The evening times., 1899-03-29
GENERAL WASHINGTON
NEWS AND GOSSIP.

NEWS AND GOSSIP
Joke ON Pettigrew.-Just before the
close of the last session Of Congress Sena-
tor Richard Franklin Pettigrew of South
Dakota had an amendment added to the
paragraph appropriating 100000 to- ex-
tend the free rural delivery service p'e-
viding that the service should be tempo
rary.' Senator Pettigrew's intention. |
have no doubt" said an official CT the
Postoffice Department today, was to ham
per the Department and cripple the SER
vice. but as matter OF fact he has playei
right into our hands, 50 to speak. AS long
as the service is temporary the rural de-
livery agents do not come under the civil
service regulations. The aim Of the De-
partment is4to. give each agent circuit
of about twenty-five miles. He receives
s400 year for carrying the mails over his
route. He must provide his own ouSfit,
horses, wagon, etc, but he is not restrict
ed to the delivery of the mails. He can
act as the agent for any number of pri-
vate concernss delivering dry goods, gro
ceries. circulars (unsealed). papers. patent
medicines, sewing machines or any old
thing. He can act as the general messan-
ger for the people on his circuit and Incl
dentally he will be in position to make
an accurate and valuable poll of his ter
ritory around election time.
You can readily perceive how these
agents can. be made an important adjunct
to the Republican National Committee, for
which Mr.. Hanna must thank Senator
Pettigrew. II the Pettigrew proviso had not
been adopted the rural delivery agents
would have had to be placed in the classi-
fed service and would have been under the
same restrictions that surround all Of the
other employees of the Postoffice Depart
ment. Their work would have been lin
tied to the delivery of the mails strictly.
and all political canyassing and outside
work would have been inhibited. Senator
Pettigrew will doubtless feel considerably
chagrined when he learns the real effect
of his tacking on the word temporary to
the appropriation for extending the rural
delivery service. He has placed powerful
political weapon in Senator Hanna's hands.
and the latter is not likely to be slow TO
avail himself OF 1t. Up here in the depart
ment We are all having a hearty laugh at
the South Dakota Senator's expense. Pet
tigrew is a far-sighted statesman"
Baltimore PoIitics.-Thomas Hayes
a former State Senator will be the Demo-
cratic nominee for mayor of Baltimore. He
won in the Democratic primaries in the
! Monumental City yesterday very handily.
| Mr. Hayes is a stanch German man and
| his election on May 2, will go a long way
toward restoring Mr.. Germans prestige
| in the Terrapin commonwealth. Hayes
| opponent will be Malster the present may
| or OF Baltimore. Masters administration
has not been popular and the election of
| Hayes is regarded as assured. Already u
good many strong Republicans have an
| nounced openly that they will not support
| Malster. With the Democrats once more
| in the saddle in Baltimore city. the odds
| will be decidedly against the Republicans
carrying the State OF Maryland in the
| Presidential contest of 1900.
Senator DoneIsOn Caffery.-"Now
that Senator Donelson Caffery's Senatorial
career is drawing to a close said a resi-
| dent of Louisiana today, lit can do no harm
| to relate little incident in his life that oc-
CURED number of years ago before he
was elected 10 the Senate. He has no
! show to succeed himself at the expiration
of his present term on March 3, 1901, as he
| killed himself politically in Louisiana by
| joining the goldbug Democrats in 1896 but
| still the old man has the respect of the
people of his State. They know that he is
| honest and sincere. The incident TO which
| l alluded was this: John A Morris, the
head of the great Louisiana lottery which
| John Wanamaker finally killed when he be-
came Postmaster General. called on Mr.
| Caffsry one day and rendered him the po-
sition of superintendent of one of his i'm
mense sugar plantations at a salary of
| S25, 600 a year
- But know very little about sugar
growing, said Mr Caffery.
| That is all right said Mr.. Morris. I
| think that you are just the man | want and
| l am willing to pay you $25. 900 a year
Well. L will think it over, said Mr.
Caffery THE next day he wrote Mr.. Nor
| ris letter, in which he said: Before ac-
| cepting your offer of $4,000 a year to
manage the estate you mentioned in cur
conversation yesterday. | wish TO first en-
| Quire whether you expect to go before the
| Legislature of Louisiana next winter End
| ask for a renewal of the charter for the
! Louisiana State Lottery. If So I wish TO
: say that / shall oppose the granting of a
new charter 10 the lottery to the extent of
| my ability
Mr. Morris replied, saying that he did
| intend asking the legislature for a renewal
of the lottery franchise. but he still hoped
| that Mr. Caffery would accept the man
agement of his sugar plantation. Mr. Caff-
| erys answer was a fiat refusal He fought
| the lottery before the legislature. and it
| was largely due to his influence that new
! charter was denied. His fight against the
| lottery made him Senator but the offer
| of $25, 900 a year must have been something
| of temptation TO Mr. Gallery. as he has
! always been a poor man"