Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-09-08
APartisan Post once.

The National Republican Association at
Washington are having prepared and published
a series of Political Tracts, under the supervis-
lou of the Congressional Republican Executive
Committee. Six of the serios have been is
sued. They are entited-How we are Gov
erned; Lands for the Landess The Attitude
of National Parties in respect to a Pacific
Railroad; The Slave Trade; Overland Routes
to the Pacifc-The Butterfeld Contracts; Or
position of the South 10 the Development Cf
Oregon and of Washington TerritOry-The In
terests of the West; Lands for the Landless
being also published in German.
BY Card in the Washington Republic, from
Lewis Clephane, Secretary of the National Re.
publican Association, it appears that the Post
master at Washington City has been guilty Of
one of the most despcable acts of political
prescription ever perpetated By any Admins
tration or Government officer in order to accom-
plish party ends. The documents prepared by
the Association were franked by the Hon. John
Covode, of Pennsy ylvania, who visited Wash
ington from time TO time for the purpose Of
franking and mailing the documents, which
were regularly forwarded by the Post office
Department On the ID inst, 10000, most of
them for Minnesota, were sent to the Post
Office, as formerly, for distribution. The
packages were retained on the grould that the
frank on them was not that of Mr.. Covode-
Mr.. @. told the Postmaster that he acknowledp.
ed the frank to be his. The Postmaster still
rafuead IN aand tho 1ncntnoufa unIass H.
Covode would avow that he franked all the
documents himself Mr.. c. was not disposed
to makc any such avowal. An appeal was
taken to the Postmaster General, who decided
that no member of Congress, or other person
legally authorized to frank, has a right to dcp>
udze any person to do it for them, even though
he 60 personally and acknowledge it as his
frank. Though the decision of the Postmaster
General is in accordance with the printed reg-
ulations of the Department, the regulation has
never been enforced until now The Card OF
Mr.. @. says
It is a fact patent to the whole country, and
certainly to every individual who has visited
Washington, that but very few members ever
do their own document fr hiking, but generally
authprizs their wives, daughters, sons, or clerks
to do it for them, and never before has an at.
tempt been made to stop these documents be
cause not franked by the members themselves.
For years past, the different political organ.
izations have been in tho practice of sending
out from here documents known at the Post
Office to have been franked by clerks Hployed
by these organizations, and no exception has
heretofore been taken to it,
The Clerks of the Post Office inform me
that il has been their universal practice 10 dis.
tribute all such matter coming to the Office.
The application of an obsolete rule when
the Republican documents were already in the
Washington office for distribution, was a par.
tisan act and nothing else. Postmaster Jones
gave as a reason for not sending the documents
that there was too many of them; that, had
there been fewer of them, they would have been
allowed to pass. He was appealed to to send
the packages already in his possession before
the decision was made, and to apply the rule tC
all future documents. But this the Postma stel
peremptoriy refused to do, even though many
of them were franked by Mr.. Covodo himself
For months past the Hon. T. B. Florence has
been sending through the Post Office thousands
of his Democratic Review circulars, known Ia
have been franked by his Clerk Such is the
political prescription now practieed by the par.
tisan Office holders in Washington.