Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-01-28
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LANCASTER, JANUARY as, 1855.
The ONCE Of Notary Public.

The Oillce OF Notary Public.
The Senate of Pennsylvania took a new
departure yesterday in rejecting several
gubernatorial appointments on purely
partisan grounds, and raised an issue which
may yet prove very embarrassing to the
Republicans in that body and throughout
the state. This does not seem to apply to
the case of J.. T. Ashmead, nominated for
trustee of the Norristown hospital
Against him there were personal objections
which must have been weighty, as he could
only command three votes from the Demo-
cratic side of the chamber. Mr.. Thomas
J. Walter, another Philadelphia appointee
TO the same position, failed, but not for
the lack of Democratic support. He is not
a conspicuously fit man for such a trust,
nor citizen Of rarely good judgment and
discretion. But he has q good Tepute for
honesty ard has done very effective work
in the reform movement in his city; and il
was this circumstance, no doubt, that
stirred up the opposition to him, and
which renders the failure of his confirma-
tion discreditabe to those who beat it.
But it was in the treatment of two ap-
pointments to the petty position of notary
public that the Republican majority in the
Senate showed the cloven foot, horns and
forked tail. OF all the governors we have
ever had Gov. Pattison has least made a
political Office Of that Of notary public he
shows the minimum of partisan disCrim-
ination in his appointments to it, Gov
Hoyt used to say that he appointed all COM
ers, regardless of politics, and when he had
named four hundred year, at revenue of
s25 for each commission, he would say
he felt that he had earned his salary
for the commonwealth. But ii will be
easily remembered by the people Of this
city that for many years past only single
Democrat was ever appointed notary
public in Lancaster city, under a long line
of Republican governors and il will not be
forgotten that some years ago such in
tense partisan interests controlled these ap-
pointments. that Republican governor
refused to re-commission Marriott Brosius
because he did not suit the bosses in each
and every particular.
We believe II has been the rule of Gov
SAhOl Il oNel1oil W Hl'fpilIb dti dpplltdlltS bi
capacity and good character At least the
record stands this way in Lancaster;
Republican notaries public Hugh s.
Cara; Chas. f. Long; J. l.. Lytc Jere Rife;
A. A. Herr J. H. WickershaIn AL Shenck;
Harry Carpenter; VIM. Henderson Geo. A.
Lane; X. j. Evans Chas. Kline Wm.
Roehm.
Democratic notaries public John A.
Coyle John +. Malone Chas. l.. Wentz
Robert Clark.
IT would be no exaggeration to say that
the Republicans here have hree-fOurths of
the patronage of this office; they probably
control at least two-thirds of it throughout
the state Governor Pattison has certainly
appointed more of them than of Democrats:
and assuredly no governor has ever signed
one-tiliGd rs many commissions for APP
pointees of the opposition as he has
Now the Senate, by a solid Republican
vote, refuses to confirm two of his ap-
pointees simply because they are Demo
Gratis, and because he chose to send in
their names before he sent in those of some
Republican whom Senator Huff and OF
another whom Senator Somebody else wan
ted to be appointed. Against Mr.. Marchand
of WestmoTeland, no allegation whatever
was made, save that he was a Democrat.
and Haff wanted Republican. In the
case of Stone, from Juuiata county, it was
shown that he had been Confederate sol
dier and this was pomced upon as a pre-
text by such feather-headed wavers of the
bloody shirt as Osborn and Goblin, and
narrow minded partisans like Cooper. to
rally their party TO the defeat of the
confirmation OF course it was a mere
pretext. At this distance from the war
and after conspicuous Confederates have
been, again and again, elevated 10 positions
of high Importance by the Republicans.
such opposition TO notary public ap-
pointee is as baseless as would be the eX-
clusion of its subject from q dry goods
clerkship or clerical post in bank, for
like reason. No soldier who was not
coward andno senator who was not a sneak
would cherish such a sentiment
The issue raised yesterday was not
whether an ex-Confederate is fit for civil
Office, but whether the executive shall be
eoereed into making one appointment by
the refusal of partisan senate to confirm
ing another There is no dispute that had
Gov. Pattison named the other notaries
asked for, Stone and Marchand would
have encountered no opposition. He did
exactly right to defy the bulldozers: and |
he can afford TO do ii to the end.
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