The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-06
A Sorry Set Of Bummers Headed by the
Federal Brigade.
Like Lot of SqueaIing Swine They Are at the
Z Trough for What SWiII They Can
Derive From It.
BY HENRY JAMES.

CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA-
MENTO, Jan. 5.-Compliments to the
Federal brigade, and why do the lovely
four comprising it not go home and
earn their salaries? They ought to be
made to do so or lose their jobG.
Months have passed since they after 4
8 ed to business, if indeed, they ever at
tended to business. 1t is a certainty
that if it were my business they would
never get a chance to make a bluff at
attending to it.
-. The quartet is a precious one II
. embraces Billy Hamilton. with his
smile and his ambition to succeed John
P. Irish; Jake Shaen, who is an orna-
inent of the appraisers office when he
deigns to be there; Lynch. who draws
salary as Collector, and Jake Step
pacher. As to the latter Jake, made
mention yesterday morning, perhaps
rather too hard. During the campaign
. he warmed a chair in the headquarters
Of Burns. supposed at the time TO be
the headquarters of the Republican
6. committee. He was a Burns disciple
then and he is one yet The four OF
them ought to be chased home. They
. have no legitimate occupation here
They are presumptuous interlopers'
hungry for q new brand Of pie, while
already gorged. Their cheek is beyond
all description. Holding respectable
and wholly undeserved jobs they neg
Tect these to reach for others. They
are the sauealing swine of politics.
That they are here to work for Burns
needs no saying. They are roofing for
. their noses
are keen for the swill he is expected to
pour into the trough as an invitation TO
them to enter with four feet There
should be a ring in the snOut Of each.
90 All Burns men look alike to me. Yet,
it must be acknowledged that there are
many of them. They do not proclaim
themselves always, but they gather in
dark corners as rats in a sewer and
drink bad liquor to the health OF their
Dan. OF course. not all Burns men are
crooks. but all the crooks in evidence
are Burns men. The rest are deluded,
either by promises or by blindness.
They make the plea for Burns that he
has stuck to his friends. Yet there
were doubtless friends on his bond as
Treasurer of Yo1o and as Secretary Of
State. Columbus Waterhouse had been
ms friend, and Waterhouse died with
a curse on his ashen lips for this man
Burns. the man who sticks to his
friends. All this talk Of Burns is sick
ening. The Legislature may elect him,
but every vote in his favor will be
disgrace TO the person casting 1t, and
stamp him either corrupt or as near
fool as one can be and avoid the asy-
lum.. In fact, the Mexican seems to
have no respectable following worth
considering. There are in it no repre-
sentative citizens Merchants, bank
ers. farmers have no use for him. The
mob at his heels is made up of touts,
gamblers, FOUNDERS, Gunsts and deluded
sin-hocents. Nevertheless, they make an
army SO mighty that they may yet
crown this proud State with shame.
George Knight does not seem to be
discouraged. His legal associate in the
Botkin case is here to soothe and sus-
tain and seems fairly bullying with
hope. 1 think that circumstances will
tap him in time to avert an explosion.
Barnes is winning friends, for his
idfgni6ed demeanor is in his favor, his
gift Of oratory has spell-bound, and he
is not credited with holding out allur-
Ing bait. His campaign is clean and
even now there are those to whom this
sort Of thing is pleasing. Bulla, as I
Judge from circulating in the crowd, is,
like Brer Rabbit, laying low.
There remains to be considered the
Grant fight. It is a complex affair, its
aspect changing with the point of view.
/ still believe he will be the winner for
frankly there is nobody TO be observed
. in the race but Burns and himself.
. There are rumors afioat that the
Grant men are buying votes, but they
: can all. be traced to the Burns camp,
and as the average Burns campbell
lower could not be believed under oath,
do not carry much weight. At most it
could only be regarded as a pot at
tempting to blemish the repute of the
kettle The idea of a burst of indgna-
ton from the Burns gang over infrac-
ton of purity would make a Sacra-
ment0 hack horse laugh, and he is the
sorriest Of created things. If every
tough here touting for Burns had
vote nobody else would have a show,
but fortunately ali they can do is to
talk Loudly and swill the whisky some
one else pays for. This, perhaps, makes
life a JOY for them, but it does not
make Senators.
4 few of the State Senators are the
victims of cranial expansion Of violent
type. TREY think the circling planets