Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1899-05-03
Letter from Harris.
WASHINGTON, APRIL 20


EDITOR TIMES -
That have retrained for so long from
inAicting myself on you and your patient
and ong-suffering readers should promote
feeling Of gratitude and rehet in your
noble breasts, and possibly the intermis-
sion may have given you strength to en-
dure another dose. In any event, please
give me the credit of sparing you tor a
time.
Washington is at its best now, although
many congressman are yet here and the
beef commission still fingers. The scent
| of the masses of flowers in which the city is
buried sort OF alleviates and counteracts
the beef odor, however, and the town is
decidedly thing Of beauty. From the
18th of April till the LIST of June Washing
ton is the most beautiful and desirable res
idence spot on earth. About the middle
of June the suns rays prevail to such an
extent that the nights are hot enough even
for good corn weather. You know what
that means. When the heat begins to
| soften up the concrete and take the paint
| off the bronze statues, it is time to flee as
bird to the mountains or shore and call
tor iced ginger beer. But for the next six
weeks the city is bower of bloom, the
birds give continuous entertainment, the
air is Just the right size and is filed with
all the balm there is in Gilead and over
against .sOle Virginny." Too bad, that
in few short months the birds and flowers
will have had their day and that the town
will be ove1fown by the usual brand Of
congress, isn't itP
| So much for Washington these days.
Society has gone into its hole, and unlike
the measly woodchuck, will hibenate until
fall Several senators and members OF the
house are here yet, and many more are
continually coming and going. Their
chief business now is advising the admins
tration and telling the reporters which way
the country is drifting. Regardless OF the
social and political stagnation, ! have dis
covered few facts regarding one or two
matters which may interest you.
| A "league of republican workers" is
about to be organized here, devoted to the
overthrow of what is known as civil
Sci vice reform" The membership roll has
already been signed by nearly 5000 Of the
most prominent and influential republicans
Of the city and it is proposed to organize
by the election of officers in about two
weeks. 1t is also proposed to organize in
every state in the union before the next
congress meets IN December. The mem
bers believe that the administration should
prefer those who made 1t and put it in
power in the filling Of public offices, rather
than those who worked and voted against
it. You may call this the "spoils doc
trine," or whatever you please, but the fact
will remain that it is Justice, fairness,
decency and straight business. tell you,
my friends, that the nearer one gets to the
inside working OF civil service, the more
he is convinced of the utter humbug and
hypocrisy of the whole system. 1t is
swindle and fraud, the refuge of holier-
than-thou mugwumpery and the asylum Of
a gang of political nondescripts. The
commission employs force OF some hum
dreds of professors and clerks whose sole
business it is to squelch those who have
borne the heat and the burden of the day,
and the government-which is the people
are paving a vast sum yearly for the main-
tenance OF this incubus. Five out OF every
seven members of either house of congress
are heartily IN favor of the suppression Of
this sham and if they have the courage OF
their opinion and knowledge will certainly
repeal it at the next session.
Another matter of the most vital import
ance Just now to every American is the
Cuban problem. What is the United
States going to do, or what does it want to
do with CubaP No policy has been def
nitely declared or defined as yet, and the
idea of the administration seems to be to
wait and see how matters in the island will
turn out, or in other words, to let the
problem work itself out and take the con-
sequences of manifest destiny" This
appears to be the intention on the face Of
the situation, but as matter OF fact, it is