The evening times., 1900-10-12
NOTES OF THE CAMPAIGN.
Stripping This Town.-Tbere are ne

Stripping This ToSn.-There are per-
haps fewer male Government employees in
Washington at present, or this will be the
condition in a few days, than the Oldest
inhabitant can recall. The departments
are being stripped of voters by Mr.. Han
mas agents. who are sending them home
to vote. For week mysterious persons
have been haunting the departments with
carefully prepared lists of employees, but
only yesterday did the earnest work of
ordering the Government clerks home be-
gin. Soon after the lists were prepared
each male clerk received a letter from an
official of his State committee notifying
him of his privilege to vote, impressing
upon him the necessity of getting his
name upon the registration books at the
proper time and adding a postscript say
ing that every Government clerk who
failed to go home and vote would have his
name enrolled upon a list in the keeping
of the State Committee This, Of course.
is plain threat to the clerk that If he
does not drop his work here and make
two trips home to vote-one for the pur-
pose Of registering and the other on cleo
ton day-he will lose his job. The effect
is what the Hannaites felt certain 1t
would be. The clerks in nearly all
the departments are in mental
condition bordering upon a panic.
They are compelled to pay their
own way home, and though the rail-
roads have been forced by Mr.. Hanna to
give the clerks a rate of one and a third
fare for the round trip, still the two
trips most of them will be compelled to
take will make big holes in their little
savings. The Bureau of Printing and
Engraving has been hardest hit in this
way OF any of the departments. The rea-
son of this is that the great mass of the
men employed there are from the Big
cities, where they received the training
for the work they are now doing. All
the biz cities require the voter to regis
ter before election day. TWO hundred
and seven men in the Bureau or Prin ing
and Engraving were yesterday ordered to
one city alone-New York-by their i'm
mediate superiors. 1t is thought that as
a consequence OF this wholesale depart
ure OF employees this bureau will
have to close down for a few days
maybe week. The salaries OF the men
will go on while they are away 1t is
ererally believed that the ordering home
Of all Government clerks to vote indi-
Gates that the Hannaites are not so con-
fident Of the result of the election as
they publicly pretend to be. Probably
the Civil Service Commission will be
called upon to investigate this matter
but OF course not until after the election
Spooner to RetiPe.-The publication
in The Times few days ago OF the rumor
that Senator Spooner has been slated for
Secretary of the Interior in the event of
Mr.. McKinley's reelection has brought
from close friend Of the Wisconsin
statesman positive denial Of this report
The Senator's friend declares that when
Mr. Spooner announced several months ago
his intention to retire from public life at
tie expiration OF his term in 1893 he was
in earnest 1t is alleged that he has got
out of public life all the honor there is III
1t for him. and that he desires to devote
the rest of his life to his family He has
TWO sons who are just beginning the prac-
tee OF law in Milwaukee and like the
aHectiOnate father that he is Senator
Spooner wants TO start his boys off right
With that end in view he will remove his
residence from Madison to Milwaukee and
give to the law firm of his sons the pres
tIge OF his own name. Then, too 1t de-
VelopS that through lucky inyestme
Senator Spooner has amassed fortune Of
several hundred thousand dollars during
the past few years. It is said that he was
materially assisted in this BY the late
Roswell P. Flower, who made quite a num-
Der of his friends rich just before he died
by taking them in on the grour;i floor in
two or three of his gigantic financial
schemes Furthermore 1t is asserted by
Senator Spooner's friend that he regards
the Secretaryship of the Interior as a dis
tinct step-down for a Senator though II
is admitted that if the Northern Pacific
Railroad should urge the distinguished
Wisconsin statesman to give the benefit
or his great ability 10 the Interior Depart
ment ne might accept the Secretaryship
"A case In Point-Down In Texas one
OF Mr.. Hanna's officeholders is running for
office in spite of the boasts made by TIE
Administration henehmen at the opening
OF the campaign that no Federal employe
would be permitted to participate actively
in politics. In the San Antonio district tho
Hon. c. c. Drake. who is Collector of In
ternal Revenue. has been nominated by
the Republicans for Congress. and reports
which reach Washington indicate that
Drake has been neglecting his official dU-
ties for two months or more while advanc-
ing his Congressional aspirations. An in
fuentlal German Republican newspaper is
nghtlng Drake bitterly. denouncing him as
a carpetbagser, among other things.
and loudly demanding that the eu-
thorltles at Washington enforce upon
Drake the rule laid down against Federal
appointeeS running for Office Instead of
giving heed to this demand, the Hannaites
nave sent Drake a big campaign .contrlbu-
ton, and are otherwise helping him in his
race Some oil the Republicans of the dis
trlct threaten to haul Drake up before the
ClVh Service Commission unless he applies
hlmsef 10 the duties of his responsible Do
sltlon as internal Revenue Collector more
dlhsently than he has been doing for the