The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-05-08
TIE RAILWAY MAUI SERVICE.

The RAILWAY NAIL SERVICE.
The brief announcement of the resignation
Of Thomas E. Nash, superintendent Of the
railway mail service, has moro significance
than appears on the surface. It is said Mr..
Nash will return to Wisconsin to look after
his private business. Doubtless that is so; but
It'll not likely his private business demands his
attention more imperatively now than it did
when he left Wisconsin, at the request Of Col
Villas, to take position in the Postoffice De-
partment. Undoubtedly the real reason of
his resignation relates to politics, and points
to further decentralization of the postal
service.
Postmaster-general Villas was opposed to
sweeping and wholesale changes in the rail-
way mail service solely for political reasons.
He made too many changes for the good OF
the service, but they were by no means as
numerous or rapid as Democratic spoilsmen
desired. He had some regard for the welfare
of the service, for the public interests and
for his own reputation, and he knew he could
not protect any of these under policy that
would result in total decentralization of the
railway mail service. He knew, also, that
Republican administrations had always kept
q certain proportion of Democratic clerks in
that branch of the service, as a matter of
policy, to secure the votes of Democratic
congressman for postofice appropriation bills.
For these reasons Postmaster-gen Villas
was disposed to go little slow in regard to
revolutionizing the railway mail serv
ice. He went fully as fast
and even faster than he ought
to have done. but not nearly fast enough to
suit hungry Democrats Mr.. Nash came into
the Postofice Department as the friend of Col.
Villas. and was in full sympathy with his
views. Mr. Nash himself was made superin-
tendent of the railway mail service without
any previous training or experience whatever.
He was placed in charge of the entire railway
mail service of the United States and of moro
than 4, 600 clerks, without knowing anything
about the business. Naturally, he would be
disposed to depend largely on the experienced
men Of the service and to 60 somewhat slow
in making changes. He had everything to
learn himself, and he could not afford to dis
miss all the experienced men in the service at
the tap of bell and fill their places with
green hands. The result was that Postmaster
general Villas and Superintendent Nash. for
reasons of their own, united in policy of
mild opposition to Wholesale changes in order
to protect the service, and their own reputa-
tons, from irreparable damage. But Post
master general Don Dickinson takes no stock
in these views. He is there to remove Repub-
licans and appoint Democrats, without regard
to consequences. He thinks that is the way
to build up the Democratic party and re-elect
Cleveland, and beyond that he gives no
thought to the good Of the service. These
were the ideas which he carried into Office.
As soon az he began to urge their application
in the railway mail service, he and Superin-
tendent Nash came into collision. The latter,
by this time, knew enough about the
railway mail service to know that it
could not be conducted On the wide-open plan
of sweeping removals. 1t had been democrat
lied already as much as it would stand. Of
course the Postmaster general insisted on his
views being carried out, and rather than do
it, Nash resigned. That is the secret of his
resignation. It means that the railway mail
service, the most important branch of the
postal service, is to be more thoroughly and
completely demoralized than ever. As soon
as Don Dickinson can find man to his lik-
ing to take Nash's place the work of decapita-
ton will begin and continue as rapidly as
possible until every Republican in the service
is removed. From this time on we may ex-
pect the postal service to grow steadily worse.
The resignation of Mr.. Nash means the inau-
guration Of "wide-open" policy in the rail-
way mail service that betokens i'll to the bust
ness interests of the country.