Litchfield enquirer., 1877-10-04
From scribner's Magazine. EXPERIENCE IN PoST.oFFICE
 APPOINTMENTS. ..arHsF

| I BECAME member of Congress on the 4th of March, 1869, at time when great ! many changes were about to be made in the offices to the country. Andrew John.
 son had succeeded in filling the larger part of them with Democrats, or with such Republicans as indorsed his policy, and when General Grant became President it
 was universally expected that most of
 these heads would drop into the basket. Nearly all the postoffices were to be
 considered vacant. and was asked to
 make recommendations of pOstmasters to
 be appointed in my district. It was known
 to every office-seeker in the state that |
 would be asked to do this, and I was lit.
 terally overwhelmed with applications. I
 saw that must go through all those pa-
 CTS and undertake the difficult task of
 providing berths for more than one hun.
 dred patriots, and that must select them
 from thousand applicants, each of whom
 supposed himself just the man above all
 others who had eaIned and ought to
 k-~--~> Ah4- -s>loAA and who waa haaidaa kha
 member; Most of these applicants were
 very profuse in the expression of their
 them, I doubt not, were sincere; perhaps
 nearly all thought they were. Bnt when
 one of them, who was then in Washing.
 ton. wrote home to a friond with what
 pride he had seen me rise in the Honse,
 and how ably had spoken: and when the
 friend copied the paragraph and sent it
 to me, could not help suspecting that there was little ''ring," for both the writ
 CT and his friend were applicants for of-
 flee, while the fact was. I had not yet ris-
 en in the House or attempted to speak at
 all l. To the honor of this army of appli
 cants it must be said that, only three of them ever offered any bribe of money to
 secure an office. One of these wanted Q
 route agency, and wrote me that he was
 poor, but that if would secure him the
 place, he would give me hundred dollars.
 His letter was put in the grate and nevaR , answered. Another visited me in person
 and applied for an Indian agency, but he said he did not want that should work
 for him for nothing, and I could have e
 thousand dollars if procured him the
 place. His application was never present
 ed to the department. nor his name
 mentioned by me in connection with an' appointment Another, with whom I had al personal acquaintance that had prepos- sessed me in his favor, sent me word by letter that he would give me fifty dollars if would secure him an Indian agency.
 Because of my former respect for him, replied to his letter, and told him plainly that if he meant his offer in earnest, should not only not do anything for him, but should see that he got nothing from any other source. He answered me in a letter which he meant to be sarcastic. closing with the insinuation that he had probably not offered enough. Many ot the applicants (and will admit that, they did not see the bribery eff iD assured mo that if they werea appointed, l should having working friends who conld do for me more than any others. Believing that those who were my friends for the sake of office were scarcely the persons to be in. trusted with government interests, avoided the appointment of any of them, choosing from among those who made no other pfofessIons than that they consider. ed themselves capable and would tEy toau discharge the dnties acCeptably. Wae on one occasion taken into the olEicse of one of my newly discovered friends and 1 button holed for 3 long time. and assured that there was no other person amoHg al l the applicants for the post-Ofiice which he desired who could bring so many votes o my support for a renomination as be. told him frankly that did not regard the post offices as my personal peFquisites Co be dealt out for my own benefit. and that I should have two controlling principles; first the best interests of the goverument service, and second, submission to the pos pular will whenever could ascertain it, provided it did not indicate person who, in my judgment, was incompetent or ott. etwise unfit for the place Tins friend was not appointed, and a little moro than 10 a year from that time, when the people of the district were beginning to talk of q candidate for the next Congress, he at- tackled me bitterly fin the newspapeFa. 10 was easy then to measure the depth of tbe friendsfip which he had so earnestly pro- fessed .w
 In. one of the towns of the district an editor was seized with desire to be ap. pointed postmaster He did not speak Co me about it himself, but I suddenly.fOuud people coming to me and writing to me in his behalf. knew, of course. that he had suggested it, and caused him Co be informed that Iimsant to be governed .by the wishes of the people within the post office delivery; that several applicants had circulated petitions; that those who had done so, as far as knew. were all good and competent men, and that | intended to recommend the one who should furn- ish me the best evidence that he was tha choice of the people. This did not suit appheant in question. He claimed thatI OWedshlm the office for the support his papHrhad given me, and said that he would present nU. petition Go, the people, and thatif did not make him postmas- ter he would ''blow me out of water" through his paper, or words to that effect. $ sna lt6NTINyynn oN potynFys pAat s1'ts