The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-04-24
POSTMASTERS IN DIXIE.
AN AMUSING DEBATE ON THE SUB
JECT IN THE HOUSE.

Brings Op the Abbeville Incident,
and Reads q Letter Which He Finally
Confesses He Wrote Eimself-Repre-
sentative Cothran Makes an Expla-
nation.
WASHINGTON, April 2S-In the House
this morning Mr.. Harmer of Pennsylvania
presented the memorial of the Manufact-
turers Club Of Philadelphia, representing
MANY millions capital invested in Ameri-
can industries, and many thousands of work
men earning American wages, in favor of
prompt action on tariff legislation, which
shall check the importation of articles pro-
duced by our own people, 1t was referred.
The House then went into committee OF
the whole, with Mr.. Payson of Illinois in
the chair, on the legislative appropriation
bill, the pending question being on the mo-
ton of Mr.. Dunnell of Minnesota to strike
out the clause providing clerks for senator's
The motion to strike out was lost by a
vote of IS to 81.
REPUBLICAN PosTMAsTERs IN DIXIE.
In speaking to q verbal amendment,
Mr. Kelley of Kansas replied to a remark
made by Mr.. Allen of Mississippi to the
efIeCU UQub SOluo VI bu6 HOmly dpDO1ut6u
postmasters in Mississippi had moved their
offices out of the towns into the country.
Thinking there must be some
reason for this, he, (Mr. Kelley
had gone to the postoffice
department, and has been informed that in
some places it was impossible for republi-
can postmaster to secure location in town
and he was obliged to 60 to the country.
AS en- instance of the manner in which some
republican postmasterS were treated in the
south, he read letter from w. A. Finley,
appointed in May as postmaster at Abbe-
vile, S. c., who states that shertly after
his appointment he was set upon by mob
led by Ward S. Cothran, son Of Congress
man Cothrau, and beaten with barbed
wire, and ordered to leave town.
KELLEY WROTE THE LETTER.
Mr.. Enloe of Tennessee-Did you write
that letter for hims
Mr.. Kelley-I want to state to you, gentle
man, that | did write the letter. [Derisive
laughter on the democratic side. l wrote
the letter at his request. [Renewed laugh
ter.
Mr. Henderson of Iowa-If you stop your
sneering and deny the facts it will be bet
ter. Further laughter on the democratic
side.]
Mr.. Rowell of Ilinois-It is funny to the
other side of the House to hear accounts of
murder and whipping with barbed wires.
Mr.. Kelley-The gentleman signed the
letter in my presence.
Mr.. McMilllan-Why did he not write'the
letter!
Mr.. Kelley-On account of an outrage:
his arm is paralyzed- [Derisive laughter. ]
MIR. Boutelle-I insist that member on
this floor shall not be treated as postmasters
and mail clerks in the south.
Mr.. Kelley said that Postmaster Finley
had made an affidavit to the facts of the
case which had been published In the Phila-
delphia Press.
SURE OF NOTHING.
Mr.. Blount of Georgia inquired whether
the gentleman was sure that Postmaster
Finley was paralyzed.
Mr. Kelley replied that Finley had every
appearance of being paralyzed. Mr.. Kelley
then proceeded to read from letters of
southern postmasters to First Assistant
Postmaster General Clarkson complaining
of outrages.
In the dis ussien which ensued there was
a great deal of confusion and fun, Mr.. Kel-
ley being bombarded with questions humor-
GUS and otherwise, and replying to them in
kind. Neither questions nor answers had
the slightest reference to the appropriation
bill
Mr. Allen of Mississippi defended his dis
trict from any charge of violence outside.
The postmaster in his town had never been
molested or interfered with. He carried
on his office we'll, and the only objection TO
him was that he was not resident of the
town, county or state.
COTHRAN EXPLAINS.
Mr.. Cothran of South Carolina said that
there was Just enough of fact in the flaming
letter which had been read by the gentle
man from Kansas, relative to the Abbeville
case, to make out story. There was the
town; there was the postoffice; there was
an applicant for the postnastership, and
there were some hot-headed young men, of
which his son was one. After the war a
northern man had been appointed post
master, and had served until President
Arthur's term. when he died, and his wife,
most estimable and able lady, had been
appointed. Postmaster Finley had
hled an application with the First
Assistant Postmaster General in which
be had misrepresented and DETAINED the
character of the postmaster. There was a
feeling of outrage against him. Those
young men, not for the purpose of doing
postmaster Finley any harm, went to his
house one night and made some demonstra-
ton. With guilty conscience, he had broken
out at the back door and ran down to the
railroad track In jumping down a culvert
ae had broken his leg. The young men had
osnC Tor physician ana hau paid all the ex-
penses of his treatment. That was all there
was to the story.
ROUGH ON KELLEY.
Mr.. Rogers of Arkansas called attention
TO the fact that under leave to print, the
gentleman from Kansas had printed in the
record vile calumnies on the state of
arkansas. Had the gentleman no shame or
aecency, no idea of propriety no character
10 lose and none to makes Was he lost
lrretrievably losta What sort of consti-
tuency had he2 Did they know him?
Mr.. Oates of Alabama read letter from
a. Z. Matthews. postmaster at Newton,
Ala., which Mr.. Kelley had cited and de
Selared that but four persons had petltoned
Ior his appointment and none of them lived
~ Newton. Mr.. Matthews himself did not
i've I'VE at Newton. He lMr. Oates had told
.nlS to the First Assistant Postmaster Gem
gral T and the appointment had been held up.
me point having been made that the ap-
continent could not therefore be made, Mr.
Slarkson had sent him (Mr. Oates state
.1Ient OF facts that he had adduced. If Mr..
raaattnews constituency and party could
sand him he (Mr. Oates could.
\, ,Fonding further iscussion-described by
ar' butterworth as playful-the committee
Use and the House at 5:S5 o'clock ad-