Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-12-10
Hanging by His Ely Teeth.


i. Watson. Surveyor General ii Til
state. who deserted hi, party in tn,
last campaign and joined the local Me
kinney club, in Tia HOY" OF holdin:
on to the plum Il" has been 50 a--i'l
i"u-ly Sucking 10! nearly iour years.
1t seems that there are quite a mum
h'r OF Republicans whose party service
la mot been dependent upon Il elem
"ucv ut this nature, and who hay,
earned the right to prcicrmcnt ly ser
Vie" in the party that Mr.. Watson VA
trying t. down, and they can sec II,
ju-ti"c in rcWarding traitors though i
he to the cause oi the enemy. :,
there has been hut little difficulty il
finding valid reasons why this obs true
tIrN 10 pirty harmony should be re-
moved and the cmolumcntS 60 to rc
ward some faithful follower oi tn,
&. o. p. Right on the threshold Of in
vc>tigation, an Inspector OF the Inter
Tor Department finds that the wife o
the Surveyor General has been draw
ing a salary Of 5000 per year for otlic,
work taken to her home and done il
connection with her household duties
He likewise reports the discipline Of
OF the Office as very lax; the office
hours not observed; that the personal
habits of some of the clerks have been
open to grave censure; that clerks arc
allowed to enter the Office at night tc
perform work for individuals for pri
vate gain, and that more draughts-
men and less number of clerks would
add much to the efficiency of the ser.
vice. Commissioner Herman, after
consideration Of these charges, wrote
Che Surveyor General as follows:
In view of the utter disregard OF
your clerical force as to their official du-
ties, it is believed that the public inter-
est will be best subserved by the discon-
tinuance of all such force, and to that
end would advise that their designations
be asked for. An immediate response
to this letter is desired.'
Most of men would realize that there
had been an earthquake when the
house comes tumbling down about
their heads: not so Watson. He
calmly writes the Commissioner that
he objects to having his character
blackened by er parte and unfounded
charges" and appeals to that officer
to not allow his "great office to be
used to that end" He then demands
that specific charges be made, and
that he be allowed to answer them,
one after another. He might by that
means prolong his tenure of office till
next spring, when the term is up, but
it is quite probable that this object will
be as apparent to his superior officer
as himself, and much more expedi-
tious means will be employed to end
all controversy. This application for
a chance to arbitrate," is accom-
panied by the following palpable evil
dence of insubordination, a positive
refusal to obey the order of the Com
missioner, to ask for the resignation
OF all his clerical employees:
This will not do, for though wish
to hold the Office, l do not wish to do SO
through injustice to any one. consider
the charges made by the Inspector as
false and malicious. and to ask for their
designations would be a practical adj
mission of some foundation for the
charges"
Men are seldom found who, when
up to their business, will deliberately
NEEDLE with buzz.saw, and we must
therefore conclude that Mr.. Watson is
not aware of the fact that he may lose
a finger or two, or perchance his head,
soon as the Commissioner has time to
adjust the official knife. Cabinet Off.
GERS seldom allow subordinates to
" monkey" with such details as may
be prescribed in the positive tones OF
the Commissioners letter.
The Washington correspondent says
that it is understood at Washington
that if the Commissioner decides
against him, Watson will appeal on
civil service grounds, to the Secretary
of the Interior, and if need be to the
President himself. Can self-assurance
60 any further? Is the man daft, that
he cannot make some effort to get'out
of the way of a cyclone in whose
clutches his puny strength will be as
the resistance of grain of sand?
How he can expect that the civil
service rules will help him, when he
violated one Of their first requirements
by appointing and retaining aliens in
important clerical positions, is in keep.
ing with his other remarkable pre-.
sumptions.
No more popular move could be
made by the Administration than to
remove this bunch of egotism at once
1t would please all parties, for no class
of citizenship has respect for a politi
cal turncoat. Arnold was paid for his
reasonable conduct in British gold
but that ended the contract-none
were SO ignoble as to accord him any
praise for his infamous conduct.
No MORE TRAVEL BY FREIGHT
TRA1Ns.-At meeting of the Presi.
dents of the Western roads, lately held
in st. Louis, it was agreed that from