Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1886-06-17
COMPTON VS.. PINDLkY.

when the clause appropriating the
Presidents salary was reached, Mr.
Bayne Pa offered an amendment
providing that none of the money
should be payable until the Civil Ser
vice rules shall have been changed
so that the names Of all applicants for
official appointments from any one
State, found duly qualified on exami-
nation, and without regard to age,
shall be sent to the official making
an appointment
Mr.. Fihdlay took a prominent part
in the discussion which the amend
ment provoked, claimed that it would
have the effect Of gIvinga partisan and
not a non-partlsan service and referred
to the late Baltimore Postmaster as
an ingenious young gentleman who
got the whole list of eligibles in his
hands and in less than a year turned
out every republican in that office
and put a democrat in his place with
out missing fire once. Loud and re-
peated applause and cry of good for
him. Continuing. the gentleman
sand This ingenious young gentle
man, with tie aid OF more expert ma
nipulators, still boasts if he had been
spared a little longer in his place he
would have turned over a democratic
civil-service reform post office to his
successor. Now applaud that again.
Applause.
Mr.. Compton. having obtained the
floor, said Il deem it proper to
make a brief response 10 the remarks
which have fallen from the lips Of my
distinguished colleague Mr.. Findlay
Sir, the assault which he has made
upon the late postmaster of Baltimore
city is as undeserved as any that one
man ever made upon another. Who
is this man. Sir, lie ia the peer OF
my colleague or any other gentleman
on this floor or anywhere rs a man OF
character and intelligence and dem,
ocrat. He is man who, for the first
time within the history of the country
since the party came into control of
the Government. has had it in his
power as a Democrat TO administer
Federal patronage il the State Of
Maryland He administered it nm
der the eve of the authorities here in
Washington and when he was about
to conclude his administration and of
his own free will deliver up that of.
flee this same Civil Service Comm:s-
sion sought by indirection, by every
effort and every means which they
could employ, to cause it to be be-
lieved BY the world that he had vio-
lated the laws OF that service. Why
Because he had removed from office a
lot OF political scalawags, lot OF un-
principled political scoundrels, the
associates of my colleague in last falls
campaign when he sought to defea:
the Democratic ticket" Applause on
the democratic side.
Immediately. says the Baltimore
Sun, the House was in an uproar and
Mr.. Findlay was heard to inquire an
grlly whether his colleague meant to
say that he associated with scalawags
and scoundrels. The gentlemen stood
within a few feet of one another ex-
citedly gesticulating while other mem
bers gathered around The Chair
man was, however, equal to the emer-
gencv, and soon succeeded in secur.
ing comparative quiet.
Mr.. FIndlay.-''l would like TO ask
the gentleman from Maryland wheth-
er | understood him TO state that all
the persons discharged from the post
office in the last year were political
scoundrels and scaIawass
Mr.. Compton.-"Not all of them.
Mr.. Findlay.-"I understood YOU
TO say that all OF them were.
Mr.. Compton.-"Not all them. |
never intended to saw so.
Mr.: Findlay.-"How many of
them
But Mr.. Compton, declining. at
that time, TO answer the question,
went on TO assert that ii had been
sought to convict Postmaster Neazey
OF violation OF the civll-service rule
because he had removed lot Of men
who were unfit to hold office under
any administration, and in COLLISION
with whom, last fall, his distinguished
colleague had sought to defeat the
regular democratic ticket in Bal;i.
more. They were untitled to hold
office, and he knew, and his colleague
knew, that these men. IN connection
with the officials of the custom-hous !
in Baltimore, had run republican pol
tiles IN Maryland by every means
within theirreach ever since the party /
had been IN power. 1t was q strange
sound to come from the lips of a gen.
tleman elected TO Congress as O demo. !