Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-10-29
Allen Warden's Desperate Attempt
to get Post office-Where the
Shoe Pinches.

FROM mlstaS en- feeling of for
bearance, we have never mentioned
the obvious reasons why Allen War
den became Liberal last June.
There seems to be no reason, why
we should withhold these facts that
we have for months possessed, espec-
tally when Mr. Warden is attacking
the official record of Hon. J. Allen
Barber, spreading violent circulars,
and impeaching his motives, or when
jim Knight of Darlington is assail-
ing him as a corrupt hireling, "who
belongs TO the ring body and soul"
The real reason why Mr.. Warden
had such a violent falling out with
the Republican party is merely be-
cause he failed in three successive at.
tempts to get the Darlington Post
Office, (worth the vast sum of $1,000
per year, into his own hands or
bhoSO Vi ulo bOt.
The first was by personal appli.
cation to Mr.. Barber, to recommend
the removal of Ii. Ii. Sudduth, pres
ent incumbent, and the appointment
OF Louis IL. Warden, and followed by
apetition to that effect, signed by only
three men. Mr.. Barber replied that
he would take no action ia making
the change unless warranted in so
doing by the expressed wishes of
the people that a petition openly
circulated and numerouSly signed,
must be sent him to justify him in
interfering with the office.
The Hon. Office Seeker then in
July 1871 circulated petition se-
cretly among his few friends, not dar-
ing to bring his claims openly before
the people, by ballot or otherwise.
The result was, his second petition
was signed by SEVENTEEN men,
asking for Suddrth's removal and
Louis appointment. But Mr. Sud-
duth, being informed of this effort to
take away his business slyly and
without reason, had remonstrance
against the change drawn and cir
culated, and sent it to Mr.. Barber
signed by TWO HUNDRED AND
SIXTY FOUR names. 1t was &C
oompanied by certificates of three
County officers, proving that the
names wers all genuine signatures
of Republicans who got their mail
at that office, and that they consti-
tuted nineteen twentieths OF the
Republican party of the town.
There were also among them six
Of Warden's seventeen signers, who
repented of their first signature.
So really out of 275 Republicans of
his own town, there were eleven
who wanted the Honest Miller to
have charge of their mails, and 264
who decidedly preferred that he
should not. Therefore Mr.. Barber
favored the retention of Mr.. Sud-
duth.
What further efforts be made in
secret from July 1871 to May 1872,
we cannot ascertain but when the
Liberal party began to gather
strength, in April and May, he de-
cided TO make one more violent eff
fort to secretly snatch Mr. Sudduth's
place from him, and if he failed, then
join the Liberals and do his worst TO
ruin the party be could notrule. His
new dodge was to ignore all the
rights and wishes of Darlington men,
indeed Of all Wisconsin men, and get
the appointment by secretly operat-
ing'thr"ugh Grants personal friends
in Galena. Consider, Oh We voters,
how much the Honest Miller would
regard your wishes. if he could only
get into Congress A part of the
proof of this last indicate, brazen
scheme is contained in the following
letter from Lucius s. Felt, Esq. OF
Galena, which we have before US.
New YORK, Sept. l., 1872.
"FRIRND -: Yours of IL III inst
reached me via Galena yesterday,
and | notice contents. Some time
ago, whether in May or June L can
not say, Capt. Augustus Estey called
on me with letter requesting Capt.
Estey and myself to sign request
to the President TO remove the Post
Master at Darlington, and appoint IN
his stead the Hon. Allen Warden.
The letter or application to the Pres-
dent represented that this change
would promote the interest of the
party, or of the Administration, and
Endorsed Mr.. Warden as having rem
dered valuable services to the party
through long series Ofyears,& &c. L
declined to sign the recommendation,
on the ground, first, that | did not
know the statements to be true; and
second, that the people of the town
to be served were the proper parties
to request the change
The foregoing is my recollection
of the matter in which [ took very
little interest, and did not charge
my mind with it although | natur-
ally recalled it when heard that
Mr.. w. was coming out as candi>
date on the "Dolly Warden" Reform
Rebel Greeley. ticket. 1t occurred
to me that Mr.. w. Was no exception
to the rule that you can put your
hand on the sore spot on the head of
every Liberal Refoxner.
Very Truly Yours,
| l. s. Felt