Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-11-10
THINNING EN- OUT.
Cabinet Officers Cleaning Out
the Departments
BY Bouncing the Light Weights and
Political Buns
VIE Deserted Their Posts 70 Abuse the Ad
ministratioa in the Late Campaign.

WA&0l0RIOH, november J.-~S5OIlIC VI 49,
rotary Carlisle's spoils chickens have beer
coming home to roost this fall. The mrs
year Of his administration was iargea ::
spent IN removinE men rem pos.'Gi IN tbs h
treasury department with credit 70 the "
selves and benefit to the government. ~ ~
reasons were assigned for the re dis,, i.e,
but the reason in each case spceahx ; ~
came obvious when somebody was Us
ed into the vacant places on no sirongea
qualifications than plenty on woi per som
al friendship or their inability to make
a living at any private occupation, "nic I,
stirred the secretarys PITY ,he a. sr ,ar hulk
of these fellows-headed by Sam
Roads of Boston, who was iolsteu' on
Josiah Quincy's Recommendation, ,n,u i1's
AKA hy Mr. Sturteyant-voted for Bryan
at the late election. thus siapplng IN the
face the secretary who signed theff COM
mi the offence of merely voting to con-
denim the administration which lifted them
into the public crib was mild compared
with what some of these persons did "A
man named Fleming of kentucky-cur-
rently rumored to have been an attorney
in his home town. and one OF the secre-
tary's personal ''finds''-has been active
" engaged in the campaign. stumping Tor
Bryan and the buzzard platform at the
same time that he was drawing the salary
OF chief of the law and record division
Of the supervising architects office. Other
Offenders in the same line as Fleming
were Thomas +. Brantley of South caro-
lima. chief of the pension division in the
Office of the auditor for the interior de-
partment: one Adams, whom Joe" Black
burn worked in upon the pay.roll as a
government agent at the sea- d dbafu a.
the warrant division. Fleming. Brantley.
and Doyle have been given their walking
papers. ,,.xs
who ought to be removed on ten minutes
notice. 1t will be for the President to do
this, as he is a presidential appointeeI
Ernest P. Baldwin of Laurel. Maryland,
auditor for the treasury department.
Baldwin had been in the department I'M
der Mr.. Cleveland's first administration.
but when picked up by the second admin
istration was editing a country newspap-
err in Maryland village. ostensibly in
the interest of Senator German and his
machine. For some reason. the President
conceived the idea that in spite of his
newspaper utterances. he was an anti-Gor-
man man at heart, and for that reason
sent his name In for auditor. At the time
of his nomination the New York Tribune
printed a violent attack upon his record
in public and private business accusing
him of everything outrageous. Mr.. Bald
win made a loud threat of bringing a libel
suit against the paper, but nothing came
of it.
Outside of the treasury there are some
office holders whose cases need attention.
One of them is Joseph r. Doe. u little
carpet warrior with an immense amount
of self-importance, who rattles around in
and whose room would. at any time since
his appointment, have been more valuable
to the government than his presence
there He has taken particular pains to
be offensive, in the campaign. to the adj
ministration which lifted him out of OBJ
security.
In the penson Office is a deputy commits
sioner, one Henry c. Bell, who was a clerk
in the office under Rau1n. and one OF
those who caused so much scandal by get
ting themselves put upon the emergency
man a "a
excuse for doing, this was loss of teeth
and disease of the heart" When Judge
I.ochran began combing out the bum"
element from an otherwise deserving pen
sion roll and Assistant Secretary Rey-
nolds made his decision of May q. 1888
constituting the act of 1890 as it was in
ter saying, Il do not feel that / am legal
~ entitled to g. pension, and return here
with my certificate" But he did not en-
close his check for the money which he
had been, by his own admission illegally
drawing up to that date as one of Raum S
beneficiaries. His teeth and his heart APP
ton to enable. him to- make a stamping
tour in the interest of national dishonor
and against law order. and civilization
during the last month or two.
The old rule that they who live by the
sword shall perish by the sword was good
enough for all these men when somebody
else was to be dropped out of office to make
room for them; is it not equally applica-
bic to their cases now? The argument
they and their kind have always made
against further extensions of the, civil
service law and rules is. that the higher
places in the government service. such as
they occupy. ought to be filled with per-
sons lin sympathy mp with the administra-
shown has been. not with the present as
sailed and abused administration, but with
It's abusers and assailants-with the ad-
ministration which they believed was COM
ing in. and might be induced to extend a
little further their lease of official life. If
any of the lot were worth keeping for
their own sakes. the practical interests
of the service might weigh even against
their behavior in the late contest; but
these people would never be missed if
they were to drop out one hour hence
The President and the cabinet have
shown commendable discretion in doing
nothing during the campaign which cotfd
be even distorted into an act of coercion
or undue influence over the political con
duct of any government employee: but
there can be no objection, now that all
liberty of voice and action. to permitting
them to lie in the beds which they have
deliberately made. This is the view of
the greater part Of the cabinet, perhaps
Of all its members. There are a few po-
htical trimmers who are making some
resistance 1S, to its summary application.
or injustice in it, but because it might
provoke hard feeling between .'the two
wings. Of the party, These gentlemen
seem to forget that the party long ago
ceased to have two wings, but has been
trying to fly with a crested head and q
bunch OF tail-feathers. and that it can
OFF short
Further dismissals have been made in
the treasury by Secretary Carlisle as fol
lows: Judge w. b. Fleming of Kentucky
law clerk in the supervising architect.
Office. an appointee of Senator Blackburn
Miss Minnie Mcmillan of Kentucky. :
clerk in the Office of the supervising archi
tect. an appointee of Senator Blackburn
Thomas +. Adams of Montana agent n
the Seal Island. Alaska, a nephew or Mrs
Blackburn; w. f. Ryan of New York :
clerk in the third auditors office, and lat
Bryan-Democratic candidate for Congress,
in the Rochester district. and j. NJ Leacf
OF North Carolina. messenger in the in,
ternal revenue bureau who recently crif
icised Postmaster-General Wilson in !;
, newspaper letter.. Attorney General Har
mon has removed James H. Couch as
sistant United States district attorney TO
West Virginia. an unsuccessful candidat
for Office in the recent election in tha
state on the Bryan Democratic ticket, VIII
relinQuish his candidacy,