Omaha daily bee., 1883-09-13
FULLER DETAILS
OF VanderVOOrt'S Outrageous Official
Conduct,
Which Lead to His Removal.

ST. LOUIS, September 1.-THE Repub.
lican has the following from Washington
The following dispatch was sent by the
associated press from Hastings, Neb.
yesterday: "At a meeting of 10000 ex-
United States soldiers and sailors yester-
day resolutions were passed condemning
the action of Postmaster General Gresh-
am in removing Gen. Paul Vandervoort
from the railway postal service on account
Of his connectisn with the Grand Army
of the Republic, and calling upon Presi.
dent Arthur to reinstate him with honor. u"
Inquiry was made at the postoffice de-
partment to-day, and, according TO the
officials, the facts in the case are as fol-
lows: Mr.. Vandervoort, who for the
past year has been commander-in-chie Of
the Graud Army of the Republic of the
United States, was removed for cause.
He vas from his post of duty the greater
portion of the time for over a year past.
During the time he visited nearly all, if
not quite every part of the United States
and the territories. His official duties at
Omaha have received from him very lit
tie attention. The matter has been left
almost entirely to his clerk. His division
has frequently reported that the service
in that section wa demoralized aud in
an unsatisfactory condition by reason of
Mr.. Vandervoort's
NEGLECT OF DUTY.
The chief clerks Of the railway mail
service are required to make daily reports
10 their division superintendent of their
VIII reabouts and the nature of their
work on each day. These reports have
been made out by Mr.. Vandervoort and
left at Omaha to be forwarded daily from
that point after his departure. He has
been absent during that time 265 days,
according to his own statement. He
was demonstrated with by his division
superintendent in regard to his absence,
and informed him that Immediately after
the adjournment of the annual meeting
at Denver, Col, he would go to Omaha
and attend to his official duties. Instead
of doing so, he Immediately took his
family and vent to Soda Springs, Idaho,
where he remained until the time of his
removal. A portion of this time he
HIMSELF AT OMAHA
doing office work, when it was known
that he was at Soda Springs. He also
reported a portion of the time while at
Soda Springs that he wal arranging the
service on the Oregon Short Line, and at
the same time he telegraphed to Omaha
for his clerk to come and do the work.
After this matter became fully known
that Mr.. Vandervocrt had taken his fam
lily and gone to Soda Springs and re-
NAMED a month, the postmaster.general
promptly decided that Mr.. Vandervoort
could not remain in the service. April
o, 1883, Mr.. Vandervoort asked for a
leave of absence for thirty days from
April 25, with pay, which the postmaster
general declined to grant. Notwith-
5 anding that this leave was not granted,
MI. Vandervoort left on his trip to the
Pacific coast before he received a reply.
May 90, 1883, Mr.. Vandervoort wrote
the postmaster-geRera urging that the
order Withholding his pay be revoked,
which the postmaster-general declined to
do. Mr.. Vandervoort wrote again June
1, 1883, urging that the order withhold
ing his pay be suspended; but all to no
purpose, as the poy for nearly the entire
month of May was withheld.