Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 June 1874 — Letter from Washington. [ARTICLE]

Letter from Washington.

Mr. Henry BoAvman, noAV clerking in the House of Representatives, at Washington City,. writes to a friend under date of May 23d, a very interesting letter from which we are permitted to publish the folloAving pssages: “I think I will be ‘at home bv the. 4tli of July; that is Avliat all of us hope. The other day I Avrote you concerning the reception of the Indiana Editorial Association.— I think I will succeed in getting a permanent place here by fall; at present the chance is dull, on account of the reduction made by Congress in the clerical force.— Some three hundred will be discharged by the first of July, and no neiv appointments will be made before fall. I think I will obtain a place in the Department of Interior. “You say politics arc raging, and every one Avants office; Avhen do you nominate candidates? General Packard says he will not be a candidate. His reasons are partly on account of so / muc'h faultfinding among his constituents, and he also says he cannot save anything out of his salary and thinks it is now time be Avas making some arrangements to lay by something for his family. “I do not khow whether my idea is right or not, in sending new members here every term. I find that those who have had experience

succeed best and do twice the business that new members do. I find General Packard stands high among the members, not only among Republicans, but also with Democrats. There are four Democrats on his committee, whp, when they heard he did not expect to come back, seemed to regret it. — Yesterday I heard one of them persuading him to try and get the nominaton and return. This man is from Ohio, and a mighty good man if he is a Democrat. He was a war Democrat. He says lie was elected by Republicans as well as Democrats, and that he received nearly as many votes from the former as he did from the latter; and, therefore, he does not consider himself under any more obligation to the one party than the other; and he shows this feeling in his work. I think we should have a good, experienced man here in the next Congress. The issues will be cheap transportation and more currency. The South and West Avill unite to fight the East upon these issues. This is demonstrated to a certain extent in the present Congress; and Eastern men are becoming somewhat alarmed, for well they know that in this contest they will be compelled to yield. Western and Southern members have no scruples about telling them the situation, and they already fear the result.”