The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-11-19

In the old cononial manse at 1900
Pennsylvania avenue, rolling over oi
ancestral bones in the Indian buryina
grounds, and an immediate moboliza-
ton Of the nations gossips on the fr-
Ing line. Fate had been cruel tc
Danny Roper. first assistant post.
master general. Curses!
And right on top OF this-bingo!
the entire Office force at the Fair
mont postofiice quit, and Mr.. Roperis
hailed out again into the glare from
which he had just shrunk as the
Burkitt excitement was dying down.
His experience In the latter case ad-
|monished him to have q care
and therefore the scarcity OF Official
statements from the ONCE Of Mr.. Ro-
per as to the Fairmont trouble. Up
until now, not word from there.
ut Is being handled at the end
the Fairnlont end -inquisitive cor
respondent are informed.
Others Not So Dumb.
Other department heads in the big
building opposite the Raleigh are not
so dumb. Their interest Is not di-
ret, but is curious, and It seems
strange that they talk about the
!Fnirmont case as if they found real
enjoyment in Its possible relationship
to First Assistant Roper's discomfit-
srre. It Is one OF the phases Of Of
fetal life In the capital which Is mys-
itifying to the noviates that, when q
big chief trips and falls and gets
in bad. there Is great ejoicinginstead
OF sympathy from the official pack. It
is made the occasion Of a regular Ro-
man holiday. s s b
The status Of the twenty-five or
more men who walked out, leaving
their keys behing them while their
designations were speeding toward
Washington, Is variously described
by various officials. It Is held that
they can be prosecuted, but, since
the first furry, the sentiment that
they will be Is neither great nor
,weighty. That so many men, most
of whom have spent a lifetome in the
mail service and are experienced ex-
perts, should quit their Jobs without
any preparation for the future. has
caused the officials here to think that
this Fairmont case Is not the usual
one OF separating men from their
Jobs on trumped up charges because
they are not partisans Of the political
regime in control. It Is thought
that there must be some greater In
justice, and a more serious principle
involved In this affair than is usual in
such eases.
In departmental circles 1t Is fully
expected at this case will become
famous through an investigation that
will be less partial than the ones
conducted by the two inspectors
knight and Hess-upon whose re-.
ports the action Of Diminishing Brand
ct al was taken. Just how that will
be brought about isn't made clear,
but there Is a general belief that 1t
will be obtained in. due course Of
time. The matter may even reach
the floor OF the House Of Represent
tatives. That is mot entirely improb-
able, 1t Is said.
Partisan Frame.up.
In the meantime, the entire case
against the discharged employees at
Fairmont, is characterized by disin-
teresteG ones here as bearing on Its
face the marks Of a partisan frame
up and an assault upon the civil SER
vice laws, and the authority Of the.
commission delegated to enforce
those laws, which, because OF the So
called Strike" viii direct national
attention to this abuse. As stated,
It may lead to q congressional inves-;;
tigation.
The origin Of the case. Of course.
is attributed to politics local to Fair
mont, but the postofice department
officials here are being severely crit
icized Tor the way the thing has
turned out, nevertheless. In fairness
to them. though. 1t should be stated
that they could not be expected to
foresee what would happen. Cases
like this one at Fairlnont are COM.
mon every day occurrences. but they
have never been attended BY
strikes"
OF Great Importance.
: That Is what makes this case un.
usual and bids fair to make 1t Of
national Importance and interest.
It was what happened as a result
Of the dismissals and not the dismiss
sails themselves that lifts. the Fair
mont case from local obscurity into
prominence as showing how
crafty politicians Of this administra-
tion p1o,, hotf1aanra3 a,..1 rt.,,ak1 -.