Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-05-02
DRIVEN OUT OF OFFICE.
THE INSIDE HISTORY OF THE
RECENT RETIRE8IENTS.


of FavOrites-A Letter Full of Other
Interesting Reading.
WASHINGTON. May l.--t4en. Green b.
Raum retires from the head of the inter-
nal revenue bureau. Thus in a little over
month the government loses two of its
best officers. Treasurer Giltillan resigned
to go to New York, where he could make
more money. He was one of the best
men who ever put on the governments
harness. Gen. Raum retires TO enter into
the practice of the law in this city, and
in which he can make more money. 1t
can be said Of him. as of Gillian.
that he is one of the best men of whom the
government ever had service. There is
further analogy between the two. Both
Of them are men of pride. They looked
upon their records with warranted salts
faction. They knew that they had the ap-
prOval of the public in their conduct of
official affairs. They are also men of
spirit. Had they not been they would
never have achieved success. There was
too much vitality in them to ever become
the routine drudges that by far the ma
jOrity of government officials revOlute into
The primary cause of both the retire
Ilcll Vi anu IllC IGIlGGluCuJ Ol I'LL
tillan is the same. After long, hard and
very successful work, petty influences
hostile to them began to chagrin and
annoy. Under sherman as Secretary of
the Treasury this commenced. Sherman
was jealous Ofthe reputation of both. He
wanted it to be pat before the country
that he alone did the work of the Treasury
Department. You can easily see how he
could, as the head of the department,
Ia
You well know how capable he
is to do such things. He in many
ways, Ofttimes so that the public could
not but notice it, and,withOut any reason,
officially humbled the two best officers
that the Treasury had under it. When
Sherman left the department he practi-
cally controlled it still by debating to the
weak Window, his successor. Under
FOlger the same spirit, though actuated
by different motives, continued, FOlger
was an admirer of Raum and GiIfillan:
being such an honest and upright man
himself he could not be otherwise. But
he surrounded himself by three or four
little fayOrites who were very ''fresh"-
they continue that Verdancy to this day
and who succeeded in making him be-
lieve that they knew all there is in the
dictionary Through their influence Raum
and Giltillan We're put down. They were
which related to the business of their
offices. The small syndicates of weak
minds ran it all. Seeing no chance for
improvements and Smarting under Off
cial snubs and Sights, these two impOr-
tant officials began to look around to see
how they could get out of it. Gilfillan
went first. President Arthur was sur
prised that he should want to go, and
parted with him in regret, after trying to
In6nnn him fn sfa
exactly the same feelings being eX-
perienced and expressed by the President.
They did not tell him why they went
They could have told him when he eX-
pressed surprise at their designations
that they left the government service be-
cause they were men. They could not
continue to remain in Office and subject
themselves to the petty Outcroppings of
jealousy which were daily being part of
their official life. Both of them will be bet
ter off in private life. but their going does
not speak well of a service from which two
such men were in reality driven. Many
more than they would 90 were there more
men of spirit in the service. The govern
ment service crushes instead of develop
ing manhood. OF the two men Gilfillan
was the more popular. He never dealt III
politics, even in small measure. His
activity in politics consisted in periOdi-
Raum was a Grant man and good deal
of a politician. Tor that reason he was
not as popular as Giltillan. He is one
of the Chicago 306 brass medal bearers
But his administration of the internal
revenue has been brilliant and strong.
lie entered upon the duties of his office
when the service was totally demoraliZed.
He came in on the heels Of the whisky
ring. Picking the service out of the
slough of corruption and total in
efficiency in which it was founder
ing, he has made it the model
service of its kind in the world. Foreign
governments have sent commissioners to
the United States to gain from him an
insight into the system which he has built
up. During his official life he has col
lected $50, 900, 600 without the loss of a
single dollar. There is certainly need of
reform when petty spite can drive two
such men as Gilfllan and Raum from the
service,
Mr.. Elmer, Second Assistant Postmas-
ter General, is chairman of the commits
sion to equalize the compensation to be
paid the railroads for the transportation
of the mails. He said to-day that he had
received letters on the subject from Off
GERS of a number of Southern railroads.
All of these letters indicate an interest in
the work for which the committee was an
pointed, and say that the writer's of them
Will do all in their power to bring about a
practical result. The suggestions con-
tanned in some fthe letters are regarded to
be Of much value. Mr.. Elmer, in talking
about this matter, referred to the great i'm
prOVements made in the Southern roads. He
said that the facilities for mail transpOrta-
tiOn in the South had been greatly in
creased during the past few years, and
that they were being added to daily. The
1nYAo orfpn nnf hn -nfA I,
trouble with the mail in the South as in
any other section.
John c. New, Assistant Secretary of
the Treasury, is very good politician.
He knows how things are likely to go. /
asked him to-day if he had been paying
much attention lately to the drift
of the political tide. He said that he had
been watching the tlOtsam and jetsam on
the current. "Honestly, nOw." Mr.. New
was asked, ''dO you think the next Presi-
dent will be Republican or Democratic
"If," he replied. II should answer ac-
cording to my wish, l would say that he
will be Republican. Otherwise, contra
rywise, as our friend Captain Bunsby
would put it,
"What chance does ex-senator Nc
Donald, OfyOur State, stand, in your Opip-
ion, for the Democratic nomination -
Mcdonald is strong man; he is very
strong. He is an able man. But | don't
think he will have much show when the
Democratic Convention gets down to
work"
Representative Phil Thompson, of Ken
lucky, who the other day shot in that
State the man who had debauched his
Wife, has the sympathy of all who know
him. This is saying a good deal, as those
who know Phil. Thompson are many.
Nearly everybody knows him. He is
bOyish in look and full of fun. He has the
of manners and native wit
which has been improved by friction with
other minds. He is the most gentle man.
nered of men. He can roar you like any
sucking dove. His face is open and frank. |
His nature can be described by the same /
two adiectives. He is one Of the most |
popular men who ever sat in !
Congress. He was a little wild at one /
time during his five years in the House
ne is reelected to the next HOuse-but he |
soon got over that. There is an exuber- |
lnce of animal spirits about him. His |
voice is in keeping with his general ap- /
pearance. He has one of the most pc /
culiar vocal organs that | have ever /
heard. Its distinguishing characteristic 7
is sOftneSS. In his intercourse with his /
fellow members his manners and genuine !
ness have made him ever welcome to /
them by sight and sound. Often have / |
seen angry members on the other side trv /
to get him iutO one of those scenes /
which make the Lower House something /
Of bear garden. But no such attempt |
ever succeeded. He would turn the /
whole thing into a laugh and enjoy it so |
OOylShly himself that nobody could be /
mad with him. And yet he was a stub /
born fighter, in a good natured way. He /
fought last session that absurd iniGuity. /
the tariff bill which the House Wavs and /
Means Committee originated, until its /
lpath And he showed an ahiIit, 70 fe,ht