The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-07-18
A Card.
HARRIsoNBuRG, VA, June "A, 1889.

' a..
Editor Spirit Of the Valley:
Dear Sir-tn your issue of last week IN
speaking o; the appointment of a postmaster at
Harfisonburg, You say:
Some very sneakin-s, dirty, undetermined work
was done to prevent Mr.. Sullivan from getting
lis commission, but it all amounted to nt th H.
Sullivan was charged with being drunkard
When it is Il matter known TO our Whole cominu
nifty that he never touches whiskey-in fact is "a
teetotaer.'"
The examination of the records in the Post
Office Department at Washington, shows that
the only reference to Postmaster Sullivan in any
way in connection with liquor is the following
which is All extract from letter written by Mr.
j. W Jones: Furthermore, we desire good
temperance man our postmaster, and not one
who is in favor of open licensed banooms as is
MIR. sullivan
AS understand, my action in connection wi h
this appointinent has been very freely and IN
favorablv commented on by some persons in
this community enclose you a copy Of a letter
which wrote to the President before the APP
pointment made, but sent to him after
wards AS it is now a part of the public rec.
ords of the country, accessible to any and all
persons YOU are at liberty to publish it in your
columns and thus let intelligent and dis
eliminating public, i'll view of the statements it
contains, Judge how far the language above
quoted from your paper Is JustlflaDle
Very Respectfully, JOHN PAUL.
The following is a copy of the letter which
HARRIsoNBURG, VA, May %, 1889.
10 Hon. BENJAMIN Harrison, President of the Uni
ted States:
Sir-I am informed that James Sullivan is an
applicant for the office of postmaster at this
place Harrisonburg, Va. AS citizen of this
town and patron of the o1flce, [ do most re-
spectfully speaking for myself and numerous
other patrons enter an earnest protest against
the appointment of this man to this responsible
and honorable position
/ do not make this charge unsustained by facts
I give YOU the statement of his own wife as evil
dence of his brutality and cruelty
In the month of August or September, 1887, |
received message one evening from Mrs. sulli-
van, the wife of this applicant, asking me TO
come to her house, as she wished to see me on
| important business The next morning. Oh my
way down to my office, stopped to see her. She
asked me if | could give her some writing or
copying to do, in order to help her to make
living for herself and children. | expressed
some surprise at such request, and told her
thought her husband able to support her. She
said her husband had left her, declaring his pur-
pose never to return. That the day before he
had taken his clothes out OF the WaSn-tuD ana
had left. That on the Sunday previous she had
| allowed her little girl to go to the Baptist Sun
| day school, that her husband being a Catholic
/ wished to whip the child for this, and she,
/ Mrs Sullivan, protested. That thereupop he
4 beat her, Mrs. Sullivan, III most cruel and
/ outrageous manner. That the marks of his
blows were there upon her body and could be
| plainly seen. That this was not the first time he
had beaten her, but had done it often before.
That he pad promised her mother on her dying
bed that he would not beat her again. that her
mother had not been dead four months when he
| beat her as cruelty ever
The statement here make will not be called
i'll question. The same facts are known to other
persons, and to the general community by COM
mon rrlmor The people of this town are as
| intelligent and refined any that can be
found in this any other State. / submit if it is
| right that they, their wives and daughters
and little children should be compelled to
| receive their mail at the hands of a man who is
| known to be a cruel wife beaten. These people
| deserve a higher example of official purity, and
the Administration owes it to itself to see that
! no such wrong is done them.
Respectfully, JOHN PAUL.
U. S. District Judge.