The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-12-10

Plymouth j. A. Yockey postmaster,
rs the only second class postoffice
in Marshall county. The require
ment is that the annual total of re-
ceipts must be $4,000, or more. Bre-
men James Ransted postmaster, Cul-
yer, B. w. Wiseman postmaster, Ar
gos Frank Pickerl postmaster, and
Bourbon ]. F. Martin postmaster, are
all in third class. They must have
annual receipts of from $1,000 to S.
OOO All others OF the county belong
to the fourth class. A postoffice of
the first class must have annual re-
ceipts of $4,000 or over The near
est examples of rlis class are Ft.
Wayne, South Bend and Elkhart.
Conserving the ruling of the presi-
dent Louis Ludlow, an the Indianap-
oils Star. writing from Washington,
in part says:
AT one stroke President Roose-
selt blanketed 1854 Indiana postof-
fees under the civil service and re-
moved them perpetually from the do
minion of the representatives, who,
no doubt, will be greatly astonished
to learn of the wiping out OF SO
much of their mme-honored patron
age by executive order.
The postoffices affected are OF the
fourth class Every postoffice in In
diana OF flat class was put under the
civil service blanket, which means
that 1,Os4 Indiana postmastcrs were
made postmasters for life, provided
their behavior continues up to the
standard and they care TO hold on.
The salaries paid to these officials
range from almost nothing up to
1000 year.
The president also stretched the
civil service blanket over the fourth
class postmasters of thirteen other
states, and altogether he brought IS
AS fourth class postmasters under
the civil service regulations. The
states blanketed are Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island. Connecticut, New
York. New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin
and Michigan.
at is announced il the plan works
satisfactorily in Indiana and the
thirteen other states it will be ex-
tended over the entire country.
THE prospect that the south ulti-
mately will be brought under the
blanket will arouse storm of protest
in that section, for, if fourth class
postmasters are to be chosen by com
petitive examination, there will be nc
way OF preventing colored men who
make the best grades from getting
the postofices. Nor is it likely that
people who are southern born and
bred will ever consent to receive their
mail from colored postmasters.
This Is one of the reasons why nc
southern state is included in the pres
ident's executive order. There were
OTHER reasons also which governed
the selec ton of states in which the
experiment. is to be tried first The
northern states named are chiefly
represented in congress by Republi
can congressman. The fourth clas.
postmasters now holding Office ir
those states are the creatures anC
friends OF those congressman
while it is natural to expect the
congressman will not take kindly tC
the abolishment OF their patronage
nevertheless the knowledge that thei
friends in Office are to be made post
masters for life will have its soothin,
effect.
Another factor that prompted tn
selection of these particular states i
that in them the Offices of the fourtl
class are more remnnerative, as
rule, than Offices of the same grad
in sparsely settled states, and there
fore they are of more attraction
which IS likely to bring out appli
cants enough to engage in compel
tive examination in case of vacan
cy.
at is recognized 1T will be dfficul
to work up an eligible list of appli
cants for a little postoffice that pay
only enough to keep the postmaste
in chewing tobacco, such as ar
found on the western plains and SOM
of the southern states, which is
problem which will have to be facet
as the civil service is broadened. Ii
he United States at large there ar
54,312 fourth class postoffices, ant
when all Of them are under tle civi
service cover the civil service com
mission will have no more worlds t
| ,caquer, as under the terms of tn
| civil service law there will be N
other classes of government EN-
| ployes that can be reached by civi
service"