The Washington bee., 1908-05-09

=
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
: died at eleven o'clock Monday morn
ing at his residence, 1923 L street
northwest, of pneumonia, following
= an illness of less than a week
Mr.. Sullivan was in the sixty-third
year of his age, and had been con
nected with the Bureau OF Engrav-
ing and Printing for forty years,
serving under every director of the
Bureau.
He was made director June I.
1906, succeeding William NJ. Mere
dith.
Mr.. Sullivan left his Office Tues
day feeling badly from the effects of
cold, but his condition was thought
to be better the latter part of the
week, and no fear was entertained
for his recovery. It was fully eX-
pected at the Bureau that he would
be able TO resume his duties this
morning.
also Had Heart Trouble
The cold took a sudden turn for
the worse and pneumonia rapidly de
veloped, from which his death re-
suited this morning. 1t is also con
iectured that heart trouble served to
complicate the disease and hasten his
death.
Mr.. Sullivan was regarded as an
efficient head of the establishment
over which he presiedd, and his sud
len death was received with much
regret by the officials and employees
of the Bureau.
When former Director WilliamM.
Meredith resigned his position in
1906, Mr. Sullivan, who was then
assistant director, was selected as
the successor of Mr.. Meredith April
u, taking the oath of Office July I, |
1000 He was born in the District, |
and had lived here all his life.
BegaH Career in Banking House. |
Mr.. Sullivan won his promotion
to the responsible position of Direc- |
tor Of the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing entirely upon merit, as
there was strong political pressure
for other candidates at the time of
his appointment. He was educated |
in the public and private schools of
this city. He subsequently attended |
the law school of Georgetown Uni
versity, and received the bachelors |
and masters degree in law from that
university.
At an early age he started his (
business career with the old-time
banking house Of Sweeney, Ritten-
house & Co. He entered the service
of the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing, December I. 1860, as an
expert in accounts. He was promot-
ed rapidly through the several grades
and was made principal accountant
in October, 1872, and assistant chief
of the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing in March, 1882 The title
of the office being changed in 1896,
he was appointed assistant director
of the bureau July I of that year
Upon entering the service Mr.. Sui
livan devoted himself to the syStema-
tizing of the methods and forms in
use in tn ebusiness of the bureau,
and formulated rules and regulations
to prevent the loss to the employees
and the Government of the valuable
securities handled in the Bureau
Mr.. Sullivan was full of racial
prejudice. He established Tim
Crow" departments for white and
colOred employees of the Government
and declared that the colored people
favored it. No other director since
the foundation of the Bureau ever
created lin Crow" departments in
that institution. Not even Claude
Johnson, who disliked a colored Am
ment They represented some of our
erican as badly as a cat liked to de-
YOUR rat. Mr.. Sullivan is the in
augurator of the caste distinction IN
the Bureau of Engraving and Print
ing. He never had the respect of
colored employees, for the reason he
did not like tha,, .~d bod r. bsa,,