Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-23

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. REMOVED IN Mr..
HARRIsoSs FIRST YEAR.
The investigating committee of the National
Civil Service Reform League have completed
their report on the removals and designations
ofpresidential postmasters during the first year
OF Mr.. Harrisons administration. The COM
mittee Is composed of Vim. ID. Foulke, chair
man; Chas. j. Bonaparte, Richard II. Dana,
Wayne MacVeagh, Sherman $. Rogers.
In Its opening paragraph the report says:
at gave us satisfaction to note in our last re-
port the improved condition of the patent
office and the adherence to civil service
principles in Its management. We are
not able to discover the same adherence to
business methods in respect to the changes
made among presidential postmasters. In in
yestigatlng these changes we have attempted
TO ascertain: Ist. Their number. ID The
motive. whether made for political reasons or
to promote the efficiency OF the service"
MR.. wASAMAKER AND THE COMMITTEE.
Then follows a letter to President Harrison
in which attention is called to Mr. Wanamal1ers
refusal to give them access TO the list of
changes the receipt of which the President
acknowledged through Mr.. Halford without
comment
Proceeding, the report says: your commit
tee Is OF the opinion that the lists of postmas-
ters removed and appointed ought TO he
public reeOrd-that any person dealing with
the department should have the right to know
who is the lawfully commissioned officer. when
he was appointed and when his term would ex-
pire. and ought not to be required to establish
q special interest before being permitted to in
spect this list any more than if it were the
record of a court of justice or OF a legislative
body. III the Postmaster General has the dis
cretiona-y right to refuse such inspection the
exercise of this right cannot fail to incur the
distrust of those who believe that the public
service should be administered with such pub
lclty not to shrink from examination.
The past numbers of the Daily Bulletin is
sued to the press had become scattered and lost
before your committee was appointed; and 1t
is impossible thus to obtain a complete Official
list of the changes made, especially in relation
to fourth-class post Offices. The results OF our
inquiries WILL perhaps. show why the Post
master General considered it necessary TO re-
fuse access to this information. The mere
number of such removals (Which the depart
ment offered to furnIsh) would of itself throw
no light upon the motives for which they we're
made; and without the names of the offices, of
the men removed and of the new appointees
ii would be mauifestly impossible for rs to OBJ
tain Information Of value. We have, however,
been able to obtain this information. so far as
the changes IN presidential post offices are con-
ccrned. IN other ways; and. If 1t Is not derived
wholly from the Postmaster Generals own lists
II Is because he declined to furnish it,"
The OFFICIAL REPORT OF CHANGES
"A partial enumeration OF the changes in
presidential offices. those made between March
4 and July /. 1889 had been already given in
the report OF the Postmaster General tor 1889
1t Is as follows: BY deaths. "A; by designations.
lI6: b. expiratIOns, l0j: by offices becoming
presidential, ll9; by removals for various rea-
sons. l36; total. $50. And the report SAYS of
these removals, Iifty-fiye were removed upon
inspectors and other official reports. % others
had served over four years. % others bad an
average service OF nearly four years and the
remaining 80 were removed to secure a better
service This report reveals a curious
system resOrted TO III the Post Office Depart
ment to explain removals. In the first place.
changes made by designations and By cxpira-
tons OF terms are excluded before these re-
noy2ls are counted Then we are told that
among the men removed . had served over
four years CaltnOugn the term for which they
were commissioned had not expired). and -
others had an average service OF nearly four
years. This Is certainly peculiar reason for
the removal OF En efficient postmaster before
the expiration of his term.
But the statements i'll this report go further
Fifty-fve were removed upon inspectors aud
other official reports, while the remaining
thIrty-sIx were removed to secure q better SER
wee II thus appears that as to this remainder
there were no Official reports IN reference 20
the good OF the service, and the information
upon this point must have come from unOfi-
cal sources. We shall examine hereafter
somewhat IN detail the character of SUCH IN
formation and the way IN which.these removals
were made.
sIxTY-FoUR PER CENT OF CHANGES IN ONE YEAR.
The report OF the committee further says:"Ihe
nominations TO presidential post offices are sent
by the President to the Senate. and appear
scattered through the records of Congress. An
examination OF these records has enabled us to
ascertain the changes In these Offices with sub
stantIal accuracy. The changes in presidential
Offices made durIngtae first year. as given by Mr..
GARRISON. frs: assistant postmaster general. are
a. follows: % On deaths, As ~ on resigna-
tons, 5Ii: 81 on eXpiratiOns, 52i; "a offices
becoming presidential, ~; 90 rcmovals-(AD
on inspectors and other government officials
reports, 2yo; Cd upon expiration OF four years
service and second commission not yet ex-
pired. 2Jl; @ upon uniouDted evidences OF
Encouragement, without reports, 1l4 total,
l,7o3.
The entire number of presidential postmas-
tiers, according TO the report OF the Postmaster
General on July l, 1SS9. 1852. Two hun
dred and twenty-seyen offices became presi-
Dental between March T. 1889, and March 4.
1872 according 20 Mr.. ClarksOns statemen Mt
above. or these ll9 had become presidential
on July l, 1883, according 10 the Postmaster
Generals report above referred to. One hun
dred and eight Offices therefore became presi-
DENTAL after July l, 1889 and before March 4.
1850, making the total number Of presidential
offices on March 4. 1890. 227U. II is thus
shown that over 81 per cent of these officers
were changed during the first year of the pres
ent administration Tho statement made by
the Pos: Office Department however, indicates
that only 6l3 Of such changes or about % per
cont, have been made by the removal of the
lncumbents and that the remaining changes
have been upon deaths, designations, expira-
tIons of terms and upon the respective OFFICES
becoming presidential. Ii Will be noticed that
the number of changes owing to the death o.
the incumbent Is only forty-eight The changes
on account of the Offices becoming presidential
are IN their nature very similar to removals.
since there would appear to be no better rea-
son why an efficient fOurth-class postmaster
should be displaced when the business OF his
ONCE increases 50 as to make il presidential
than why the same change sho uld be made if
the office had always been presidential. If
such change Is made for political reasons
merely II - equally a violation OF the promise
that fidelity and efficiency should be the
only sure tenure Of Ofiice'"
CIRCULAR LETTER
was sent by the committee to the retired post
masters and to their successors asking the rea-
sons for the changes On this subject the re-
port says:
I'm thus getting information from both Sides
and giving both pOS:masters a chance to be
heard We believed that would arrive at the
truth as nearly as 1t possible to do so by
written correspondence. The answers to these
communications were filed, tabulated and
classified. and from these answers we are en-
-