Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-06-09
Republican State Convention.
Consistency"

Chairman State Cen'l Com.
Consistency"
The editor of the McGregor Ner'
denies in his last issue that he sign
ed a petition for the removal of MIR
Tompkins from the McGregor Post
O4ficey but says that he signed pc
sitlon for the appointment of Mr.
Bell, Tompkins' successor. His at
tempt to explain this distinction
without a difference, is embodied
in a "problcm'' in three PROPOSE.
tons, which he, Propoumds for solu'
ton by the joint effort of the BULLE'
TIN and Dubuque Times. Taking
these points in their order we com
mencc with
Quantity Givcn.-1st Domains letter
to a prominent citizen Of McGregor ask
ing that a petition be circulated in
McGregor, for the appointment Of Mr.
Bell as Postmaster Of this city. ~
Mr.. Donnan was assured by par;
ties in McGregor that a large ma
jority of the Republicans of that
place desired change in the Post
Office. When he was written to in
behalf of Mr.. Bell to succeed Temp
kins, he answered that the impcra-
tive condition of his favorable. ac-
ton in the matter would be a gencr-
al expression by the Republicans
in favor of Mr.. Bells appointment.
In this way did Mr.. DOMAIN ask
"that a petition be circulated for the
appointment of Mr.. Bell" and in no
other. The next proposition in this
formidably constructed ''problcm"
is rs follows:
Given 2d-That Mr. Bell is man very
much respected in this community, and
that he is relative of Mr. Donnan.
That Mr.. Bell is a man very much
respected in the community of
McGrcgor is undeniably true. That
he is a relative of Mr.. Donnan is
not true. The elimination Of this
mathematical structure, the 'prob-
lem" to which these "givens" are
the preliminary flourishes, will be
found in the following paragraph:
Given 3d.-That the Hon. Homer E.
Newell in circulating the petition, to
such as objected to signing it on the
grounds that it meant the removal of
Tompkins, said that it had been decided
to remove Tompkins, and that the petit
ton was only to show that Mr.. Bell was
not personally Objectionable to those who
received their mails through this Post
Office. Given further, that Douglas Lief
fingwell, editor Of the McGregor Neacs
under this statement of facts, and as he
regarded it, at Mr. Domains request,
signed said petition how much did the
said Douglas Lef1ingwell demand the re-
moval of Tompkins; and how much did
bis signature amount to, as cause for
the removal of Tompkins, and how much
importance could Mr.. Donnan attach to
list of signatures thus obtained, especial
" when the friend of Donnan who circu-
lated the petition said that as far as the
matter of removal was concerned, the pc
tition didn't amount to Oh?
We are afraid that the efforts of
the editor of the Ne,rs to make him
self appear as the friend Of Temp
kins, while he was signing the pc
tition Of the man who was trying to
supplant him, will not be highly APP
preciated by the latter. He i'm
pliedly acknowledged that the natur-
al inference from the act of signing
Bells petition would be that he was
hostile to Tompkins; and yet he
seems to have yielded an easy ac-
quicsccnce to Newell's solicitations,
not even accompanying his sigma
!ure with a protest against the re-
moval of Tompkins, or consulting
with Tompkins' friends as to the
policy of the act. If he is Il friend
Of the ex-postmastcr, the latter is
probably praying fervently to be
delivered of such indiscretc friends
in the future. In view Of the cir
cumstances, our friend of the Neecs
will please excuse us from the solu-
ton of that part of the ''problcm"
which looks to the discovery of just
show much his signature amounts
to as cause for the removal of
Tompkins." As to Chow much the
said Douglas Lef1ingwell demanded
the removal of Tompkins" besides
his admission that he signed the Pc
tition Of Mr.. Bell, we have the
further fact that he did not 81 gn the
remonstrancc gotten up by the
friends of Mr.. Tompkins; and if
that is not enough, we have the
statement of respectable citizen of
McGregor whose general credibility
Mr.. Lcffingwell will not question, to
the effect that the latter claims or
has claimed to have written some
most pungent letters to Mr.. Harlan
against Tompkins. In short, the
weight of testimony seems to indi-
cate that the editor of the Ne,cs, in
common with the great majority of
the Republicans Of McGregor, was
at first in favor Of a change in the
Post Office, but that something, we
will not presume to indicate what,
prompts him to make the contrary
appear as the facts.
According to act of Congress,
passed in July, 1870, the United
States army is to be reduced to
l..