The sun., 1908-02-10

=
very good record
The refusal TO reappOintment a good
Hughes man as collector oR customs at
PlattSburg' refers to the case Of Walter
Witherbee. and the accusation in this case
Is particularly comic. because Mr.. Wither-
bee was an open and avOwed Taft man. the
classmate Of Secretary Taft's brother at
Yale. and both Secretary Taft and his
brother requested his reappointment-the
only New York Oficeholder for whom they
made such a request. The Congressman
from his district and the Senators have not
agreed about his successor and he is still in
| offioe. These facts were either known to
the editors of the paper in question or
could have been found out by the slightest
inquiry.
There remain the allegations az to the
appointment OF Taft workers to post
| Offices in Ohio. In Ohio have made fifty
eight post Ofioe appointments: twenty
seven Of these were reappOintTnents, thirty
one were new appointments. the last in
cluding the cases where the incumbent
had died. had been removed for cause or
had resigned. Generally the appointment
| was made exactly as in other States. upon
the recommendation of the Congressman
from the district. In various cases. how
ever as at Maumee. Strasburg. Button.
Greenville and Leipsic. the nominations
were made upon the recommendation Of
both Senators Foraker and Dick or Of one
| or the other
In four cases the nominations were
rejected by the Senate. In two OF these.
Dennison and Uhrichsville. the nOmina-
tions of the new men were made on the
recommendation of the then Congressman,
| Mr In tha
| incumbent had not been giving very salts
| factory service. in one instance he having
failed to give sufficient personal attention
to the Office. as reported by the inspector,
| and in the other case the postmaster being
! also the publish and editor OF a newspaper
| and various irregularities having been
noticed. some resulting in violation OF
| law in the interest Of the postmaster's paper.
The course followed was precisely similar
! TO that followed in the cases Of the various
! other post Offices in Ohio in the districts
represented by Congressman keifer. Ken
nedy. Cole and others. and precisely similar
to the course followed as regards the recon-
| mendatOns Of this same Congressman
Smyser in other Offices. At Spencerville
! investigation by the inspector showed that
il was inahvisabe tn reappoint the incum-
bent. and that MIR Wetherill. who had been
originally recommended for the position
by senator Dick. would he appointed,
Senator Dick afterward withdrew his recon-
merdation but the inspector reported that
Mr. "ethe'il had by that time already
teen appointed and that To withhold his
commission would be a great injury to
him and would defeat the ends OF justice.
The nomination was accordingly sent in.
At Napukoneta the incumbent did his
work well, b!t the post o:f'oe Inspector
reported that the feeling was almost unani-
NOUS among his fellow townsmen that
there shoId he a change. and Mr.. Moser
Was appointed il appearing that the poet
maste, was not popular with ths people,
while the man suggested for the nonina-
ton was Inuuestionably the choice Of the
patrons Of the Office, being regarded by
them as a most progressive and public
spirited yoInG business man, possessed
Of more than ordinary ability. extremely
popular with the people Of his native city
irrespective Of party affiliations
Il call 'yoIr attention to the fact that
tne Senate Withdrew it's opposition to one
Of these four men and confirmed him, So
that ;he charge relates to only three out
Of the whole number, 1,IA post offices
that of these three two were nominated
in tie usual fashion on the recommendA-
ton of the outgoing Congressman, and
that The third nomination was made on
the report Of the inspector and would have
been made without the slightest regard to
whether there was Presidential canvass
on hand or not
The statements in the editoria! in uues-
tiOn are therefore untrue in every particI-
lar
AS for your quotation from another
newspaper running as follows:
Federal onrcehOlderS may be commanded
TO use their influence and their authority
In behalf Of a candidate. Such a mand
has been issued and the President should
know it, Somebody has instructed
post masters that they must obtain from their
subordinates either their designations or
their pledge OF support for Taft delegates
10 the convention. Even in
Massachusetts efforts Of this kind have
recently been made. but happily they have
been stopped. partly because the post masters
on whom the attempts were made had the
courage to resist. and partly from other
causes.
There is really nothing to say except
that il does not contain the slightest particle
of truth and that the misstatement is so
gross hat il is difficult 10 believe il other
than deliberate invention. There is not
the slightest foundation for IL. and no
suCcesstui enort can be made 10 snow
that there Ia the slightest foundation for
il. As regards the Massachusetts post
Offices. in all except Ave cases my appoint
ments we're appointments; that ia. the
incumbent was renominated, with the con-
sent OF the Senators or Congressman. at
the ex piration Of the regular term. Ofthese
Ave casee new men were put in three times
because OF death and twice because of
the resignation Of the incumbent. In each
case. whether Of appointment OF reappoint-
ment. | followed the ordinary customs
accepting the suggestion either OF the
Senators or Of the Congressman or both.
as in each case the men suggested were
eminently At. Not particle Of difference
has been made in this respect between
those Congressman who were for one
Presidential candidate and those Congress-
men who were for another; and 80 far az
knouv in ayary raaa the annOintuant has