Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-04-12
The Federal Omce. in vermont.

We copy in another column the Boston
Journals Washington despatch outlining in
detail the attitude which our Vermont del
egation in Congress has assumed with re
gard to the federal offices in this state The
declared position of Messrs. Edmunds, Nor
rill, Stewart and Circuit is. in brief, that,
SO far as they are concerned, present Dem
ocratic incumbents will be allowed to serve
out their terms of office. There will be no
removals by their request, and no attempt
at "clean sweep This decision, reached
after mature deliberation, is one which does
credit to the state, and if the example of
our senators and representatives should he
followed by the members from other states
it would speedily clear out the horde of
office seekers at Washington, which blocks
the wheels of public business and is re
proach to the nation
1t will he said by certain class of carp
ing critics that it is not genuine civil ser
vice reform when officials belonging to one
party are simply allowed to serve out their
terms of office before their places are given
to aspirants who are in sympathy with the
party in power In certain sense this is
true but it is also true that it is a long
step in advance over previous methods when
the demand for a clean sweep is sturdily
ignored, and when we are assured that the
public business is not to be retarded or up
set because one political party has gone out
of power and another has come in. More
over, we are assured by this decision that
whatever disposition is finally made of the
Vermont offices as a whole or in detail,
there will be no pretence of meaning one
thing while doing another. There will be
no removals on trumped-up charges, and
the federal patronage will not be jobbed
out to party boss. In no state was strong.
er provocation given by the Cleveland ad-
ministration for retaliatory action than in
Vermont and for this reason it is all the
more qualification to see the peoples rep
resentatives rise above a provocation to re-
venge so fragrant and shameless.
The appointments decided on by the del
egation are excellent ones. No man in
Vermont has cleaner record, and none
has done the state better service, than has
Mr. Benedict, who will succeed Col. Small
ley as collector at Burlington. OF the fit,
ness of the appointment of eX Gov, Farm
ham to be bank examiner there can be nc
doubt. He is careful, painstaking, com
petent man, who will perform his duties
with ability and conscientiousness, Mr.
Amsden, who will succeed Mr. Robinson al
marshal, is a resident Of Windsor he has
been sheriff of his county, and is mer
chant who commands the public confidence
and respect Mr.. Plumley, who has al
ready been appointed United States Attor
ney on account of the resignation of Mr.
Pitkin, is lawyer who has been q residen
of Mortified since 1869 He is a leader il
the temperance cause, was a delegate t,
the Chicago convention of last year, and il
known both at home and abroad as an elo
queut and effective political speaker
We do not understand that Col Haskin
was candidate in any formal sense TO
reappointment TO the attorneyship, from
which he was removed on a trumped M
charge of offensive partisanship and il hi
disappointment had been decided upon h
would not have cared.to hold the office per
manently in his present state of health