The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-08-15
TIE ATLANTA EMBROGLIO
OVER THI: APPOINTMENT OF
THE NEGRO PENNY.
The Constitution Reads OF Les
son that MIR. John =. CIarISsOn
Will Not he Apt to FOrgeI-OHi-
CialS DiStOrtiIIg Facts, Etc.

The Constitution Reads OF Les
son that MIR. John y. CIarI1sOn
Will Not be Apt to EOrReI-OHi-
CialS DiStOrting Facts, Etc.
ATLANTA, Ca, August 14.-In reply to
the statement of acting Postmaster
General CIarkson sent out to the ASsoci-
atcd Press III reference to the appoint
mcnt OF the negro clerk Penny to
position in Atlanta pOstofiicc, the Con
Sutut1on will say tomorrow in a double
headed editorial: THAT the authorities
III Washington are determined to diStOrt
the facts relative to the appointment of
he negro Penny to a place i'll the Atlanta
postothcc is clearly shown hv the tcIc-
gram which we printed Yesterday. Nearly
every statement attributed to the acting
Postmaster General ClarkSOn in that
telegram is false on the face of it. and the
telegram may justly he regarded as a
deliberate attempt ON thcp1rt of officials
supposed to be close to the adminiStril-
ton to deceive the public with reference
to even that has become notorious. Mr..
ClarkSOn says that the Atlanta post
master General Lewis appointed Charles
I, Penny who stood at the head of the
civil service list of cligibIes. This is false
When Lewis appointed Penny he was the
lowest ona list of two, and Lewis did not
discover until afterwards that SturgiS,
he white applicant, was not eligible, for
he appointed him to Il clcrkShp in
another department next day. Lewis
himself says that he appointed Penny to
Il position i'll the registry department
because he would there he less liable to
come i'll contact with the public But
MIR. ClarkSon says that Penny was
assigned to work i'll the registry division; |
not i'll the same room with the Young |
lady, but i'll another. The impression |
here sought to be left ON the public mind |
is false. EX-pOstmastcr KcnIoe who |
knows a great deal more about the
workings of the postotficc here than
| Lewis, says that the clerks in the registry
| department are necessarily brought into
contact and association. Mr.. ClarkSon
says that "thc young lady and her father,
Who was superintendent Of the registry
division, and had the assignment of
clerks, both resigned because negro had
hccn appointed to a place in the office"
That this is absolutely false, is shown by
Mr.. ClnrkSon himself, who goes on to
say that there were five negro clerks ia
the postOtlicc under the Democratic post
| illH Ill at Nllllt- NdSlllllp
will not be successful. People Of Atlanta
know what they are about and, in this
progressive, liberal city, public sentiment
is never at fault in matters Of this kind
| If all that MIR. Clarkson has said is true,
how is it that Mr. Van Wrinkle, Rrpuh
lIcan, refuses to remain ON General Lewis
bond: II the postmaster did not Violate
the Civil Service law, how is it that
| IuItTr Ipp,,, Il 1. |
bond on that very ground, and shows
that the appointment Of negro was de
Iibcratc and incXcusablc2
"ThC CCOnStitutiOna assures Mr.. Clarksun
th, neither the administration nor any
OF its servants will be permitted to Sian.
der and misreprcscnt Atlanta.
WASHINGTON, August 1l-rhc above
dispatch from the Atlanta Constitution
was shown to Acting Postmaster General
CIarksUn tonight and he was asked :
what he had to say i'll regard to it. He
sad: 81 have no wish to follow the
matter up. | stated official facts, the
literal truth. The Constitution seems to ;
have been the original and inspiring me .
dunn OF the whole sensation gotten up
purely Tor partisan effect as an appeal |
against the appointment of COlOrcd pco- ;
pie to office. The facts are as stated
them, Penny was drawn from the list Of
cilgiblcS, He was put in the registry di-
vision where the white girls father, as y
upcrntcndCnt, had assignment of all the :;
clerks. The superintendent first asked
whether he could he kept for four years
The postmaster told him that he could
not tell him that. lie then resigned 1t =
seems he was willing to work four years
with a cOlOrcd man, but not a few
months. There has been no trouble as 5
TO Postmaster Lewis bond. While one /
gentleman may have asked to withdraw
from it, several other good men in At
Ianta, native Southern men Of courage, !
who are not afraid to stand bv n man in $
a right position, volunteered to 20 upon I
the bond and made it much better than
before. 1t is no wonder that, since the :
story has gone to the country, there is I
an attempt on the part of Atlanta to cx-
plain it. The truth is Postmaster Lewis ,
did nothing more than was ripht. anduo !
va ''I'H"'
INTO nryt Ii;nn else Than truth Thcnn.t
,,,.,s,rr irst,s,d nf+,.in,, In nut i, ,I,.,I. q
Inc same desk with =, wh;te w;rI ns tLc
\tlorto nanrrs first nr;ntrd + and sent |
II Nnrth tnnl; thrm tn tLr s,,rn,;rtnuL
emf nrthr rcnistry I;y;s;nn ,yhm hnG thr y
.,,ss;,rmrrt Hl thr clerks nrJ n,nrrnrrr g
,,,.S thr ',yh;tr r;,.l,s f,thcr. AND th, cuI
.nrrd man ,y.,S ,ut IN anntLrr rnn,r
Thrrr ,y,s rn urrr ,st;tirn,;"n i, tLn
I,thrr and I,u"hirr rrSirn;n, Than ,brrc !
.,ynmId have Lrrn if thGv lad rcs;,rmrI
when tbr Drmnr,.,i;c nnsirrn.tc, @ III tvr
.nr"rn. rIrrks in Inc s,rnr mtErr ThrTnn.
.t;IrIinn ndr,;ts tLnf thcr, ,,.rrr 0rIr
I,yn mem nn thr rI;nibIr Est rhc va, +
,,.,ur,, tn fiji ,y,s IN thr rc,r;str,. L;,;.inr
I,,. ,;h;rh thr nr,rn w.,s TmnI;Ecd Thr
,,t hrr man v,.,s CLns,m thc newt L,,. Enr q
,,,nthn ,,,r,,,c,. i, H., ,t;no a,J ,,,I,;,J O.