The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-15
THE WORK GOES BRAYELY ON
How the Government Service Has Been
Reformed in the State Of Ohio.
A Pension Agent Who Was Dismissed from the
Army for COwardice-Deputy Surveyors
with Jail and Work House Records.


7. G. Crawford, In New York World.
There is nothing to be found in contemplating
the list Of federal appointments in the State of
Ohio which could bring the slightest flush of
pride to the cheek of the most devout mugwump
There are some appointments there which might
cause nervous mugwump to turn pale. There
are more appointments made in this State OF
people who have dishonorable ard penitentiary
records than in any other Of the States One OF
the most notorious of the administration selec
tons is that of Gilbert Barger, a pension
agent at Columbus Barger succeeded Allen
T. Wyckoff Wyckoff was gallant
solder with a splendid war record.
There never had been anv criticism of his
management Barger has record of being dis
missed from the army for cowardce. This is
the history of his retirement from the United
States service He was an officer in an Ohio
regiment which took part in the battle of Win
chester. He had, before this engagement, ap
piled for leave of absence Permission 10 take
a furlough was granted him. This furlough
reached him just as his regiment was going into
action The rebels had already begun to fire
u ION his men. Soldiers were falling at his right
and left He left the field and went home to en-
JOY MS turlough. His case was considered by
| court-martia, and he was sentenced TO be
cashiered the service. He never returned to
undergo sentence, but employed political in
enforced Through this political influence he
was permitted to resign.
William Caldwell, the surveyor of the port of
Cincinnati is vigorous partisan. He is an out
and-out machine politician. Since he has as
sumed charge of this Office he has appointed
number of very peculiar deputies. One of them,
Jerry Mrlroy, has record of two or three terms
in warehouses; "Potch' Moran, another one of
| his deputies. is a murderer. He was hackman,
who. In row, shot and killed a man. He was
not tried, because the principal witness to prove
| the crime did not appear on the trial Two 9TH
| er or these deputies are genial gentlemen from
| the work-house. "PoLch" Moran was arrested
ONLY a week ago for insulting lady in the post
| office. Riley, the postmaster at Cincinnati, is
| said to be good business man, but he was the
| presiding officer in the notorious Highland
| House convention. This political organization
achieved world wide reputation for deliberate
| and unblushing election frauds.
w, L. Bishop, the internal revenue collector
| at Cincinnati, is a long-legged. wiry, untiring
! partisan, who sent numbe of deputies up into
| Judge Homan's district to work for his renomi-
| nation. He has five members Of his family ap-
| pointed to good places under him. The Bishops
thrive and prosper, and are very earnest in their
| support of the civil-service reform administra-
| tlon Burt, the former superintendent of the
| railway mail service, stationed at Cincinnati.
| was one of the most efficient officials employed
| by tho Postof1ce Department 1t is pretended
| at the Postofhce Department that this service is
non-partlsau. and that no changes are ever made
| for political reasons Mr.. Viass face wears a
| look of lowly pain and outraged virtue whenever
| the faintest hint is made in his presence of
| bringing anything like politics into the pure
atmosphere of this branch of the department
Yet Burke was supplanted before the term of
| his Office had expired by one Gwynn, notorious
| Indiana partisan. who is inefficient and whose
management of the Office is the constant subject
| of complaint by business men. Gwynn was a
| former employe of the railway mail service un-
| der Republican administration and was en-
| ployed as Republican. He discharged for
| nefficiency. He then turned Democrat and
! naturally, reformed administration picked him
up. -4s-sA. fsa4-Ys
| Jack Connolly, who was appointed to represent
| the Agricultural Department in Ohio, as it's sta.
| tistical agent, served term in the county jail
| for the stealing of a promissory note. He es-
| capped being sent to the penitentary by a pecu-
/ thar plea He set up defense that the note
was not worth its face value and By showing
this to the satisfaction of the court he succeeded
| in keeping the value Of the note below the limit
/ which describes, grand larceny in Ohio He
served out the sentence for petit larceny and is
still an oficeholder. The postmaster at Bowling
Green, Dobson is the editor of partisan Dem
,ocratic newspaper. Jon FL. Farley. tho collector
at Cleveland. is professional politician and a
j ward manipulation
/ Knecht, the internal revenue collector at Day
| ton, is a ward politician, who has no other pro-
| fesson than that of Office holding Gillespie,
| the postmaster at Dayton, was a comprehend
/ during the war. As Mayor of Dayton he re-
| leased murderer on on straw bail and connived
| at his escape. He was very diSloyal during the
| war. The Republican postmaster at Cleveland
is retained probably because he is the brother of
/ Senator Jones' of Nevada Recently his deputy
| embezzled quite large amount OF money, for
| which the postmaster is of course, responsible.
/ The deputy escaped. At Bellfontaine the post.
masters the editor of the most furiously Demo
| cratic paper in the town. The United States dis
| trict attorney for the Northern district of the
State, Rhoda Shields, was the former president
of the Common Council in Akron. He is nomi-
nal lawyer and a local politician 1t has been
very 6ercely charged in the Democratic news
papers of his region that he secured his election
as president of the Common Council through
corrupt combination with the Republicans. The
United States district attorney for the southern
district has not been removed His brother,
John kumler, is the present internal revenue
collector at Toledo. The Kumlers are an office
holding family. Two of them. brothers, were
recently removed from positions in Indiana.
Goodspeed. the United States marshal at Cleve-
land is a Republican. Crner, the newly APP
pointed marshal for the southern district of
Ohio is firstclass man. His appointment is
almost the only one which has been made in
Ohio that is above criticism The postmaster at
Portsmouth Newman, is editor of the Ports
mouth Times. He is former Secretary of
State. During the war he wrote some of the
most ferocious attacks upon Lincoln and the
cause OF the Union. His diSloyal utterances
have been repeatedly printed against him in
campaigns His record of disloyalty during the
war 10 "uoEouShly wei KNOWN Drduy the posi-
master at Newark, was formerly sheriff of the
county where he now lives and during his in
cumbency, was found 10 be short in his accounts
to the amount of $4,000. When the case was
tried it was found that the amount Of his bond,
which was signed as $4,000 had been raised to
$l0,0O0 and his bondsmen, when they learned of
this change. withdrew, ard this leaving the
sheriff without any security back of him. the
suit was not pressed 1t is still unsettled. He
set up the defense that it was his deputy that
got away with the money Whether this ia a
good defense not cannot be shown until
the case comes to trial Jake Miller former
Leutenant-governo or the State, who was APP
pointed consul general at Frankfort-on.the-