The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-10-30
KoEsTER cAUGHTTHE PLUM.
He Has Distribution of Large |
Patronage "A Lo, al Friend to
McLaurin

AS adS OlSttlDuIlOh VI AdtS
=. Patronage "A Lo, al Friend t
mcLaurin
The Columbia correspondent of th
Augusta Chronicle says that NJ. Geo
Il Koester, who has been appolntv,
collector of internal revenue for Souil
: Carolina, declared on his return from
Washington that he had formed u,
plans and does not know whit will b,
his policy in appointing his deputies
clerks au,l others. 1t Is probable tha
he will retire from active edituria
management of the Columbia Evening
Record.
He states that he was not an appl
cant, and that his appointment was 8
surprise 20 nimself. He was called tc
Washington, and Saturday evening he
spent an hour and a half at the White
House with the President. When the
matter of The Vacancy came up the
President offered it tv Koester. The
latter asked If there were no possible
chance Tor Blalock TO get the place.
The President said there was not, and
Koester then accepted 1t.
He has not yet taken charge, ana
has not filed bond. He stated that
he would spend some time study ing the
duties of his Office. lie was asked If
there is any truth in the rumor that
McLaurin is slated for place in the
cabinet. In reply he ssiu that while
there is some talk of that kind in
Washington, he does not know any
thing about the matter. His own ap-
pointment is due, in part, he says, to
the efforts of w. w. Price, who was
in the newspaper business here once,
and is on paper in Washington now.
When Blalock was turned down Price
suggested Koester's name.
1t is believed IN Columbia by many
people that Senator McLaurin will get
a place in the cabinet of President
Roosevelt, and that he has simply
taken care of his friend Koester before
he leaves the political affairs of this
State. Others think that this is but an
indication that McLaurin will endeavor
to capture all the Federal patronage in
this State.
Koester got the best plum in the
basket. The salary Is SO 800 and COM
missions will increase that amount to
ID 500. In addition he has the po ler
Of appointing forty or more deputies
and clerks, whose salaries aggregate
not less than $4,000 year. He APP
points the United States gauger, whose
duty it is to test every barrel of spirits
shipped to the State disrensary. The
collector OF revenue in South Carolina
is man much sought after. 1t is not
known what changes, 1T any, will be
made in the clerical force. There is
one negro clerk in the Federal office
here, and the gauger at the Rlchland
dlstlllely Is a negro.
There are thee division deputies,
one of them, A G. Merr,ck, of Green
Vile, being white man. The other
two are Edmund III. Deas, of Darling.
ton, the negro who is charm III of the
Republican party in the State, and j.
III. Fordham, of Orangeburg, who pre-
sides over the Republican conventions.
These three division deputies get about
81 400 a year each.
There are three Office deputies 10.
Gated in Columbia. Mr.. George III.
Huggins is the chief. He has been act
ing as successor to the late Mr.. Web
ster and was prominent candidate for
the place which Rooster has secured.
Higgins has many friends in the State
He went over to the Republicans about
four years ago. Capt. j. l.. Little, a
captain in the United States army dur
ing the war between the States, and
one Of the soldiers sent here in Recon-
struction days is next to Mr.. Higgins.
The other office-deputy is Mr.. l.. M.
Fouch, Democrat. Rev.J. III. John
son, colored, is the Office clerk at a
salary of 5000. Miss Youngblood is
the slenographer and Mr.. Il. w. Sore.
ven, a Republican, is a supernumerary
on the pay roll of the office
The three gaugers are A S. Trumbo,
j. III. Dennis and w. E. Boykin. They
are paid $5 day each. Dennis is To-
Gated at Newberry and is an inMnerant.
Boykin is a negro, yet has the very re-
spc nsible position of representing the
government at the Rlchland distillery
of this city, where 600 bushels of corn
are daily made into spirits. Trumbo
is located at the State dispensary and
handles thousands of barrels Of liquor.
lIiuS III VIII Uo oCch tildt hOGSICT OI-
fee is indirectly connected with the
dispensary.
In addition to the positions above
enumerated, Koester will have the
right to appoint two storekeepers to
look after government property at dis
tilleries, and there are about twenty
five storekeepers and gaugers at as
many dlstilleries in the State. The
majority of the distilleries are located
IN the upper part of. the State, but
there is big one at Hamburg, near
Augusta, and another at Camden, near
Columbia.
These facts are cited to show that
McLaurin, If designing to enter the
Presidents official family, has proyid-
ed well for the man who has beehp tthiae
most loyal to him. SO If McLaurin
purposes to fight 1t out in the primaries
next year, these forty or more mfGur,
positions could be used in the further
ance of mis- cause.
The office of revenue collector is
equivalent to that of tax collector, /,