St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-02-27
Obe Californian.
BRATTLEBORO POST OFFICE
Letter from Dorman b. Eaton

Brattleboro has done herself great
honor by the action of her people in
regard to their postmaster. 1t was
both fit and natural that a com
munity which has long been con-
spicuous for its civilized tolerance
and Christian spirit in joining, re-
gardless of denominational prefer
ence in the social gatherings and
charitable contributions of its sever
al churches, should be the first to ex-
hibit the patriotism and courage
needed to stand by meritorious
public servant and to put down that
vicious spirit which insists on en-
forcing party test for postmaster
Every candid man will admit that
such test is utterly irrelevant and
absurd, and that postmaster IS
sure to be a poor officer in the precise
degree that he does or attempts to do
anything which is only an advantage
to his own party or damage to its
opponents.
In the nature of things there can
be no more a democratic or republic
can way of carrying on post office,
than there can be Unitarian way, a
Baptist way, or q Catholic way of
CARRYING it on Tried by any honest
or rational standard, there can no
more be democratic or republican
postmaster than there can be an al
lopathic, agricultural or Darwinian
postmaster. 1t is the plain duty of
every postmaster to perform his
functions irrespective of all cOnse-
quences to any party or sect. They
are simply business functions.
Neither Postmaster ChildS nor the
people of Brattleboro can therefore
be congratulated on the exhibition
of any sublime measure of wisdom or
virtue, in an absolute sense, but only
OH that patriotic conception of JUS
tice and public duty which, but for
the degradation of our politics, would
be universal. They simply lead in
the growing army of reform. Aside
from the blind and senseless preju-
dice and passion of party and the
self-scekin9 of partisan managers,
what would be more natural or more
certain on the part of q people like
those of BrattlebOrO, than to retain
n good postmaster simply because he
is good postmaster? What would
be thought more absurd and unjust
than to expel him because he did not
belong to Il party that favors q high
tariff : Not many years hence, all
the sensible people of BrattlebOro, |
venture to believe, will look back
with establishment and humiliation
upon the need of q great effort to
save a good postmaster from the
grasp of the spoils system. The CON
test will seem to them hardly less
strange than the old efforts to sup
port slavery.
Another view of this matter de
serves the serious attention of your
readers. 1t is q fundamental and
most salutary provision of the ma
tional constitution that executive
and legislative functions are kept
separate tits the duty of the execu-
tive department to make appoint
ments, and the duty of the members
of congress to be so uncOmmitted by
them that they may act the part of
the independent critics. tits as much
an intrusion and a usurpation for
members of the House to interfere
with appointments or removals, as
it would be for the president to in
terfere with congress or with the
courts Individual senators have no
right to NEEDLE with selections for
nomination. The senate as q body
can simply approve or condemn a
nomination. 1t is one of the great
est abuses now existing, that mem
bers of congress continually Obtrude
themselves upon the departments,
and insist on controlling selections
in their own interest. They act as
patronage mongering agents in their
states, by which they debase party
politics.
When the petition was received
from BrattlebOro for Mr.. Childs' re-
appointment, the postmaster general
knew the wishes of its people. The
records of his own office were ample
evidence that Mr. Childs' re-appoint-
ment would be in the public interest
Thus, both Justice to the officer and
the wishes of the people united in
making it the duty of the pOstmas-
ter general to advise the re-appOint-
ment, and of the president to make
1t. That duty believe would have
been performed if the politicians had
not intcrfered. Congressman from
Vermont had nothing whatever to
do with the matter, and would
doubtless have gladly kept clear of
1t, If these politicians had not called
upon them to take part according
to the vicious precedents which have
long been followed They interfered
| am sure. with great reluctance
Their interpoSitIOn made the post
master general hesitate and prevent
ed the president making the re-nOm-
nation. Their best excuse for such
mischievOus intermeddling is, that if
they refuse it, they encounter the
hostility of the manipulators OF local
politics in every village of their dis
tricts.
Having the matter thus forced up
on them bv the partisan informed
dlers concerning which they had no
authority. they were put under a
sort of necessity of dcvising, equally
without authority, some form of
regulations for voting in Brattle-
borO. 1t is obvious that they have
no more authority for so doing than
they have to regulate voting there
concerning highways and schools
| am sure they were perplexed and
annoyed at being thus compelled as
it were, by a vicious practice to take
part in process which is nothing
less than a parody of our political
system and a practical subversion of
the methods of the constitutions 1t
was obviously expected by those
who caused the members of congress
to take part in the matter that skill
full management and the sagacious
use of influence could reverse the
popular vote, as already expressed
Ii iS To the credit of the natrintiS11n