St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-04-07

ONCE department, now before me, ana Wnlcn
was submitted to committee of the senate
while the proposition to remove
this official was before it, that
an examination of his office
was ordered on the 26th day of January, 1885,
in consequence of the fact that no such
weekly reports had been made since the 9th
day of December, 1854. 1t further appears
from this report that such examination de-
veloped the most
DIsGRACEFUL CONFUSION
in all that pertained to the accounts and
financial condition of the office, that there
had been no entry in the money order
cash book since July, 1884, and
that as might have been expected there was
a defcieucyin the money order accounts of
more than S700, and in the postal accounts
of more than 500. There is, think, no
dispute touching these facts. The deficiency
has been refunded to the govern ment under
an arrangement with one of the suretics OF
the delinquent official and he attempts to
excuse the
wRETCHED CONDUCT
of his Office by saying that his assistant had
entire charge of the money order business
as well as the other details of the Office.
In making such az excuse this officer admits,
it seems to me, a violation of plain duty in
turning over the operations of his office to an
assistant without pretext of sickness or un-
ayoidable absence of the postmaster, which
is contrary to a reasonable construction of
section 4031 of the revised statutes. which
provides that, .sin case of the sickness or
unavoidable absence of the postmaster of
any money-order postofice, he may, with
the approval of the postmaster general, au-
thorize
THE CHIEF CLERK
and some other clerk employed therein to
act in his place and discharge all the duties
required by the law of such postmaster"
By the claim now made that assistant having
no full charge is responsible for the delin-
quencies and irregularities complained OF.
The postmaster also appears to contradict his
own sworn statement made to the department
as late as Sept. 80, 1884, to the
for the preceding quarter the money order
business in his Office except when necessarily
absent.
l shall do all that is in my power to rid the
public service of officials who exhibit such
loose ideas of their duty to the government.
In fact have before me documents signed
W NAL IeeluGHlS VI Iuc CITY MAciC tHlo
postmaster is located and who belong to
BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES.
asserting their entire confidence in his hon
esty and fealty. which demon strates that un-
fortunate facility, with which such papers
may be obtained, and gives rise to an un-
pleasant suspicion touching too prevalent
standard of political honesty. If l cannot
remove this delinquent postmaster l can
surely suspend him. This l have deter
mined to do promptly, and l desire you at
once to present to me the papers necessary
for that purpose, with a designation of James
B. COrcoran to perform the duties of post
master in place of the official thus sus-
pended. Yours truly,
GROVER CLEVELAND.
WHAT POSTMASTER Villas SAYS.
At an interview with the postmaster gen
eral he stated to the reporter of the Asso-
ciated Press this afternoon that the senate
committee asked for and had sent to them
the paper in the case including the specta-
tors report and the reason for their de-
clining to approve the proposal of, removal
was unknown to him and could only be sur
mised The facts are plainly shown, he said,
by the official report of the inspector made
during the term of President Arthur. and
open to no suspicion of partisan or personal
unfriendliness and are such, indeed as hardly
admit of explanation. The president in his
letter has only mentioned those in respect to
which no opportunity for question was open.
The removal was not proposed for any other
purpose than to improve the service, and the
nominee is man against whom no just OBJ
lection could be made. The postmaster gen
eral added that the present may be a
good opportunity to say that from the evil
dence before him he believes
NOTION TO BE PREVALENT
and the practice to be general accordingly.
that postmasters should have allowance for
clerk hire sufficient to enable the business
of their offices to be transacted chiefly by
them while the postmaster himself, though the
best paid, should be required to give no per-
sonal labor beyond a general supervision.
This case illustrates what may happen from
practice if the excuse of the Rome postmas-
ter may be true in fact and in every case of
default the clerk or assistant will he made
the scapegoat. 1t is the intention
of the department to make a careful
scrutiny of theseallowances and reduce them
when necessary, materially requiring the
postmaster to give his personal time aud at
tention to the duties of the office and assist
in their performance, except in these few
larger offices, where his time may be neces-
sarily required in general supervision. II
is believed that by such a course the public
will be much better served, and that a con-
siderable reduction in the annual expendi-
ures of the department may be realized.