The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1894-01-04

I@l sna thr@rfai---f xprv-. -.ior. Of Tender
Ah"' ttaH sud ~ Esi-as.~ of raa~htax ns-
N"fA"h 90 th" part af the rvapl. sssae 10
h'"a haiIs---itt. Ir~atn~aU anaer the
'h>'''"d hiiEarvhs sae-I sEea-~ sh~ fn-
a'snat1"n aud Rr..atm~@t Of The s-ara~.
f7am cur ~I~~ial Correspondent ia Wash
tngton
WASHINGTON, Jan. lst, 1894
he government printing office is n
great workshop. Its employees are
numbered hy the thousands. Among
hem are men 20 culture and attain
mtnts and women Of the highest So
clni position. The wages are small
compared T. he regular department
al employment and the work is ex-
acting. Delicate women work there
from o'clock in the morning until
Z o'clock III the afternoon at the rate
." II -" aud 500 per month. They are
eager to obtain tmplo, ment at those
rates, Tor IN hundreds and hundreds
oi cases It i that or nothing
appointments are controlled en-
iirely by political influence, and en-
ployment has no protection such as
the classified services in the depart-
mrnts ENJOY under the civil service
law. The office j. "A political dump
/ lng ground for members of congress.
Its standard, consequently. suffers
great Impairment by comparison with
departmental employment. A new
administration means Wholesale re-
movals and that means great distress
and actual suffering TO the EMPLOYEES
and the hundreds who are dependent
upon them.
The present incumbent, Repub-
hcan, Is reliable man. To capahil-
lty, eminent fitness, and large expe RI
ence he adds a broad humanity in
the executive administration of the
, ollice that commends him strongly to
Mr.. Cleveland and explains the re-
luctance Of the Administration to
make change. The legal qualiiica-
uons-"a practical knowledge Of
printing and book binding"-are of
the smallest consequence in the sue
, cessful administration Of the vast bu-
siness Of the Office. The essential re-
pnirements are nerve, judgment, CON
science. integrity, tirmness, discrimi-
nation, executive capacity. A rich,
ripe, Jnlay plum is the Office Of the
Public Printer, in the way of salary,
prrquistes and patronage.
! The Democratic applicants for the
place are numerous but eligibles are
few. In the list Of sixty or seventy
applicants only two or three have
been considered in connection with
the appointment. The place has been
, rendered Benedict, the public print
, cr under Cleyeland's former admin
istration, with the distinct under
; standing that whenever possible the
employees should nave the protection
secured to other employees in the
govern mental service. Benedict de-
,, clined it. The two highest rated
candidates are McAbee, of Chicago,
and Broughton, Of North Carolina.
: Broughton il better qualified man
J than McAbec, but ne il Handicapped
by "boss" kalsom's endorsement of
Harrell, the Weldon man and the
boas's near neighbor.
A MONUMENTAL ENDORSEMENT.
r Harrell has a monumental endorse
Q mcnt, twenty Thousand or more peo-
] pie throughout the United States,
j Canada and ths Hawaiian Islands.
asking the President to appoint him
: Public Printer. Every week or two
he appears in Washington with few
, additional thousand endorsements.
He ID known at the White House by
3 all the attaches from Thurber and
Simmons down, and his coming il
Q greeted by waving Of flags and beat
ing Of tom-toms. The one endorse
ment, however, which climaxes all
the others and fills his ambitious soul
with lnexpressible delight and joyous
, pride is ''boss" Ransom's letter TO the
President urging his appointment
: This letter he shows to his hundreds
Of admiring friends here who seem
: to doub his sanity in his wild pur-
: suit Of the government printing of
fee. When he dies this letter will be
chiselled in the cold marble shaft
that perpetuates his memory.
1t would he violating a confidence
to state its contents, but it 10 permis-
sable to refer to it as masterpiece
: Of English composition. Letter
7 writing is hot one of the s'boss's"
. weaknesses. but when he gets a
( bright new steel pen between his fin
:. fiers, he has no peer in graphic, terse
! composition. This recommendation
/. Of Harrell, which some people who
). are close to Mr.. Ransom say, is all q
e ioke and that he so informed the
r President, has prevented the appoint
ment Of Broughton, who is not only
: eminently fitted for the place, but has
done woman work for the Democra-
] tic party in the Raleigh district He
was fool enough on one occasion to
+ surrender the congressional nomlna-
/ ton to Bum, and honest enough on
! another occasion TO make two or
: three speeches in Chatham county
from the same platform with the be
roic. patriotic. and lamented Polk.
: He made the fatal mistake in not at
II some time having been Republican,
r The lack Of this antecedeni political
n qualification, in connection with the
t urgent solicitation of "boss" Ransom
in Harrell's behalf makes his appoint
: ment extremely doubtful.