The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-04-08
SHAKING UP THE DRY
BONES.
Doctor F. o. ST. Clair
Bounced by Secretary
Gresham.

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The first evidence of a grand
shake up in the state department
came today with the dismissal OF
DIR. E. O. st. Clair, who has been
chief of the consular bureau of that
department for twenty years. DR.,
st. Clair is charged with having
withheld official communications,
and it is also intimated that st.
Clair has for years been the leak
through which big state depart
ment news has escaped into the
New York Herald. For years that
paper has been able to obtain
tredties and other important state
department information which
other papers could not obtain. The
source of the leak was a profound
mystery, which, it is now alleged,
has been solved. 1t is said that
Mr.. Cleveland was placed in full
possession of the facts in st. Clair's
case before he was inaugurated.
Later developments of a sensa-
tional character are promised in
connection with this case. Secre-
tary Gresham does not like the at
mosphere about the department
generally and he intends to shake
up the dry bones and inaugurate
some badly needed reforms. He
has discovered nepotism running
roit and the most ingenious meth
ods pursued by adroit employees to
prevent dismissal with a change of
administration. 1t is stated that
the outgoing Harrison administra-
tion did not conten itself with
filling actual vacancies, but arrang-
ed a series of transfers to make
certain officials more secure. For
instance, Mr.. Partridge, who was
appointed minister to Venezuela
was holding the place of solicitor
of the state department when his
nomination was sent in as success
or to Minister Scruggs. 1t would
be safer when the lightning struck
to be in Venezuela than in the
state department, and Mr.. Scruggs
as a violent high tariff Republican
from Georgia, was more likely to
be quickly disturbed than the in
offensive solicitor.
Another transfer took Consul
Studer away from Bremen, Ger
many, where he has been accept,
ing handsome fees during the first
four years, and put him back into
less lucrative but safer post at
Singapoor, where he served all
through the first Cleveland admin
istration, and from time "that the
memory of man runneth to the
contrary" Before that Mr.. Wit
man, who married a neice of Sena.
tor Stewart, and can no longer be
considered Republican protege,
was taken away from Singapoor
and put at a post where his head
is soon likely to fall.
About twenty-five of the consuls
who were appointed during Mr.,
Cleveland's term are now in offices.
Only few of these are in good
places, and some are less likely to
be kept than Republicans who re-
mained loyal to their convictions
without making them offensive.
Several of Mr.. Clevland's ap-
pointees set out to prove for the
sake of holding their places that
they are better Republicans than
President Harrison or John Wana-
maker, and one of them, the consul
at Limoges, is reported to have
clinched his hold by obtaining pho
tographs for the use of the Repub-
lican national committee, showing
the unhappy state of laborers din
free trade Europe"
His case was much like that of
Frank II. Mason, formerly editor
of the Cleveland Leader, whom Mr..
Cleveland retained as consul