The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1911-04-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.
(BY George W. Summers

Sentahves are now overwhelmed
with applications from Demo
Gratis from all over the country
for positions under the coming
session of Congress. And as
applications have been made for
probably a hundred times as
many offices as there are Offices
to bestow, it follows that a
large percentage of the appli-
cants are doomed to disappoint-
ment.
West Virginia looms up strong
among the applicants for posi-
tons under the Democratic Con-
gress and West Virginia must
prepare to be disappointed, for
very few of them can hope to be
appointed, Congressman Ham
ilton alone, who is the only West
Virginia Congressman here yet,
has something more than 200 APP
plications for positions under
the Congress. When it is re-
membered that there are only
about 700 offices at the dispo-
sal of Congress and that there
are 391 Congressman all clamor-
ing for some of these positions,
it can readily be seen that of
necessity many will be disap-
pointed.
Among the employees Of the
House, manV are required to
possess technical skill. There
are engineers who are familiar
with the type of machinery used
in the capitol; indeXing clerks
who are familiar with the system
of indeXing the record and can
keep them up in proper form
from the start; clerks to commit
tees who have been employed in
the same positions for many
years under various administra-
tons men the very nature of
whose services require exper-
fenced men, and the result of all
this is that the number of posi-
tons which can be disposed of is
less than the number of employ
ees by a good deal, and thenum-
Der of new appointees is CORE
spondingly reduced.
There are few West Virginians
under Congress at the present
time and probably all of them
will be replaced by Democrats,
but at that there will scarcely be
more than six or eight places
to be appointed to the State and
it will mean not more than one
or two to the congressman, at
the most. So many Of the faith
full from the Mountain State will
have to remain in the State and
out of the public service until
the Democrats elect a President
and have departmental positions
to give out before getting a place
in Washington.
From reports which come to
Washington Of the banquet given
Senator Watson by his fellow
townsmen at Fairmont last week
it is evident that Democrats and
Republicans Of that town alike
resented the imputation that he
is not bona fde resident of
Fairmont They turned out to
the number of 500. which was
the extreme capacity of the
room where the banquet was
held, and regardless of politics
claimed the new Senator as q
fellow citizen and resident of
Fairmont. The banquet was
presided over by Emmett M.
Showaltcr q Republican and
formerly a Federal office holder.
and Senator Scott Meredith. who
led the fifteen Senators from
Charleston 90 Cincinnati during
the last session of Che lcgisla-
ture. was one of the speakers.
John w. Mason former Commits
sioncr Of Internal Revenue under
a Republican administration.
sent a letter saying be- had bad
personal acquaintance with .N
generations of the Watson family
and had never known anything
but good of amy of tbom Scna.
tor Chiffon was present at th,
banquet and made a speech a
did Congressman John ~ Davis
from the first district senator