The Portland daily press., 1885-07-07
TIE PORTLAND POST oEEIcE

The announcement is made elsewhere that
the President has suspended Mr.. Clark FL.
Barker, postmaster at Portland, and APP
pointed in his stead Mr.. Joshua S. Palmer.
The removal of Mr.. Barker is clear viola
ton of the spirit of the Presidents famous
civil service letter to George William Curtis
and other Mugwumps. 1t needs no argu-
ment to prove that post Office is one of the
positions referred to by Mr.. Cleveland in
that letter as not requiring that its incum-
bent should be in political sympathy with
the administration and from which he
pledged himself not to remove faithful and
efficient occupants before their terms were
completed except for offensive partisan
ship" Mr.. Barkers term in the Portland
post Office is not completed. He is suspended
in the midst of it. That he has been an ex-
ceedingly faithful and efficient officer no.
body, not even the gauntest and most fam
ished Democrat has ever pretended to deny.
He has given the citizens of Portland the
most complete mail service they have ever
enjoyed and has labored early and late to ac-
commodate the patrons of the office. Under
his administration the number of deliveries
has been increased from three to five daily
and several branch offices have been estab-
lished by which the general public has been
greatly convenienced. Having been a mer-
chant himself he thoroughly comprehended
the needs of business men and diligently
looked after their interests in the mat
ter Of mail facilities. His conduct of the
office there is every reason to believe, has
been as satisfactory to the post Office depart
ment as it has been to the general public
There has been no intimation from any
source whatever Of want of capacity or
lack of faithfulness or efficiency or his part.
1t is perfectly safe to conclude, therefore,
that he is removed for none of these things
The only remaining ground on which his
removal can be placed is that of offensive
partisanship," and that no doubt will be the
reason assigned when it becomes necessary
to assign a reason. Under fair and reason
able Interpretation of that phrase, under the
Interpretation President Cleveland intended
the Mugwumps should put upon it when he
wrote it, and which they did put upon it,
Mr.. Barker has not been an offensive parti-
SAN" He has not prostituted his Office to ac-
complish partisan ends, he has not spent the
time that belonged to his official duties in po-
litical work, he has not made the post office
obnoxious to Democrats. He has not served
on campaign committee. He has not edited
Republican newspaper In short he has done
none of the things specified in the Postmaster
Generals letter as constituting Offensive
partisanship." But the phrase is a very
elastic one, and it can be greatly stretched to
accommodate hungry Democrat who wants
an office. 1t has already been made to cover a
number of cases Of officers whose only of
fensive partisanship consisted in not voting
the Democratic ticket 1t did not need so
violent stretching to include Postmaster
Barker; for while he has conducted his office
on strictly business principles and has not
used it himself nor suffered others to use it
as political machine, he has not sought to
conceal the fact that he was Republican, or
that he desired the success of Republican
principles. He has not tried to keep himself
in Office by turning traitor to his party.
The precise charges made against him nei-
ther the public nor he himself, even, are
permitted to know. The star chamber system
introduced by this reform administration,
tries and convicts man without allowing
him an opportunity to be heard in his own
defence. There is a time coming, however,
when these things which are now done in
the dark will be exposed. When the Senate
meets the reasons for the removal of faithful
officers in the midst of their terms must be
made known, and that body will be the Judge
Of their sufIiciency. 1t will be the duty of
the Senate to scrutinize them carefully, and
il it is found, as it frequently will be, that