Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-11-19


WAsHiNG1oN. D. c.. March 81. lS'5
Railway postal clerks who have become efficient
and valuable men. against whom NO Just com
plant " neglect. inattentiun, or want Of fidelity.
honesty. or efficiency can he brought, and who
have not turned their attention To political ahorS
during their service. need have no fear of being
disturbed so lungas they continue to render mcri-
torious aud faithful service.
WIN. f. Villas. Postmaster General
This order has never been revoked, and on
its face it is still in force today, though IT
has been violated "a thousand times. Under
it, if Democratic promises were worth one
per cent Of the value Of "A 1l-cent dollar,
c. b. HYDE would be as secure in his posi-
ton as Mr.. Cleveland or Mr.. Villas are in
theirs for he has been for years AN "efii-
cient and valuable man, against whom no
complaint of any sort was ever raised, eth
er as an official or a man.
More than this. the worst feature of all
is the fact that, under the reform preten-
sions of this administration. a removal like
this carries with it the presumption that
charges" have been preferred, under which
the removal has been made, and therefore
the removal creates the inevitable suppose
ton that something has been wrong in the
officials behavior. But if Mr.. Hyde writes
| to the Postmaster General to ask why he
| has been removed, his letter will he treated
with silent contempt and if he writes to
Mr.. Atkins he gets an insolent reply to the
effect that he has been in office long enough
and the Democrat who is to succeed him is
| 81 l,a f.r t,la n
then Mr. Davenport obediently takes up
this answer and repeats it in his paper
Every word which the Reformer says in
its paragraph above quoted gives the lie to
its own reform pretensions and those of the
administration. 1t says that Mr. Hyde was
a faithful, honest, deserving official and an
old soldier besides; but he ought to be re
moved so as to make an equilibrium 4
Democratic equilibrium evidently. for it
is estimated that the removals and appoint
ments in the postal service alone since this
administration came in have averaged one
for every eight minutes of every working
day But. unfortunately for the country
such an equilibrium" will never be reached
until there is an Office for every Democrat
and a margin to spare for new arrivals.
The Phoenix would never, in any case
have criticised the action of the Democrat,
administration in removing Republicans haC
the President and his cabinet and other ap
pointees had the honesty and manliness t,
say that the offices were wanted for Demo
Gratis and therefore the Republicans mus
90. We do not believe in that kind of civil
service; we have opposed it heretofore an,
will oppose it hereafter. But the way wa
open for the Democrats to adopt it man
fashion if they chose What they did do
beginning with Mr.. Clevelunds letter T.
George William Curtis before his election
was to parade the declaration that the
would follow civil-service-reform methods
and then begin straightway to violate then
times without ndmber, as the President di
in the removal of Gen Wells and a. tn
post-office department has now done in tn
removal of Mr.. Hyde. If Repubica
hangers-on have been asked or allowed t
assist in this dirty work, as the Reforme
! intimates 50 much the worse for the COW
ardly spirit of the Democracy which such
fact reveals They are "A kind of Republ
cans with whom we have no sympathy.
p, So long as the administration and il
strikers keep up their pretension of bein
q one thing while they do another, we sha
= follow their actions and expose their hypo,
!, risy. When they recall their reform pr,
A tensions and acknowledge themselves til
h spoismen which their actions prove thel
to be, We shall have nothing to say in crit
.. cism but we will do our best to help ele,
:. an administration which will not parade i
# self in the cast-off gown Of some hacl
J. Sudden saint, with the ears of an ass sticl
y ing out at the top and the tail of the ev
=. one dangling below.