Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-04-30
MISS PHOEBE COUZiNS,
The Secretary of the Board of Lady Man
ayers of the Worlds Columbian Expose
tion Finds a Champion.

a copy of a letter written by Col. C. III.
Jones in his official capacity as chair
man of the finance committee of the
Worlds Columbian commission to the
secretary of the treasury. A copy of
! the letter was forwarded TO Miss Couz-
ms at Chicago on the day it was writ
ten, and as information has been re-
celVed that it was given out to- the Chi
cago papers yesterday, Col. Jones could
see no objection to its publication here
| The letter is strong Endorsement of
the position assumed by Miss Phoebe
SouzlnS, that her removal from the
ONCE OF secretary of the board of lady
managers was entirely illegal.
| ST. LOUIS. April 81, 1881.
| Hon ChdS Foster, Secretary of the TREASURY
| Washington. ID. c.:
My DEAR SIR am one of the Worlds
| FAIR commissioners TOR Missouri, and chair
man of the finance committee of the Worlds
! Columbian exposition. 1t is IN this capacity
| that address you this letter, in the per-
| torrance of whatI conceive 10 be my official
| huty- L am reluctant to intervene in any
way in the unfortunate quarrel which has
| broken out between the secretary of the
| board of lady managers and the president
ana executive committee of that body, and
| would not do so, but for the fact that a let
/ ter from the comptroller of the treasury has
|
| he contempiateS Il course of action that
would not only work grave injustice
| one of the officers of the commission and
| consequently an cmplOye of the government,
| but which would be, as 1 am convinced, a
| palpabie violation of the law.
| The committee on finance of the Worlds
| Columbian commission is constituted as fol-
! lows see page 33l of official manual of the
| Worlds Columbian commissionI:
| Charles III. Jones, Missouri chairman; III.
| H. MCINTYRE, Vermont, secretary: ID. Ill.
| Hershteld, Montana; James Hodges, Mary
| land; L. H. Lanham, Utah: \. Il. Andrews,
North Carolina a. r.. Bixby Maine; j. I.
| Harris, Virginia.
| On page 296 of the same manual you Will
! find the section of article 10 which defines
| the duties OF that comm ttee, as follows:
| Committee on finance consisting of eight
| commissioners, which shall have charge of
| all matters pertaining to the expenditures of
| or such other matters of finance may be
referred to it by the commission, its ex-
| ecutiVe committee, or its board of reference
and control
Under this article the expenditures for the
salary of the secretary of the board of lady
| managers will have to be approved by the
| committee on finance, and shall undertake
| to demonstrate to you that that committee is
| precluded by the action of the Worlds
Columbian commission itself from sanction
| ing the payment OF any money on account of
/ that salary to any other person than Miss
| Phoebe w. Couzins, the duly elected Sccre-
4
OF course you do not need to be informed
| that the Worlds Columbian commission WIS
| authorized by law to appoint board of lady
| managers; that the lady managers were APP
| pointed in accordance with that law, and
| that at their first session, in accordance with
| the law, they organi Zed the board by electing
president and a secretary by ballot in open
| session. That action, as you are also aware,
| was sanctioned by your predecessor in the
office of secretary of the treasury.
At the meeting of the Worlds Columbian
commission held in Chicago in November,
1890, the several questions pertaining to the
organization OF the board OF lady managers
and the fixing of salaries for its officers
were brought before the commission for its
action. On page 2Ss of the official manual
you will find the report submitted to the
commission by its special committee, of
which Hon. Robert W. Furnas chair
man. In that report you will find these
three recommendations:
1. That for the present. salary be provided
only for one officer, namely, that of secre-
tary. 2. That the salary of secretary be fixed
at 81 500 per annum, with an allowance of
$500 per annum for stationery, postage, etc.
3. That the secretary of the board Of lady
managers shall be secretary of the execu-
tive committee, but not a member thereof.
That report lsee page 2s9 of official man.
ual1 referred to the committee on
finance Immediately afterward the follow
ing resolution, offered by Mr.. White, of New
Mexico, was referred to the committee on
finance:
ReSOtred, That the secretary of the board of
lady managers be and is hereby declared an
officer of the Worlds Columbian commits
sion.
On pages 3Os-sO4 of the official manual you
will find the report and supplementary re-
port submitted by the finance committee.
These two reports, the one amending the
other, after being amended by increasing the
salary proposed for the secretary, were
adopted by the commission Tsee page 3O5l.
BY the supplementary report [see page 3O4l
you will observe that the resolution of Mr..
White, of New Mexico, referred to above,
was Incorporated into the whereas" as fol-
lows:
WHEREAS. The members and officers of the
board of lady managers are made officers of
this commission by article II of the bylaws,
and consequently this commission has the
power to fix the compensation CO Eoi3 OFF,
GERS, etc.
1t had been explained by the chairman of
the finance committee that he claimed con-
troll only over that portion of the report of
Mr.. Furnas' committee which pertained to
the expenditure of money, and Immediately
after the report of the committee on finance
had been adopted Mr.. Furnas offered the fol-
lowing resolution Isee page POS of official
manual ::
Resolred, That the report of the committee
of conference with the board of lady man
ayers be and the same is hereby approved
and adopted, as amended. and that the sec
rotary be instructed to advise the board of
lady managers at once of the action of this
commission.
The resolution was adopted.
BY examining that report of the commit
tee of the conference see page 2SS, official
manual, you will find that it was deter
mined by the commission that for the pres
ent only one officer of the board of lady man
ayers, namely, the secretary, should receive
a salary and that the secretary of the board
of lady managers ''shall be secretary of the
executive committee, but not member
thereof"
This citation of facts from the official
minutes demonstrates several things,
namely:
l. That the assigning of salary to the
president of the board of lady managers is
without the warrant of any action taken by
the Worlds Columbian commission.
2. That the secretary of the board of lady
managers is made an officer of the Worlds
Columbian commission, and can be removed
only by the action of that commission; or,
if It be held that the power to thus act was
delegated to the board of lady managers,
such power can only be exercised by the
board in session assembled, and can not be
exercised by an officer or committee of that
body.
3. That by the official action of the Worlds
Columbian commission, spread upon its
minutes, the secretary of the board of lady
managers is made the secretary of the exec
utive committee, but not member thereof.
These facts being unquestionable, it seems
to me plain that should the salary assigned to
the office of secretary of the board of lady
managers be withheld from Miss Phoebe w.
Couzins by the comptroller of the currency,
or be paid by him to any other person than
Miss Phoebe W. Couzins, it will be in contra
yention of the action of the Worlds Column
Iio, which action. take it.