Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-01-26
cIVEL sERTiCE REFORM
now TENURE or OFFICE OPERATES IN
TUE POSTAL SERVICE.

now TENURE or OFFICE OPERATES IN
TUE POSTAL SERVICE.
New York Dispatch to Cincinnati Enquirer,
/ The suit at Washington between
Q. Q, Huntley and bis cousin, Silas
iuntley mail contractors. Is small
sign Of the ancient rottenness in the
whole mail contracting business Mail
contractors originally were stage pro.
prielors, many Of thom from the New
England States, who had been m the
stage business from Boston to Albany
aud Boston to New York, and as the
country expanded they and their sons
sought occupation for their stages and
stock under the Government service.
with tho growth Of the Far West and
the detached mining camps, and the
olamor raised by such small places for
the full benefits Of the mails as in older
parts, men have gradually assembled
around the postoaico department who
know all the old officials there, both
great and minor, and who in many
cases tampered with the annual bids,
so as to have the advantage of any
newcomers.
Here see one Of tho evils of long.
standing civil service. ! have almost
invariably found that man is in a
Goyernment department two or three
years before he makes the connections
which tompt him to sell out the Gov.
crnment, his omploysr, A large mum
Der Of persons ompItyod as clerks at
Washington arc constantly on the
lookout for somo place whore they can
advise outside parties to sue the Gov.
ernment. For example, the laws are
to bo revised at the Treasury depart
ment, and two or three men are de-
tailed to proceed with the revision.
They como to a place, perhaps where
they find that we have exaoted from
certain vessels tonnage dues, and the
same had been willingly paid but on
comparing the laws it was perhaps
found that there was sufficient ground
for those vessels to rake up claim for
the return Of their money, extending
someyears back Hereupon the clerks
employed by the Government put their
heads together and say "And it is
worth thousands of dollars to us"
So, perhaps, noighboring claim
agent receives the suggestion aud be-
comes the third partner. He proceeds, |
we may say, to the unconscious COM
panies and says: "For $4,000 / will
get back those duties you have paid"
Hereupon the job widens, and New
York jobbers and judges are let into
the lobby, so as to influence the For
cign Affairs Committee, and so they all |
go down to Washington, and the little |
circle Of corruption widens, and at last
they slip through Congress bill and |
actually take out Of the Treasury of
the United States, through the instru-
mentality of tho clerks, whom the
Government has kept in office for
years, some hundreds Of thousands of
dollars, and now are keeping up the
job to get the interest.
Suppose you had in your employ.
ment two clerks who had slipped to
some unknown creditors of yours and
said ave have found where you can
recover 100000 from our boss"
What would be the standard of hon.
estyin private business for such clerks
Here, in the mail system, one Huntley
swears against the other-that he has
incurred great expenseinp paying every.
body filling the bellies of gluttonous
newspaper correspondents lending
money TO clerks, &c-yet those two
persons have been around Washington
as long as know anything about 1t.
They probably know every clerk in
the postoflice department. According
to the thousands declared to have been
spent, they must have sown a little
corruption wherever they went.
Years ago two brothers in the I'm.
ion Army came to Washington, and
one got the other made an Assistant
Postmaster General The first stood
on the outside to tap the contractors.
The inside man knew all about the
bids, and the outside man knew every
mail jobber, and could raise up new
ones They became rich, and one of
them finally began to write to the
railroad companies throughout the
country to take united action and
the Government that on
certain day they would stop carrying
.hc mails unless their compensation
was raised Many of the companies
lid so act, and the whole business ofl
his country might have been suspend
ID but for the discovery of the printed
circular of the man inside of the post.
,flicc, who had taken his Government
alary for years only to admit robbers
nto its departments. Like all such
iod-iorsaken men, they came to grief, !
me being stricken with disease while
wandering to distant coast to die,
md tho other breathing his last under !
uspicions of suicide. 1
While in Washington | saw incredi.
'ly large signs Of great plunder to be-
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