The Portland daily press., 1875-07-16
Fernando Woods Fiction.

some Time since, in the winter of 1874, we
think, Mr.. Fernando Wood, the Democratic
leader in the last House of Representatives,
made speech 10 be used as campaign
document. 1t was printed and widely circu-
lated at the time and has since been used by
several Democratic journals as authority.
One of Mr.. Woods many false statements
was that the number of civil officers connec-
ted with the government in 1873 was $4,000
against 44,500 in 1869. Last August the
Argus made the same statement, not as Mr.
Woods, however, but asserting that it was
based upon figures in the official register.
Soon after Mr.. Wood made that remarkable
speech, the PRESS called attention to il and
its falsity as shown by Republican members
upon the floor of the House; and so clearly
and conclusivey was the faIsity of Mr.. Woods
assertions shown that the distinguished
Democratic leader did not even attempt to
defend his figures. Again when the argus
published the Wood statement last August.
the correct figures were given. Now it reit-
crates the exposed falsehood of Mr.. Wood as
if it were for the first time made public.
In the first place Mr.. Wood stated that
60,225 of the federal officials were connected
with the Postal Department. Mr.. Packer,
chairman of the House committee On that
branch of the public service, showed by the
official register there were 47,O1O persons
connected with the postal department, in
Guiding postmas ters, clerks, route agents,
contractors and every employe who gets S.
year for taking mail bag from a railway
station to the ofice-a difference of 1925!
1t is said that Mr.. Wood arrived at his con.
clusions respecting the number of postal Off
cials by counting the number on one page
and multiply the result by the number of
pages, negecting to note the fact that the
register contained the names of all the Off
GERS who had resigned or been dismissed dur
ing the three years preceding the publication
of the pamphlet. In his speech, Mr.. Wood
gave the number of postal officials in 1869 as
IS, ,294, when the mail routes of the country
measured $1,000 miles. In 1873, the rea,
number was 47,010 when the routes measured
$4,000. An increase of less than nine thou
sand officials, including every rural post
master, contractor and possible employe is
not very extravagant.
In the War Department, Mr.. Wood found
1,666 civil officials. Mr.. Kellogg of Connecti-
cut met this statement with the register in
hand, by showing that there were 992 by
actual count, and this contradiction the Five
Points reformer did not attempt to refute.
Mr.. Wood next went to the Navy Depart
ment, where he found S,241 civil officials in
1873 against POI in 1871. With this same
register in hand, Mr.. Kellogg showed that all
the civil and other officials in the navy, in
cludng the naval cadets,e only numbered
2,349, of which only 1872 were strictly civil
officials.
Thus it will be seen that Mr.. Wood in Civ
ing the civil list of three departments made a
mistake of 21, ,99S! Mr.. Wood scarcely made
an attempt to prove that he was correct, and
when he did, found himself confronted by the
very reports which ne had intended to quote.
Nevertheless the argus has second time
started this exploded talsehood on its round
of duty and we may expect to see it in some
form every week during the next two
months.
Now that or Democratic contemporaries
are going TO pursue their old policy and run
the campaign on fictions, it is but fair that
they give us something fresh. They should
not be discouraged at the mishap of DR.. Jor-
dams sensation respecting the Agricultural
College scrip.