The Democratic advocate., 1885-04-11
sUspEND1Na A PosTMAsTER
summary Action Of the President.


The postmaster at Rome, N. Y, was on
Monday suspended from further duty in his
Office by order of the President, and James B.
Corcoran has been designated to perform the
duties of the Office in his stead. The Presi-
dent proposed the removal of the postmaster
and nominated Corcoran to the Senate at the
recent session, and as that body failed to take
action on the nomination Che Postmaster
General applied to the President for his direc-
tions in the case, and received written COM
munication, which has been procured from
the department, and is as follows:
Erecutice Mansion, Washington, April 4,
18S5.-Hon. VIM. +. Villas, Postmaster Gen
eral-Dear Sir: In answer to your inquiry as
to the disposition to be made of the case OF
the postmaster at Rome, Oneida county, New
York, which was presented to the Senate on
the 26th day of March, with proposition
that he be removed for cause, and which pro-
position was not acted upon prior to the ad-
iournment of that body on the I'd day of April,
I have to say that to me it clearly seems to
be my duty to exercise by prompt action in
this case all the power which the present con-
dition of the law has left in my hands, so far
as it may be done independently of the SEN
ate, to protect the interests of the govern
ment, to vindicate the laws which have been
enacted for the regulation of the postal SER
vice, and 20 impress upon Federal oficehold-
ers the fact that no indulgence will be granted
by the Executive to those who violate the law
or neglect public duty.
s'This postmaster, under section 4044 of the
United States Revised Statutes and the regu-
lations of the Postoffice Department, was re-
quested to transmit to the department, weekly,
a report of the business done by him in the
monev-o order branch of his office.
SIT appears from the official report of an
inspector of the Postofice Department, now
before me, and which was submitted to a
committee of the Senate while the PROPOSE
ton to remove this official was before it, that
an examination of his office was ordered on
the 18th day of January, 1885, in consequence
of the fact that no such weekly reports had
been made since the 9th day of December,
1884. 1t further appears from this report that
such examination developed the most dis
graceful 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-boo since July, 1884, and
that, as might have been expected, there was
a deficiency in the money order account OF
more than 500, and in the postal account OF
more than $400.
s'There is, / think, no dispute touching
these facts. The deficiency has been refunded
to the government under an arrangement
with one of the sureties of the delinquent
official. and he attempts to excuse the wretch
ed condition of his office by alleging that his
assistant had the entire charge OF the money.
order business, as well as all other details of
the office. In making such an excuse this
officer admits, 1t seems to me, violation OF
plain duty in turning over the operations of
his Office to an assistant without any pretext
of the sickness or unavoidable absence of the
postmaster, which is contrary to a reasonable
construction of section 403l of the Revised
Statutes, which provides that in case of the
sickness or unavoidable absence of the post
master of any money order postofhce, he may,
with the approval of the Postmaster General,
authorize the chief clerk or some other clerk
employed therein to act in his place and to
discharge all the duties required by law OF
such postmaster.
ssBy the claim now made that the assistant,
having had full charge, is responsible for the
delinduencies and Irregularities complained
of, the postmaster also appears to contradict
his own sworn statement, made to the de-
partment as late as September so, 1884, to the
effect that he himself had performed, for the
preceding quarter, the money order business
in his office, except when necessarily absent.
''I 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.
''The fact that have before me documents
signed by many residents of the city where
this postmaster is located, and who belong to
both political parties, asserting their entire
confidence in his honesty and fidelity, demon
strates the unfortunate facility with which
such papers may be obtained, and gives rise
to an unpleasant suspicion touching too
prevalent standard of political honesty.
''If cannot remove this delinquent post
master | can surely suspend him. This l
have determined to do promptly; and L de-
sire you at once to present to me the papers
necessary for that purpose, with designation
of James B. Corcoran to perform the duties
of postmaster in place of the official thus sus-
pended. Yours, truly,
''GRovER CLEVELAND"
In an interview the Postmaster General
stated on Monday that the Senate commit
tee asked for and had sent to them the papers
in the case, including the inspectors report,
and the reason for their declining to approve
the proposed removal was unknown to him,
and could only be surmised.
The facts are plainly shown, he said, by the
official report of the inspector, made during
suspicion of partisan or personal unfriendli-
ness, 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 pur-
pose than to improve the service, and the
nominee is man against whom no just OBJ
lection could lie.