Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-08-06
The Case of Collector Wells.

Senate committee on commerce, and docu-
ments thereto appended, carry with them
their own comment. The case is certainly
a noticeable one. Here was an officer
whose conduct of his Office is truthfully
described to have been faithful, intelli-
gent, honest, economical and pure" He
was veteran soldier of brilliant record.
lie stood high as Il citizen, esteemed and
irreproachable in the various relations OF
life. He was IA Republican, but had never
been an offensive partisan according to
any definition of that term. President
Cleveland was in due time put under pres
sure to remove him in order to give the
office to another man, but hesitated, AS
well he might, about making change
which would so give the lie to his own
civil service reform professions. Mr..
Smalley wanted the Office but placed his
demand for 1t squarely on political grounds,
declaring that there was no reason why
Wells should be put out and himself put
IN except that one was Republican and
the other a Democrat Mr.. Cleveland did
not move very promptly in the matter ,
time went on, and something must be
done. The high minded Mr.. Atkins of
Montpelier was thereupon put to work, or
went to work, and in due time some
Charges" afIidavits or papers were
placed before the president, upon which
he suspended Gen. Wells "ior cause" and
appointed Mr. Smaley. Somebody evil
IDENTIFY discovered very soon after, that
thes charges or aflidavits would neither
hold water nor bear the light, and Accord
ingly one Winslow was despatched to
Vermont 20 work up a case against zen.
Wells. on the ground that his management
of his office was eXtravagHnt and waste
full. This fellow came on to Vermont !;
made a hurried investigation, in part at
leyees attended by "the hungry and
thirsty" and after he had made his report
false ,groundless, inconcluslve AS 1t was
the secretary of the treasury had some
thing he dared to submit, when the Sen
ate called for the papers. with the papers
so submitted, there was included, prob
adly by mistake, an order of the secretary
to Winslow to investigate some charges
contained in u communication OF hiram
Atkins and an accompanying afndavit OF
one ester c. Hall, and another order of the
secretary, two weeks later, directing
Winslow to give no further consideration
to the statements made by Lester &. Hall.
Just what had happened meantime is not
related but it is fair to presume that dur
ing the two weeks between the order and
counter order, the secretary of the treas
ury had learned something about the
character of Lester c. Hall had possibly
heard of an indictment of one Hall for II
serious ofTense IN this State, and had learn
ed that the affidavit was false and scan
dalous. The latter fact, the committee on
commerce say, the secretary of the treas
ury admitted. How much more of this
sort of thing had been going on; whether
any other false and scandalous " afilda-
Wits were obtained by Democratic scaven-
gers, and whether any or how many per-
sons would have been liable to prosecu-
ton for perjury or for subornation Of
perjury in connection with the matter If
the papers had all seen the light, of course
we do not know. But it seems to be pref
ty clear that the administration Intends to
protect its informerS, of whatever charac-
ter. The Senate got no papers OF any
account except the report of special en-
ploye Winslow, who was sent to ma the
evidence of guilt of the victim, after the
latter's decapitation. Winslow seems to
have found one instance of lax admins
tration,n in some improper advice given to
importers by Democratic deputy, who is
retained in Office by Collector Smalley.
Otherwise he found nothing derogatory to
Gen Wells that is not wholly dlsproved
and that does not recoil heavily against
the accuses
With the fiat disproval of the charges
comes evidence of the remarkable ELI
cheney with which the customs business
of Vermont has been performed under
Collector Wells. There is not IA district
among the thirteen more important coliec
ton districts in which the deputies AND
employees accomplish as much work, pei
man, as has been accomplished in the dis
trct of Vermont. There is not district
in our northern frontier save those on The
great lakes where there is no land frontier
to be guarded, in which the revenue hai
been so efficiently protected or so cheaply
collected, as in Vermont The evidence
in the case not only perfectly vindicate
Gen. Wells, but forms a testimonial to hi
efficiency and fidelity such MS any fedora
officer in the land might well be proud of
our readers that with the report of thu
committee on commerce, the bottom
drops out of the numerous charges ant
insinuations which Senator Edmunds'
enemies have been for months max
ing against him in connection with thi
matter 1t has been said that he asked
for the reference of Col. Smalley sappoint
ment to the judiciary committee; tina
he has been holding it, by his persona
action, in that committee that there wer
no charges against Gen. Wells, and N
reason why Mr.. Smalley should not b'
confirmed except Mr. Edmunds's faction
opposition to the administration. All o
these assertions were false and ground
> less. The case was not before Mr.. Ed
munds's committee. The case was on
which no committee of honorable me
= could have permitted to go unchallenged, C
y without a thorough overhauling, or will
. out affording an officer falsely accuse
= and suspended for no cause but that he