Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1900-10-11
Nee,,.s suo,,.or.

There has heretofore been an Gle.
ment of doubt as to how Charles Il.
w. Nicely, of Muncie, Ind, managed to
get into the Cuban postal service.
That he got in, and being in pro-
ceeded to help himself literally to
the funds belonging to the service.
are facts known of all men. Indeed,
he proved himself one of the smooth
est and most touching of oil the
earpet-baggers that ever held Office
under the patronage of the powers at
Washington. But until within the
past few days it has been practically
impossible to account for Nicely In a
satisfactory manner. Some light,
however. is thrown upon the Begin
ming of his office-holding career by n
Washington dispatch published In the
New York Evening Post. The dis
patch in question quotes the follow
ing letter:
"Postoftice Department, First As.
sistant Postmaster General, Washing
ton, Dec 10, 1s9s.-My Dear Major: 1
intended to say to you when you were
here that there is one man, Mr..
Charles f. w. Nicely, of Muncie, Ind,
who wants to go into the Cuban mail
service, in whom / am more inter-
ested than any other man among
thousands of applicants for positions
of this character. He is a newspaper
writer and publisher, and about AZ
years of age, splendidly educated, q
hustler, a man with the very best hab-
it's, and as loyal as loyalty itself. He
would make grand confidential man
for you. / will write and ask him to
go and see you. This Is a man you
will warm up to, and would like to
have as q companion as we'll as an
executive officer. Your faithfully,
"Perry S. Heath,
First Assistant Postmaster General.
Mai. L. G. Rathbone, Hamilton, o."
Assuming that the letter is anthem
tic-and it appears in a newspaper
whose reliability is generally con
ceded--a flood of light is let in upon
the official genesis of Nicely; and incl
dentally upon the character of at
least some of the men called to Wash
ington to hold high Office under the
Mckinley administration. For it is
straining no point to say that Perry
S. Heath, formerly first assistant
postmaster general, and now manager
of the republican campaign literary
bureau, is man representative of the
administrations politicians.
1t is not reasonable to suppose that
Heath would have given Nicely any
such recommendation unless he knew
his man we'll.
That he had correctly estimated
Nicely is apparent from subsequent
developments. AS hustler" Nicely
has few equals. He had not been IN
the Cuban postal service many week
before he began to hustle for Til
'.rake-off" or the 'swag.' or whatever
else the results of official peculation
may be called in the vernacular. That
Rathbone warmed up to" him is also
evident, from the manner in which
the director general of Cuban posts
80. k'd' his bills and accounts and
permitted him full swing while the
stealing was good. AS a confidential
man. he was no doubt grand" as the
first assistant postmaster general said
he would be. Heath's idea Of per
sonal selection as superior to selec-
ton for merit must have been vindt-
Gated.
Nicely. the protege of Heath, is now
under indictment for stealing public
funds. Rathbone, Heath's friend, to
whom Nelly was so highly and con-
fidentially recommended for his com
panionable qualities, is involved in the
Nicely scandal. And Perry Heath III
in Chicago engaged in campaign
work; urging voters to vindicate the
administration, which includes vim
dication of himself and his recon-.
mendations.