The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-23

Meantime the President, in order to tighten his
labor of turning the rascals in and to make his
peace with the mugwumps. was wont to lndte
long epistles 60 Dorman B. Eaton on the ethics
of the civil service doctrine Occasionally he
would scowl hideously at Democratic Congress-
men. In one Of bis scintillations he speaks with
becoming severity of the caprice and selfish in
terest of those who impudently stand between
the people and the machinery of their govern
menG Bnt, bless your soul, they didn't mind
It. The machine was grinding more vigorously
than ever before recorded In the annals of the
satisfied They knew knew that such cpl
thets from the reform President were
merely intended ito give verisimilitude to an 9TH
erWise bald and unconvincing narrative" VI
eourse all those Democrats who want ofhce
have not obtained it, there not being enough to
60 'roundl and their clamor has been cited oy
Che defenders of President Cleveland as evidence
Shat practically clean sweep has not Deen
made. We need not 60 out OF this State to prove
Che contrary. Mr.. Lucius Swift, gentleman of
Gnquestoned integrity and ability, who voted
&or Mr.. Cleveland two years ago. and who is ess
Interested in vinocating the consistency OF that
vote than in furthering the cause of civilservice
reform, mas prepared an elaborate and exhaust
I've report of the condition of the civil service in
Indiana, gathered from afidavits Of reliable wit
hesses.
Even President elected as a professional
spokesman would. If mindful Of his oath, be
compelled TO execute the civil-service law which
be found on the statute book. This President
cleveland has not done, to say nothing Of his
failure to apply the spirit of that law to that
great body of Offices that lie within his individ
pal discretion. The postofice of Indianapolis ia
the only Office in Indiana within tho purview Of
She civilservice law. Let Us see how the law is
executed there. First, vertable Jacksonian
postmaster was appointed the rest follows as a
corollary. The duties of the assistant postmas-
ter and cashier under the Republican admins
tration had bean performed by one man at sal
kry of 81, 900. Two men were now employed to
An 70
salary of $500 To obtain the addi-
Honal 81 500 two efficient distributing clerks,
both exsoldiers. we're removed, to the detri-
ment of the service. In the sackrepair depart
weeks. dismissed. The superintendent Gen.
g. T. McGinnis who had served with great dis
tinction in the Mexican and civil wars, and who
was or high standing in the community, was
succeeded by party boss. OF thefour women
removed, one was a niece of the late General
Burnside. was a soldiers widow with
widowed mother, one was a widow, and one was
unmarried with widowed mother They were
succeeded by three male ward politicians, with
ho saving of pay to the government AS Gus
Eodiau of the postoffice building the postmaster
removed four soldiers. Another soldier, who
passed the examination and was on the list of
eligihles, asked the postmaster what the pros
pect was as to his appointment as carrier. The
teply was, Whom did you vote for at the last
electionP II don't know that you have any
right to ask that question. l don't know that
Postmaster, as an exponent of the higher
law, said, '"There won't be any more appoint
1nents until there is another examination" The
postmaster peremptorily dismissed another SOL
der, the registry clerk, who worked thirteen
hours day. Sunday and all. although he had
promised tosgive him plenty Of notice" He said
be wanted the place for some one else. He said
to still another soldier whom he removed, you
are all going any way; have kept all of you
longer than 1 wanted to. Summer is coming
bow and you can make living, aud want you
oil to get out Of here" Then the postmaster
adopted the method Of forcing designations A
%r,tten resignation was brought to- to one
sign. which he did. The assistant
postmaster then feelingly remarked: eve have
nothing against you, Ben, if you have nothing
against u.s." Two other soldiers were also forced
out False charges preferred by person who
had been convicted of grand larceny caused the
removal of an efficient mail carrier Another
carrier was given notice to leave He was told
by the assistant postmaster 'It is better for the
boys to resign than to have US trump up charges
against them it almost breaks Mr.. Jones's heart
to have to trump up charges against the boys"
in fine, all the incumbents of the unclassifed
Service and half of the incumbents of the CLASH
lied service have been removed. OF those forced
put of the classified service, sixteen were sol
aiers. In the railway mail service it is believed
that about forty of the one hundred and fifty
former clerks remain. The effect of all this, like
Turner sunset, is simply indescribable. The
list of advertised letters has greatly increased
letters have been miscarried; some con-
taining drafts of $1,000 and less amounts
have been sold by the postofice as waste
paper and banks have found it
Eonvenient to use the express office for the
Transportation of their valuable correspondence
"On the Vandalia line. from forty to 100 sacks
pr mail have been going to St Louis four days
In the week unworked" In the Kokomo and
Terre Hante internal revenue districts in the
district attorneys Office and in the custom house
Ehe sweep has been clean. In the pension and
lnarshals Office, and in the second and third-class
postof6ces, but few of the former employees re-
knain. In the 1900 fourth-class Offices Mr..
Bwifts information indicates that about 1000
postmasters have been changed and that ''the
300 unchanged Offices are not as a rule, desir-
Able places, being largely crossroads postof6ces."
The conduct of the examinations in the In
Hianapolis postofice under the new admins
lratlon has been, to say the least peculiar. Re-
publican intellect seems somehow to have IN
hergone q sudden and extraordinary deterio-
ration The uniform failure of Republicans to
secure appointments in the classified service
has been equaled only by the uniform success of
The Democrats. Another very remarkable cir
cumstance connected with these examinations is
that one man, who did not know how to write,
passed successfully, and was appointed mail
barrier. He entered enthusiastically on his task
Of misdelverlng letters but the protest of an
indignant popuace induced the postmaster to
direct his energies into another channel Mr.
Swift explains these interesting phenomena by
Freely charging that the Democratic postmaster
sNever intended to honestly enforce the law
that he has grossly and deliberately violated the
Pendleton act" So much for the Indianapolis
postoh1ce. AS we look abroad in tho State it is
quite evident that the Democrats cannot stand
prosperity. Half the congressional districts
wear the appearance Of Kilkenny in fair time
congressman have betrayed their constituents
by the appointment of incompetent and dis
reputable men, and have used the appointees to
force their own denominations upon un willing
constituents A distinguished ex-Congressman
said, recently: "Give meA the postmasters in
my district, and no matter what my record in
Congress may have been, defy any man to de-
feat my denomination" Judge Lowry, the
Democratic Congressman of the Twelfth district
Is at present exemplifying the truthfulness of
this statement. AT the convention which lately
Eenominated him every postmaster in the dis