The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-07-17


~ parallel will repay attention:
Especial Dispatch tot do lift I'M n hearty
tne Glooe-Democrat.l prayer that we may
First Assistant Post. never have President
master-General Clark who Will not either pur-
son still continues hssue, and compel his
work OF decapitating Cabinet advisers to
tourth-class postmas- pursue, the civil-serv-
tiers OF the Democratcics policy pure and
variety and substitut- simple and upon Just
ing for them Repub- basis allowing m n
licans. During tn e accused TO be heard.
week Just Gle d and deciding against
changes were made in them only upon compe.
1Ol2 oft1ces. The high tent proof and fairly
est number Of changes either have that kind
made in one week waslof civil service, or
!,0l6. The latter num- for Gods sake let us
Der broke the record, have that other frank
which breaking oc- Ia bold, il brutal
CURED about the mid method of turning men
die of May, The pastIand women out simply
week gave the recordIf Or political opinion
q close call, although Let US have one or the
Mr.. ClarksOn made mol othas>
special effort. -Sincsl
the incoming of thel
present administ ration
over 100 Democratlcl
postmasters OF tn e
fourth class have re-
tired from Office eitherl
voluntarily or involun-
tarily.
The quotation on the left hand
speaks for itself and needs no explana-
ton. That on the right is from
speech delivered in the United States
Senate on March rs, 1886, by Benjamin
Harrison, Senator from Indiana. 1t
might have been supposed that becom-
Ing President, Mr.. Harrison, in de-
PARTING from his pledges in way so
brutal that in a single grade of single
department. of the service he has
forced out over II, 900 experienced men
IN less than four months, would have
adopted his own alternative and so
would have been frank and bold in his
brutality. The country does not need
to be told that hypocrisy has been as
marked a feature Of his administrative
methods as the brutality he himself
has defined. In the process of forcing
out these thousands of tried public
servants, every method known to parti-
san greed and rancor has been en-
ployed. Where designations have not
been forthcoming on demand, the
threat of charges has been held over
the heads Of incum bents, and they
have been given to understand that
the nature of such charges is an ad-
ministration secret.
The New York Evening Post has
done good service in exposing this
method, especially in the case of Mrs.
Mary L. Clay, of Huntsville, Ala.
She was postmistress there, and her
resignation was demanded. She asked
to know the nature of the charges
against her. The answer was notice
of her removal. The Administration
claims to have the report of special
agent on charges showing her unfit
ness. When application was made at
the Post-Office Department for in
formation concerning these charges
it was fatty refused, with no other in
formation than that the contents of
such papers would not be divulged in
any case.
The best comment on. such policy
for use in this connection is that of
the speech from which we have al
ready quoted. ut u.s." said Senator
Harrison, "a policy inaugurated by
this Administration, a policy thai is
without precedent, and that will be
without imitation-a policy of stimu-
lating and receiving secret charges
against the reputation of men, ay, as
/ shall show presently, not only
against the reputation of men, but
against the reputation OF women; of
denying to the accused any access to
or knowledge of the charges, and of
acting upon those charges in the
dark"
Now, what is Harrison the President
as he is judged out OF the mouth OF
Harrison the Senator? Was Harrison
the President pursuing "a civil-serv-
ice policy pure and simple" in turning
out over 11,000 fourth class postmas-
tiers between March and June Is?
Was he frank and bold, if brutal"
in having charges filed by a special
agent against Postmistress Mary L.
Clay and refusing to reveal the nature.
OF the accusation or the names of the
Is aot Harrison the Presl-
dent condemned by Harrison the SEN
ator as a canting humbug?-St. Louis
Republic.
PROTECTED COAL MINERS.
Men, Willing to Work Hard, Unable to