Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-09-06
President Roosevelt Shakes Up
the Public Printing Office
at Washington
WILL START INVESTIGATION
Two of Palmer's Trusted Lieutenants
to Be Tried on Charges of insubor-
dination Public Printing Office
Said to Be in Bad State of Man
assment- MsceIIaneous News,

ming has struck the public printing
office. and Frank w. Palmer, the dis
tinguished soldier and editor who has
been at the head of that big Institution
for many years, has been removed by
President Roosevelt. Two of his trust
ed lieutenants are to be tried on
charges of INSTRUMENTATION preferred
by the public printer. and the whole
Office is to be investigated by members
of the Keep commission. under special
orders of President Roosevelt.
The practical removal of Mr.. Palmer,
which has come in the form OF a re-
quest for his resignation, to take eff
feet on September Is, was not made
public until late this evening, altho
it was known that his intention to
discharge for characterization Oscar j..
Ricketts,, foreman of printing, ana L..
C. Hay, foreman OF the job division,
had been stopped by an earlier order
from President Roosevelt, giving the
accused men chance to defend them-
selves before an impartial commits
sion.
1t was the public printers intention
to discharge them which caused his
own removal at this particular time,
although it had been the intention OF
the president for months to remove
him on account of his advanced aga,
which has rendered it almost impossi-
bic for him to keep perfect control OF
his own employees.
The retirement Of the public printer
and the investigation of his office
which will follow bring to climax
a long and disagreeable fight between
two Illinois men, and 1t is supposed
it will involve the senatorial situation
in some way, because both of them
have many warm political friends at
home.
Mr. Palmer's personal friends are
much surprised that the president
should have removed the public printer
in such a summary fashion just at the
time when the dispute between him
and Mr. Ricketts, was at its height.
leaving Ricketts,, who has been cam
didate for the place, still in office and
apparently triumphant over the down
fall of his former chief.
VII lllC OuiAC4 AASah0S ~ AeSo OSSAA va
dent for a long time that Mr.. Palmer is
physically unable to enforce discipline
in his office, and in the recent investi-
cation growing out of the scandals re-
garding typesetting machines 1t was
made clear that the office was torn up
with cliques and factions, and that all
the typesetting companies and manu-
facturers of other printing machinery
he'd their personal representatives
scattered throughout the office to look
after their personal interests.
Frank w. Palmer has been connected
with the public printing office so long
most people, will be extremely sorry
to know of his retirement in spite Of
his age. He will be 70 next month
and he has been printer and editor
since his boyhood. He was state
printer of Iowa when the war broke
out and soon after he returned to pri-
vate life after distinguished military
record, he put in two terms in con-
gress. His position as editor in chief
of the old Chicago Inter-Ocean gave
him term as postmaster and subse-
quently in 1889 President Harrison APP
pointed him public printer.
In that position he made a fine rec
ord. He was extremely popular with
the members of congress- who found
that their speeches were we'll handled
and all the work promptly done at a
minimum expense.
The result was that when Cleveland
was elected president, Senator German
Of Maryland, and Representative Rich
ardson of Tennessee, two of the most
distinguished democrats in congress,
interested themselves SO successfully
that the president retained Palmer.