The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1888-01-21
TURNER'S TRICK.
lie Fires Postal Clerk to shield Himself
J. IL. Trousdale Removed for IN Oiiens.
He Never Dreamed OF, Much
Less Committed.
lvieksbur. Commercial. Herald.

are not clOthod with autOnatic power py |
the law they at least are not slow to oxer- |
else absolute power from which there does
not Seem to be any appeal. Under our, Tree
form of government it would appear that II
an apparent violation of the laws and regu- |
lalions is committed, the offender is at least
entitled to hearing and an impartial in
vestigation, but this is a mistake as far as
the railway mail service Is concerned.
Let some poor devil OF a postal clerk mis-
constr,ie All order or let some newspaper
supposed to be friendly to him criticise the
forthwith he is charged with classifying his
reports and instigating newspaper attacks
and furnishing them with Information.
Then an edict is issued by the grand cy
clops, .sOff his head, so much for Buckin:s-
ham,
| About two months ago there existed good
reason for complaint on account OF the man.
ner in which the service was performed on
| the Vicksburg. Shreveport Il Pacific road.
| This journal and two or three confempora-
rios published an account OF the matters
| complained OF and took occasion to criticise
| u. NJ. Turner, the superintendent OF the
fourth division and by imputation the Chief
clerk. 1t was shown that the clerks were
! worked at q disadvantage and that an ar
rangement could be made by which the SER
vice would be greatly benefited.
These articles appear to have considera-
issued an order that the clerks on that line
should send in to him the slips OF mail
received from first, second, and third class
post offices and connecting railway post
offices. Nothing was said about the mail
received from small local post offices. so in
sending in their trip reports the clerks sent
in their slips as directed and added to
/, them the amount of mail worked from
local offices. They considered that they
had wight to count the local matt as part
of the mail worked: HOW nistakem .heS
correspondent Of II New Orleans paper st
i, Monroe La, wrote communication to the
paper and failed to sign his name; MT LINE NE
+ lively For some reason the New Orleans
paper turned the communication over to
chief Clerk Fitzgerald whose office is a!
New Orleans. That gentleman discovered
: that the writing''was exactly like thas OF
= J. II. Trousdale, who is one of the clerks on
the road and he forwarded it TO Siperin-
tendent Turner at Atlanta.
Here at last was the opportunity that
n amiable person had been itching for, tc
s make an example ofsome and get even fol
y tho newspaper criticisms OF nm ana his
\ management.
! He Forwarded the matter to Washington
with a report that }. III. Trousdale and the
J. other clerks, S. X. Scott and w. l.. LAM
9 had entered into a conspiracy to make
false returns of the mail worked by them
and to furnish information to the newspa
pers and instigate attacks by them upoi
ell the superintendent OF the railway maj
a service.
After doing this he msgnanmously wrot
II Trousdale what he had done and informe
g him if he had any statement to make II
10 would forward it to the department 10
. consideration.
~ Mr.. VrOuSdale was naturally Guhlu
r. founded at this information, and he wrot
,e Turner that he had made no false returns
and no incorrect ones that he knew of, an
that he knew nothing ofthe newspaper al
y, ticles referred to and had only read on
which appeared in the Commercial Heralo
III Trousdale then forwarded copies of the co
Mt respondence to Congressman Newton, WI
i. at once wrote Turner that mistake wa
~, being made by him and asking hin! to d.
he sist from his persecution of Irousdaie o
v. such alleged charges. lie might as we
Ia. haved poured water on ducks back. Bo
Il. Turner paid no attention to the protest
y Congressman Newton, and i'll n very fe
days, an order came from the General -
perintendent renewing Trousdalo II
A., ! making false returns OF mail worked
nv YOU (Trousdale) and for instigating new
;. :, paper attacks, and giving information upt
OH which to base said attacks" This may II
n be the identical language but it is substa
,,y Lially the wording Of the order which fir,
- ! Door Troustlale, neck and heels, oLt OF u
service.
IN. A few DAYS afterwards orders came 7
his ducing the pay of Scott and Lane, Inc DIN
lin clerks, from one Thousand TO eight hunttr
dollars year for eight months las punis
ment tor making false returns OF III
worked by you"
to The poor fellows had seut in the SIPS
M, luded to above. aud also counted their iot
mail as part of the whole worked by the
ecu Ofcourse as the local was not 'sHppe
ill there was discrepancy between the nu
ar Der of slips sent i'll received from nrst,
A. cord and third class postofiices and raliw
IS' postofiices. aud the whole number OF Pat
IL ages of letters reported worked because
Use, local Offices have no slips.
,ak The clerks never dreamed that the 10
our S;Sore,,ancv 10 tba sole hasis for super
the tendent Turner's charge of falsifyipg th
| reports, But then it must be remembe