Morning journal and courier., 1885-04-07
News by Telegraph
FROM ALL QUARTERS.
SUSPENDED FOR CAUSE.
The President Removes
a Postmaster.
GRANT REMAINS THE SAME.
Peace Between France
and China.
INDIA LOYAL TO ENGLAND.
No News Confirming Bar
rios Death.
INDIA LOYAL TO ENGLAND.
!, POSTMASTER SUSPENDED.

A POSTMASTER SUSPENDED.
President Cleveland Asserts His
Right to Supersede An Official
where the Senate Failed to Take
Action.
WASHINGTON, April 6.-The postmaster at
Rome, New York, was to-day suspended from
further duty by order of the President and
JAMES e. Corcorsn has been designated to per-
form the duties of the Office in his stead.
The President proposed the removal of the
postmaster and nominated Corcoran at the
recent session, and as the Senate failed to
take action on the nomination the Post
master General applied to the President for
his directions in the case and received a writ
ten communication which has been procured
from the department and is as follows:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, April q. !.
Hon William y. Villas. Postmaster General:
Dear Sir:-In answer to your inquiry as to the
at Rome. Oneida county New York which was pre-
scented to the Senate on the Goth day of March with
a proposition that he be removed for cause and
to the Adjournment of that body on the I'd of April
have to say that to it clearly seems to be my
duty 10 exercise by prompt action Ia this case oil
the power which the present condition of the. law
has left in my hands, 50 far as 1t may be done lnde
petdently of the Senate protect the interests of
the government, TO vindcate The laws which have
been enacted for the regulation Of the postal service
and to impress upon the federal ofiieeholders
The tGet that no xee rpas to tbos w ws pc
violate the laws , or neglect pnblie duty,
reeniatIons ' of the postofiee department
was required to transmit to the department
money orner branch of his office u appears from
an official report Of an inspector Of me poSt6ge
ted TO u committee of the Senate while the proposi-
animation of his office was ordered on the 2eth day
of January 1883 in 81 tne n 1aet tat a no
appears from this report that hiatt such dii
sracefu Confusion in aft that pertained to the &C
counts and financial condition of the office that
boo sn ne july and that might have been
expected there was deficiency IN the money order
account of more than y QUO and III the postal ac-
count of more than 500.
There is / think no dispute touching these facts.
The deficiency has been Of t5 s,retie
of the delinquent official and he attempts to excuse
that his assistant had the entire charge OF the money
order department well as all other details Of the
mits it seems to me, violation of plain duty in
turning the operations OF his office to an asss-
able abs snce of the postmaster, which is contrary
to reasonable construction OF section 4ol3
I'm case of the sickness or unavoidable absence
CT the postmaster of any money order postof1ce he
authorize the chief clerk or some other clerk EN-
ployed therein to act in his place and to discharge
all the duties ~ ba aw t n asssant having
had full charge is responsible for the denquencies
and Irregularities complained of the postmaster also
appears to contradict his own sworn statement
made to the department as late as September 80
1884 to the effect that he himself had performed
for the preceding quarter the money order business
in his Office ept when necessarily absent
ice Of officias who exhibit such loose ideas of their
duty to the government. The TACT That nave
Of the city where this Postmaster is located and
who belong to both political parties asserting tter
onstrates the unfortunate facility with which such
papers may be obtained and gives rise to an I'M
ar Of potea Roney II cannot this de-
linqueit postmaster 1 surely suspend him:
for that purpose - with a designation of James B.
Corcoran to perform the duties Of postmaster in the
Yours truly, GROVER CLEVELAND.
At an interview the Postmaster General
stated this afternoon that the Senate COM
mittee asked for and had sent to them the
papers in the ease; 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 by
the official report of the inspector
made during the term of President
Arthur and open to no partisan or
ly admit of explanation. The President in
his letter has only mentioned those in re-
specific 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 objection could be raised. The
present may be a good opportunity to say
that from some evidences before him he
believes notion to be prevalent, and the
practice TO be general accordingly, that post
masters should have allowances for clerks
sufficient to allow the business OF the office
to be transacted chiefly by them,
while the postmaster himself: though
the best paid, should be required
to give no personal labor beyond
a general supervision. The case illustrates
what may happen from such a practice if
the excuse be accepted as true. In every
case of default the clerk or assistant will be
made the scapegoat. It is the intention of
the department to make careful scrutiny of
these allowances and reduce them when nee
essary materially, requiring the postmaster to
give his personal time and attention to the
duties of the Office and assist in their per-
Torrance except in the few larger Offices
where his time may be necessarily required
in general supervision. It is believed that
by such course the public will be much
better served and that considerable reduc-
ton in the ANIMAL expenditures of the de-
partment may be realized.