Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-10-02
AUSTIN. Minn., Jan. "a, 1877.


SR:-1 have been told that you have fond
ness for letters. Indeed it has been intimated
that good portion of your valuable time,
while in Washington, is spent in writing COM
nunications to Your political employees, by
which term mean postmasters, route agents.
and revenue officers within your district. 1t
| is also asserted by some very wicked and re-
bellious men, that these communications are
mostly for the furtheranoe Of your personal
aims, and in no way relate to q proper dis
charge of the public service. A nice little
package. we'll preserved, now lies before me,
containing about one hundred letters over your
well known autograph and received by me
while attempting to discharge the duties Of
| postmaster at Austin, would seem to indicate
that there is some truth IN what has been
| said. 1t cannot be expected that Is man who
employs about two hundred body servants for
political purposes, and undertakes the Job of
directing and controlling their acts by writing
| TO them some five or six Thousand letters
| annually, would recollect distinctly the con-
tents of all those epiRtles. Indeed. it would be
| strange if man could spread himself over SO
much surface and not appear rather THIN in
places. By way OF q reminder of the past land
a retrospect If your record ought not to be I'M
| pleasant to youl, IS well as to discharge what
| conceive to be my duty a Citizen propose
| to lay bare to yonr own and to the public
| view something of your past career, and if by
| so doing it shall appear that you are ANYTHING
| and everything but what person holding a
| high office under the State, ought to be- the
| fault will be yours and not mine. address you
| in this open public manner of matters con-
neoted with the public service because You are
| public officer, and, as such, have no right to
ask or expect concealment or privacy on any
subject connected with the discharge of your
official duties Nor does it appear tina. you
seriously object to open letters, especially when
| the subject OF your denomination is under dis
| cussion. So that right and precedent are both
| in favor of my course. At the outset let me
express to you the qualification feel over nv
emancipation. mean emancipation from that
condition of serfdom into which you throw
every person who seeks government employ
ment through your recommendation. Yon re-
duce every emDioye TO the menial condition of
body servant or hired man, and impose, as con-
ditien OF his official tenure, that he groom
and drive your political hobby horse into any
designated nook corner of your district
furnishing his own, and sometimes your spend
ing money. buying caucuses, delegates and
conventions with promises and dinners. The
lash you hold over his head is the weapon of
| political tyraut. Yen dictate every political
oDinion and every act, and if dares to rebel,
you coolly poiut to your basket and say, here
lie the heads of those who dare disobey my
orders. Mine you can now count with the
others, and for what reason? First. that
declined longer to submit to your dishonorable
and corrupt demands. Second because the liv-
| ing phantom of YOUR OLD SCHOOL BOOK RECORD,
A. A. Harwood, told you he must have the Job.
He holds the key, and you ignorantly think,
the emily key to the vault where the record of
Your past official corruptions lie concealed.
went out without blot on my official rec
ord; without a charge against me, when ninety
mir ont IL hmm HnEt Ill
parties who got their mail at this Office desired
me to remain. Your new man goes IN without
a respectable hacker in the COMMUNICATIVE
charges of dishonesty and corruption already
filed against him-a mean political shyster and
| Observation-Disclosures and despised by all honest
men wherever he is known. This is your prac-
tical application and illustration of civil serv-
| ice reform which during the last campaign,
you advocated "a one Of the cardinal doctrines
of the Republican party. This man HARDWOOD
| has already cost You a pile of hush money.
You despise him and he deapiees you. Myself
| and many Others have heard you both say 30.
You have declared him of your
own knowledge a vllainous liar, for he in
| vented and circulated the meanest sand
| story that was ever told concerning YOUR back
| pay, yet you are IS much elase to his diete-
| ton so the most abiect empioye in the district
| is TO yours. This moral degrad alton of yours
| csn be explained in only one way. and that is
| not consistent with yonr innocence. You be-
lieve that he is ths Only living witness of your
! official corruption when you were member OF
| the State commission to adopt text books to be
used in the public schools of this State for the
| period of FIVE years. In this you are mistaken.
| But even if you were correct, stili your secret
| was told long ago. HARDWOOD, in his frantic
| moods OF cursing you at times, when
| you failed to come down with the exact
amount of stamps he demanded, has told the
whole story over and over again. You, too, in
Iodx n1
| told me that you put Hsrwood in the way of
| getting $2, 800 out of the book concern, after
wards, Is a saving clause, adding, "legiti-
mately, too" Isuppose you meant just this:
| that for playing middle man between you and
certain eastern publishing house. whose
| books the commissioners were constrained to
| adopt, you divided the spoils and gave him
half. l. too, think you treated him most
generously, and it is exceedingly unkind in
him to have logged and haunted you ever since.
Still it is just like him. If you have at last bad
final settlement with him and paid him off in
| full with the postohce, you certain ly ought
| to ne permitted to die in peace; but let me
assure you that the end is not yet, unless he
dies first, for if he survives he will get his iv-
ing out of yuur heirs with his old cry, School
| Book Frauds"
But little the meanest thing ever knew
of your doing, was to levy on me as postmaster
to help you to meet Harwood's demands and
to intimate that condition of my remaining
| in the postOffice was, that l responded to
Harwood's blackmailing exactions How do
the following letters look to you after this
lapse Of time?
OwAToNNA, Nov. 16, iS74.-Mr. Meigs:
DEAR SIR have seen Judge HARDWOOD and he
complains at treatment that he says he has re-
oeived from you and others in our party;
that you have held meetings and resolved to
starve and drive him out of town, &C., 90. He
L. b. e.
party owes him seventy five dollars, and would
pay it but for the opposition of yourself and
others. want to re-appoint you, and will
do so if he can be made to feel safe. 1t is not
policy to wage war against him. Let me hear
from you or see you.
Yours Truly, III. e. DUNNELL.
Here we have the novel and interesting spec
tpcle OF member OF Congress giving ear to the
winning complaints of professional leach and
blackmailer. and indicating to an officer of the
general government that he cannot
hold his position unless he shells ont. The
question would very naturally suggest it
SELF why is HAYWOOD making his com plants to
you. and why arey you so prompt in making the
levy? You do not even stop to inquire whether
the claim is just or unjust, hut say it must be
paid. Here is another of your letters on the
same topic:
OwAToNNA, April 20, 1S75.-Friend Meigs:
HARDWOOD says he must have THAT SEVENTY
DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS THIS WEEK,
etc. Now from what has been
said he MUST BE PAID and SO end
the row. will return the fifty dollars if you
say so, or one-half of the seventy dollars and
City cents. and you make up the balance and
take receipt from him. lam sorry to have you
pay more, but you will be let alone from this.
| have paid $3.50 of campaign debts since got
home. and have $3.50 to pay out of my pocket.
The fight nearly ruined me. Let me hear
from you by return mail. Yours,
81. Ell. DUNEELL.
This letter means business. It is to the point.
| 1t will pay half of your blackmailer's de-
mauds l shall be let alone. You were told over
and over again that not q cent 2ss due Har-