you hold a
certain kind of office you can't trot in
the nabob class; and you must have
pedigree, too. Money don't take one in.
1t is probably convenient to be rich,
but riches do not open the doors of So
ciety.
1 don't want to die in this country
They hire professional mourners to ride
in the funeral carriages, and they go
to the graveyard on the trot. AS I write
a ten carriage funeral is going by; an
old residenter says the corpse probably
held down about 81, 200 gOvernmentio job
n A Il
gets rs carriages and 40 mourners, all
al government expense.