The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-27

The Employees of These Departments Win
Meet Their Fate without Grieving.


The Employees of These Departments Win
Meet Their Fate without Grieving.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON Nov. 26-To-day the Journal
correspondent made a tour through the Treasury
and Postoffce departments and talked with
large number of the clerks on their official out
look. found them in nearly every instance
resigned to the fate of prospective dismissal.
Whether they are in anything like immediate
danger of dismassal when Cleveland is pro-
nounced President, OF whether they may be per-
fectly secure by the civil-service law and
a desire of the prospective President to regard
it, matters not they are nearly all prepared or
are preparing for the final notice to quit.
Mr.. Charles H. Butler, of Indianapolis, one of
the brightest clerks in the department. now in
the highest rank to come under the protection
of the civilservice-said to me:
"Of course, we all realize that if Mr.. Cleve-
land wants us to go after the 4th of March
next we will have to CO. We can be
dismissed in spite of the civil-service law. The
great bulk of the clerks realize this, and are pre-
pairing for the signal to vacate. They are all
looking around for some kind of business to 60
to in the event they are asked to quit the depart
ment If they are not forced to leave, it will
simply be pleasant surprise to them. The
chief of divisions ndlauditor and officers on up,
expect to be relieved soon after the Presi-
dent gets well into the harness Mr. Alexander,
the fifth auditor under whom these people are"
indicating with a stroke of the hand quite body
of clerks, 'will go to indianapolis and return to
the practice of law am told I shall probably
practice the profession, also Some say they
will farm; others will go into merchandising;
few have been here so long they don't know
what they can do"
Around in another division I ran across Cap
tain A. F. Mcmillan, another intelligent clerk,
aud well informed about the calculations of the
people in the department He is chief of his di-
vision, and therefore just beyond the pale of the
civil-service law. Captain Mcmillan is likewise
Hoosier
''Yes, may be spotted, that is true, and of
fetal death may claim me as its own very soon
after inauguration. Most of the men ranking
with me and above, who are not protected by the
civilservice law, have thrown up their hands
and have begun to look about for other employ
ment I think we shall all go in time,
but this department is SO very vast and it's gov
ernment so taxing that the Democratic party will
force, let alone making sweep of the employees,
as is suggested There is general fright in all
the departments, it is true, and there are few
who believe they can be retained by any manner
of means, but l do not think the raid
will be begun very soon, For instance,
they wouldn't get down into the
clerical forces under year, l should believe, no
matter how hungry the party may be and how
willing the President and his Cabinet is to make
extreme changes. But there will be a great
many men who will be retained Some are SO
efficient in intricate work that they are almost
indispensable. Others are crippled. There are
four thousand Democrats in these departments
Now, if the Democrats leave the Grip
pies, the indispensable men and four
thousand Republicans in. as the Re
publican party has 2one the changes will no
reach beyond the higher officers Yet we are
waiting calmly waiting, the man with the gull
lotinen
In the Postofice Department the same state of
feeling exists Should the official ak be welded
with unrelenting hand, it will not make the
gore run much deeper than it has already run
within a fortnight. 1t has been suggested that
since the civservice law protects all clerks
whose salaries not above 81, ,S00 vacancies
might be made by decapitating those above and
making promotions, then continuing deeapita-
tion but Mr.. Butler, of the Fifth Auditors office,
told me that clerk may refuse q promotion
and thus save his official head if that were the
policy. But US the places would have to be filled
by civilservice examinations, that would afford
no advantage. TO profit by slaughter, the
civil-service laws must be repealed OF wholly
dlsreparied.