Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-07-28
POSt-Onicc Scandals.

Harper's Weekly is one Of the influential
journals which has bowed low before the
shrine of MugWumpery. There are some
things, however, which are apparent to all
observers, and Harper's Weekly is honest
enough to make the following editorial
statement under the heading given above:
Some time ago the newly appointed post
master at Terre Haute, Indiana the home
of Senator Voorhees-virtually usurped the
control of the post-oftice before he was en-
titled to it. He did this for the purpose
of making clean sweep of the employees
and of putting his own creatures into their
place just before the civil service rules,
which were to 90 into effect there a day
or two afterwards, would confine his ap-
pontments to those who had passed the
civil service examinations and been put on
the list of eligibles 1t was manifest that
he had resOrted to his high-handed pro-
ceedings merely to cheat the law. The
civil service commission investigated the
case, and made its report to the President
accordingly. 1t was hoped that the ad-
ministration would promptly put the seal
of its disapproval upon this audacious
circumvention of the law by removing the
perpetratOr as a man who could and should
not be trusted with the administration of
public duty. He was not removed.
Nothing is more natural than that he
should have found imitators, and he has
found plenty of them.
Substantially the same unblushing out
rage was committed by newly appointed
Democratic postmasters at Kansas City,
Kansas; at Plattsburg, n. Y; at Bloom
ington, Quincy, and Galesburg, ILL.,; at
Columbus, Rome and Atlanta, Ga. at Lit
tie Rock, Ark. at Anderson, Ind, and at
Topeka, Kan. In each instance advantage
has been taken of the necessary delay in
preparing examinations to make a clean
sweep of the offices for partisan reasons.
In each instance the spirit and purpose of
the civil service law have been shameessly
violated. That the postmasters in those
towns knowingly did thing injurious to
the efficiency of the service by removing
experienced men and putting green hands
in their places is a matter of course.
The mail service in Topeka has
become insupportably bad, and the depart
ment at Washington is pelted with indig-
nant letters from the suffering community,
while a formal petition for relief has
been sent on signed by large number of
citizens.
We must call Mr.. Bissell's attention also
to the fact that he is losing his point of ad-
vantage with Mr.. Wanamaker in the mat
ter of the fourth-class postmasters. The
Democrats made much capital out of the
| proceedings of 'Headsman'' Clarkson
whom Mr.. Wanamaker permitted to make
a clean sweep of the fourth-class postmas-
ters. Mr.. Bssell should know that he is
understood to permit "Headsman'' Max
well to do the same thing There are two
differences between the two. One is ap-
parent and the other real. Mr.. Wanamak-
er's man Clarkson did the work openly and
quickly. Mr.. Bisselrs man Maxwell has
to do it covertly and slowly. 1t is given
out that Mr.. Bissell will not remove a
fourth-class postmaster without "cause''
unless he has been four years in office.
While every true civil service reformer
seeks to bring about the repeal of the de-
moralizing four-years' term law, Mr.. Bis
sell extends the principle of that law to
10000 postmasters whose places were for
merly not touched by it. He knows that
if every postmaster having been in office
four years is removed and another man
put in his place there will have been a
clean sweep before the end of this admin
istration. He knows also that if he per-
mits Mr.. Maxwell to 20 on at the present
rate of removals the clean sweep will be
accomplished some time before Mr.. Cleve'
land goes out of office More than clean
sweep Mr.. Wanamaker would not accom-
plish were he in Mr. Bisselps place.