National Republican., 1878-07-27
bills not then due, and which have all been

bills not then due, and which have all been
paid
Not only did he find this system Of keeping
accounts in force when he came into office, but
of his own accord he discontinued II by re-
quiring deposit to be kept there 10 the credit
Of parties, in advance Of all orders, which has
been considered by many an unnecessary hard
ship.
II "Silentiar or any other man can find In
this any ground Of complaint against Commits.
sioner Spear, |, for one, fail to sec II. So well
satisfied was the Congressional committee that
II never made any mention Of the subject, and
Is 1t TO be supposed the Democrats would have
let such an opportunity for making capital
pass u there had been even the appearance Of
ground for itp .
As to the statement that fully two.thirds
OF tho examiners and employees are hardly Oh
friendly terms with the Commissioner" |
know II Is untrue. No man ever did, and
none probably ever will, hold the office and
please all, either In or out Of the Office. Those
who are out want TO get In, and are dispcascd
because they are not appointed while those
in are, many Of them, displcased because they
are not promoted more rapidly or their pay
increased. In addition to this, II is notorious
that some few Of the examiners have been and
now are intriguing for the position, and OF
course do all in their power to create dissatis.
faction with the Commissioner, whoever he
may be, "in hone to dispossess him aud them.
selves TO reign"
venture tho assertion that II n vote could
be had on the subject the "two.thirds" spoken
| Of by "Silentia' would be dwindlcd to n cor
porals guard, and would be found TO be com.
posed wholly of the clnsses alluded to. with the
| incomPetents who have been dropped, or, still
worse have been dismissed for cause. In ad
dition to these there would, no doubt, he the
| few shystor agents who have been debarred for
defrauding their clients aud tho Office, with, ,
perhaps, few very small. ll.potato patent agents,
who are displeased because some case has
been decided adversely to them, whereby
they have lost q contingent fee
In conclusion, would add that know from
a personal acquaintance with nearly all the
leading attorneys Of the country that General
Spear Is looked upon as q perfectly honest aud
upright man, and as one Of tho best and most
practical Commissioners that ever held the
place.
lnasmuch as the appointments are all made
under the system Of competitive examinations,
and by committees appointed by the $. crctary
think 1t will trouble "Silentia +" to show the
disregard Of the so.caled civil service, OF
which he Is such an admirer. Aud as all the
appointments and dSmissals are made By the
Secretary, or with his approval, II would seem
to follow that he, and not the Commissioner, is
| tho person that "Slentia" IL really hitting,
even II he did not so intend. In view Of these
| facts, his call on the Secretary to uncover the
"seething cauldron Of tricks and schemes" is,
to say the least, not very complimentary to
that official.
No doubt II "Silentia" could be allowed to
run the bureau all would bc lovely as a summer
day but unless he eau get more truth aud
less fiction into his statements hereafter. my
advice to him would be to remain silent In fact
as well as in name. TRUTH.