The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-05-20
The Rejection of Mr. Button.

Mr.. G. w. Button to be postmaster at
Lynchburg, Va. 1t seems that only four
Senators voted in favor of confirmation
Messrs. Rddleberger, Colquitt, Pugh and
Whithorne. The grounds upon which the
adverse vote was given was that OF "of-
fensive partizanism,'' in that his paper |
contained abusive articles Of a number
of Republican Senators. The language
quoted as having been used was such that
no decent journal would have INDUCED. LII
was coarse, vulgar and vlndlctlve, ana dio
not constitute legitimate criticism OF the
public acts of public men. 1t was a vile IT,
rade Of abuse for no other reason than that
the objects of the assaults are Republ1-
cans, representing in the Senate OF the
United States intelligent and honorable
constituencies. There was no just excuse
for the attacks. and it was perfectly proper
for Senators to take cognizance OF them
in the only way they could have done so. LII
must be remembered that offensive partl-
zanism" is held by the administration 10
be sufficient cause for the removal OF sus-
pension of public officer and If this holds
good in one respect there is no good rea-
son why it should not apply III another.
Mr.. Button s..predecessor, Mr.. Page NOR
ris. is a gentleman in every way and at all
times. He was an efficient public officer,
and had an exceptionally. good record at
the Department. under which he served.
The only reason that could be assigned for
the suspension was that he was a pro-
nounced Republican and supported the
party of.his Identity by speech and PEN
He is the peer of Mr.. Button in all the re-
lations of life public and private, and but
for the fact that he is a Republican no pos
sible justification for his removal could
have beenSassigned.
| A further. fact should be considered in
| relation to the case of MI. Morris and
every other suspended Federal officer IN
| Virginia. 1t was announced, Immediately
after the result of thes Presidential cleo
ton was known, that Virginia was to be
made an exception to all general rules the
| President might adopt in considering APP
| pointments to office, for the alleged reason
that the Virginia officials. by the appoint
ment of a. Republican President, were
morally and mentally unfit for such public
trusts. An unassailable official record and
unquestioned personal integrity were not
| to be regarded, but slanderous allegations,
without particle of proof to sustain
them. were to be taken as the grounds to
l of 1,n oJp ictr hp.
ing placed upon them, after the repeated
declaration of the President that no re-
movals would be made except for cause
and such cause as was contemplated by
the law. to be constituted of malfeasance
or inefficiencys.in the discharge OF Official
duties. In the light of such declaration
by the President the natural inference was
that every officer who was suspended hao
been guilty of some act that either NOR
ally or mentally untitled him for public
trust. This was and is the situation here
in Virginia, and it was not only natural,
but demanded by Justice and fair dealing
that every case of suspension OF Repub-
lican and the nomination of a Democrat
to take his place, should be inquired into
by the Senate and the case decided by the
rule the President himself had laid down.
1t would be right for every Virginia case
to be determined by the same consldera-
ton, if for no other reason than to ad-
minister rebuke to the reckless and
vindictive partizan spirit which has gov
erned in the nominations which have been
sent in to fill vacancies occasioned by sus-
pensions.
| It is no personal qualification to us that
Mr.. Button has been rejected by the
Senate, Cor that but three of his party
| friends voted for him. 1t is only from
the consideration that Senators have thus
| declared that there should be limit to
partizan influence in the suspension OF Of
ficers for no defensible cause, and the APP
pointment of their successors because OF
partizan considerations, that we have re-
ferred to the case. 1t is precedent that
if faithfully adhered to would cause the
rejection of almost every nomination from
Virginia, under the present administra-
! ton. No regard was had for official lidel-
| ity in suspensions, while the more Often
sive the partizan the better was his chance
to succeed to the vacancy thus occasioned.
In scarcely an instance has there been any
| but an extreme partizan recommended for
Office, or at least been favorably consid-
cred, and if the rule applied to Mr.. Button
was made to guage the claims of others.
he would have plenty of company in his
retiracy to the quiet of private. life. No
one questions his personal integrity OF his
mental qualifications to discharge the du-
ties of the office, but as offensive parti.
zanism' was invented by this administers
ton to further its policy of reform, it
should have as wide an application as pos
sible. Under it, honestly construed, all
the Virginia nominations must be re-
jected.
/ AS specimens of the evidence upon
which the offensive partizanism" of Mr..
Button was based, the following sentences
were taken from /. collection of extracts
from editorials published in the Lynch
burg V5rgnsia,a, and of which Mr.. Button
was the owner and editor. previous to his
appointment. We publish them to show
the grounds of his rejection, and why
Democratic as well as Republican Sena-
tors voted against the confirmation of hi
nomination, as given by the Washington
correspondent of the Cincinnati CONNER
cial
Unfortunately for the peace of the
country and the dignity of the United
States Senate, the latter body is possessed
of stangwhanger by the name of O.. d.
Conger, the clown of the Senate"
Mr.. Conger happens to be Chairman of
| the Postoffice Committee,
''Black Jack Logan comes along splut-
tering his bad grammer in dirty diatribes
| towards the South, and Hoar pronounced
the Illinois ourang- outang a superior
| being"
''John Sherman is first-class fraud, a
| miserable mountebank and an unscrupu-
loLs scoundrel. Take the Republican
| party through and through and there is
| not another such detestable creature in it
| as John Sherman
.sHoar places the semi-civiliZed Logan,
ranting his bloody shirt politics in out
landish English. upon a higher plane than
the polished Lowell. Logan is an unscru-
pulous crank. He took up demagogical
lie in his Boston harangue, and split the