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HAMILTON JOURNAL
THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF HARRIS COUNTY.
VOL XIII.
TURNING THE RASCALS OUT.
The Administration Prefers to
Please the Democrats.
Washington, May 14.— -Postmas
ter-General Vilas’s confidental letter
to Ohio a--d Virginia Postmasters,
w hich has found its way into print,
is the most positive and significant
utterance that has come from the
new administration. T he President
was consulted before the letter was
sent out of partisan officeholders. It
is particularly significant because the
discontent that has apparently escap¬
ed notice heretofore is officially rec
ognized in the letter. “I shall beg
you, therefore,” he says, “to consider
the suggestions I make as to the
methods • . of £> procedure, . j and 1 if • r you
can adopt them and get some cases
ready within the next two or three
weeks, I think within the month of
May I can give substantial relief that
will take away the importunity and
discontent.”
There is method, too, in the order
of procedure indicated by the Post
j ^ter-General which suggests that
j • power of patronage is pretty
..cenly appreciated by the Adminis
tra'von. Thus Ohio and Virginia
are the earliest States to be treated.
Ohio is the first of the States in
which the Administration is to stand
the test of a fall election. The elec¬
tion there takes place in Octo¬
ber, and the nominating conventions
will meet in a month. Before that
time, if the Democratic leaders move
promptly and do n«t quarrel, the
party can be fortified.
In Virginia here is to be a won¬
derfully hot campaign for the over
throw of Mahone. Nominations for
Governor will be made on both sides
at an early day, and Federal patron
JBge will play an important part. Its
loss will shatter Mahone’s strength,
and its transfer to the Democrats
will build up their organization.
HAMILTON, GA., MAY
New York, New Jersey and Coi>
necticut has not been overlooked,
and a general change in the Post
Offices in those States will be made
in time to aid the Democrats in the
November contests. Politicians who
here disposed growl * the
come to at
slowness with which things, are mov
ing go away very well satisfied after
a visit to the Post Office Department
Col Vilas has been badly crippled by
tIle protracted illness of First Assist
tant Postmaster-General Hay, who
looks especially after the small Post
Offices. In consequence Mr. Vilas
^ as ^ ia( ^ l a ^ e charge of the appoint
in S of a11 the fourth class Postmasters,
number about 50,000.
Appointments 11 are new being & made
. . ,
at the rate of one hundred a day.
Allowing eight hours of solid
work each day, this would make
about 01ie appointment every five
minutes - The clencaI work
necessary in each case cannot be
done more expeditiously. l'.ven
at this rate of progress it will take
many months to fill all the offices.Col
Vilas’s plan of filling one sixth to
one quarter of the offices at once
commends itself to a majority of the
Democrats who come here, When
the party is convinced that the Ad¬
ministration is thoroughly and earn¬
estly Democratic, there will be very
little murmuring at the slowness with
which changes are made.
There is less patronage in the
er departments, but there is the
same clearly defined purpose to move
forward that animates the Post Office
Department. There is every prom¬
ise that the Democrats of New York
State will speedily see that there is
no intention to ignore them on the
part of the President and Secretary
Manning. Mr. Manning is not one
whit less a Democrat since he came
to Washington. He has not put away
the principles of a life time. * If he
appointed Mr. Graves, a Mugwump,
NO. 21.
to be head of the Bureau of Engrav
ing and Printing, anybody who cares
to ask him will be frankly told that
it was because of Mr. Graves's thor
ough expert knowledge and peculiar
fitness. Nobody who knows Mr.
Manning takes any stock in the sto
ries that all Democrats are to be
forbidden to cross the threshold of
the bureau in consequence of the ap¬
pointment, or that any precedent has
been established to be followed in
other cases.
Gossips who are busy trying to
convince greenhorns that Mr. Cleve¬
land and his Secretary of the Treas¬
ury are not in entire accord will be
confounded when the situation is
further developed. The fact is the
two men are in perfect accord. Mr.
Cleveland has not so keen a percep¬
tion of the advantages of party ma¬
chinery as Mr. Manning, but so far
as the underlying principal of a Deni
ocrat j c Administration is concerned
there is not the shadow of a dntei
cnee between the two men. Neither
believes t hat an Administration can
succeed without a party behind it.
UNCLE REMUS.
Larry Gantt; Gives a Short
Sketch of Joel ( handler
Harris Before He
Became Fiunoui*
Banner-Watchman.
Joe Harris, who has since become
famous in the world of letters by Ins
“Uncle Remus” was an assistant to
Col. Thompson ou the News. Well
do we remember Harris’ first advent
into the composing room. Mr. Es
till came up one afternoon, followed
by a gawky, red-haired, frecklc-Caced
youth, whose every glance and move
ment betokened the countryman.
After their departure wc turned to
Divine and asked liim what kind ol
animal was that the boss had captur
cd.