Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1886-07-30
FRIDAY MORNING, JULY. 80, 1886.

81. G. TINSLEY,
A. s. MORTON.
FRIDAY MORNING, JULY. 80, 1886.
We understand that Mr.. Chas. O'Donnell,
engineer at the Western Lunatic Asylum, has
been displaced and Mr.. M. Dinneen, late
Superintendent of the Staunton Water Works,
has been selected to fill the vacancy. Mr..
O,DonnelTs only offense, SO far as we have
been able to learn, is that he voted the indie
pendent ticket in the late city election. There
was no charge of neglect of duty, no COM
plant of ineffciency, no cause for removal,
except that he chose to exercise his right as a
citizen and vote as he thought proper. He was
a thoroughly competent and efficient engi
neer, and conducted his department through
out in the very best manner. There may be
justification for an exercise of the spoils sys-
tenn, when political contest is made for that
avowed purpose. But when officials who are
sqcoru to discard politics in toto in the dis
charge of their duty, prostitute the trust com
mitted to them to partizan ends, or personal
spite, it is time clean sweep were made, and
that those who have thus proven them
selves unworthy of the confidence reposed in
them, and untrue to the solemn obligations
they assumed, were deprived of the power to
make the State institutions political machines
Such partizanism is a disgrace to any State.
The volume of wrath that is being piled up
against the day of wrath is increasing with
each revolving VGlleQ Vtrqs7aiG7a.
On the LIST of July, Mr.. Michael Dinneen,
one of the best, if not the best, Superin-
tendents of the Water Works the city has
had, was defeated for reelection by the
city council, and Capt. J. T. Long select
ed to fill the vacancy. There was no
charge of neglect of duty, no complaint of
ineficiency, no cause for removal that
was made public then, or has been made
public since. He was thoroughly COM
petent and efficient engineer and conduct
ed his department throughout in the best
manner. Though Mr.. Dinneen has been
for years staunch and never failing
Democrat, this paper made no protest,
We hold that the body, be it City Coun-
Gil or the official staff OF Lunatic Asy-
lum, entrusted with duty, has the per-
feet right to summon to it's assistance the
material that it chooses-always provided
it does not endanger the interests 1t
is entrusted with, by the choice OF in
competent men. The successor to Mr..
Dinneen selected by the council we re-
garded, and still regard. as competent
and suitable man, and that was enough
for us to know. We are no believer in
lifetime oficeholders on the doctrine that
because man is in he must stay in. We
look to the power which assumes the
trust, whether it be Council or an Official
and hold it responsible for the success or
failure of its appointees.
The Steward of the W. L. Asylum, in
whose hands lies the authority, subject to
the Superintendent. has now secured the
services of Mr.. Dinneen as engineer of
that institution-an opportunity arising
from his failure of reelection to the Su-
perintendency of the Water Works. Mr..
D. was for quarter of century engineer
at the Asylum to the satisfaction of every
administration of its affairs in that time;
SO satisfactory that efforts have been
made to get him back since he took the
place under the city government, but
Without success. He had been turned
out of the Asylum by the Readjuster-Re@
publican party nAhaving taken serFise
under the city did not think it best to
change To put in Mr.. Dinneen, an IN
deniable expert. it was necessary to change
engineer O'Donnell, worthy and faithful
man who, without Mr.. Dinreen's expert
ence, had yet given the best service in his
power. In view of these facts the Steward
offered engineer O'Donnell the place of
Assistant Engineer permanently, or,if he
did not wish it permanently, as long as he
desired to hold it. These facts come from
the officer of the Asylum who is best in
informed, the Steward himself. These
two actions would seem on the part OF
both the City Council and the Steward of
the Asylum to have been taken purely for
the interests as they thought, of the trusts
they held; one for the city and the other
for the State and in the exercise of pow
er absolute and unquestionable, save and
except they had put incompetent men In
the places they had vacated.
But it appears that while the change 10
the City water works was received as one
entirely within the right and power of the
City Council to make; the change at the
Asylum, made by men responsible for the
good conduct of that institution-not to
the people of Staunton but to the people
of the whole State-has been made the
subject of what might be called outside
political activity. A remarkable feature
of it, we are informed, has been the send
ing of a petition mot by Mr.. O'Donnell,
however, which was doubtless signed by
many gentleman without reading, to the
Acting Chairman of the Democratic State
Central Committee at Richmond ! asking
him to interferei!l We question very
much if since the days of Malone
ism, when one of the minor en-
ployees of State Institution an
nounced that the Directors knew better
than to remove him as they knew he
would write to Malone, there has been a
parallel to it. The idea of making par
tizan machine of the Asylum, in which
appointments and removals are subject to
the veto Of the Chairman Of the Demo-
cratic party is too demoralizing to the
discipline to be entertained for moment,
and would not have been entertained, we
presume. by many of the signers, had they
had time to think over it. 1t would en-
tireIy demoralize the institution and break
up the controlof it's officers. and we appre-
bend that Chairman would have to be a
good distance on his way to lunatic asy-
lum himself, before he would attempt to
interfere with the sworn officers Of an
institution controlled by Directors