Show ew A c j J would H have ave no go thomas L L jame james story about grant that throw light or the peremptory removal of marshall jewell from the cabinet twice in cay my experience as an ofil OM under the administration of preel prest dent grant I 1 found him to be of the most unflinching inching integrity and most loyal in his support of administrative officers under him who were tring to ing to do their duty one of these occa ions was mas when after an inter interview lew fajth him octa occasioned signed b by his hi summons to me to call upon him at V ashing ito ton he paid to mo mr air postmaster you aro are abao tely right in your it ut tempt to establish tb lish a civil service la to the new york postoffice post office don t pay any attention to the politicians always alays remember that you haie ha a firm supporter in fit me the occasion U 93 one which threw light upon president grants grant a relations with postmaster general mar shall jewell continued thomas L james postmaster of new lork under grant and hayes and postmaster gen aral under garfield there have bien many surmises as to the reason tor for the peremptory demand made by president gragat oa 01 upon marshall jewell tor for his res ignation Ig as the head of the post postoffice office department jewell himself u professed to know the reason of his dis missal I 1 think I 1 can cah throw some light upon n it incidentally while showing you what sart of man I 1 found president grant to be it was in the winter of 1974 5 that there appeared at the new york post office an inspector whose home town ton was oshkosh WIs he had bad never been in new york until that time lie ile began to make a most drastic incesti ration gallon of the postoffice post office and I 1 aided him all that I 1 could it happened valle this inspection was under way that gen la rue ait r rison who was chairman of the t of he be department whose authority was over oer inspect alons of this kind called upon me I 1 asked him what the mean ing 9 of this peculiar inspection was and I 1 told him frankly that I 1 was ins sure some aonie political was behind it general smiled queerly for a moment and then said half confidentially that postmaster general jewell to cut down the appropriation for or the new york post postoffice office he lie clearly intimated that there was poll tics behind this purpose I 1 in reply I 1 said that I 1 would do everything in my power to reduce the surplus of the post office that an inspection was not necessary I 1 to that end I 1 I 1 two of my sub ordinate and told them that tho the postmaster general wanted to cut our appropriation by 30 they replied that it could be done but that it would involve some severe hardships among the employees dut but tho the cut va as made and marshall jewell had the SO to use elsewhere within a month or six weeks I 1 dis cohered ft ehlt hat the politics ws back of the cut at that time connecticut held its 18 elections in the spring jew ell used the 30 in connecticut he ile increased tho the postal service and the number of clerks and in other waya ways which were lawful utilized the whole of that n oney noney his eal eat purpose being to strengthen his party in connecticut dut but it dien t aval avail for the republicans were beaten at the lection election general grant must have heard board of the uso use made of the for he sent for me fome bome weeks later and I 1 had hardly entered his in the white house before he be a ked mr postmaster it tho the un between us when I 1 appointed you postmaster of new york that there t bo be any gobe go be 1 I will not have go interfering ith myself and tho the prest dc fall to come appointee to tta ell matter wa york pr t offic 1 stopp topped e d it 0 inita nuy 1 well mr nir 1 I 11 did not vant to matter of that kill 11 nt it was o 0 a and that A guld bayl the president cepil overlook ir this time aa As ho lie said thi this h toola a box of ciers and offered me ce i inspection of 0 the eig their strength streng ib ua ab 4 he ile laughed and thet toll the subject ot of lay ray ell this happen agasto u ly IV at ays remember ta to tome me and I 1 va I 1 III tad you are axe not t 9 golca oin I 1 9 long with mith the eral I 1 it was only a fe ab that I 1 learned that pra del peremptorily j ell tatt 14 unprecedented similar cage case I 1 jhb k when president johnagin t resignation 0 of f S e c r jurld at M stanton COPY copyright fight uil 1911 by t I 1 L knitht be elkins helped reveal fri fy he it wa was who first supplied the information that resulted in uncovering the huge star route postal swindle swindles sometimes when I 1 hat beard heard of 0 the gortat service rend tad tid by the late senator stephen D B elkins ot of aest est virginia through the drafting ot of what Is now known as the elkins law the most effective instrument for or the prevention ot of railroad rebating I 1 have thought ot of mother great service rendered by Sati sanator ator alkins of 0 which aich the public never had any knowledge the time has now come when I 1 can tell the incident 1 I think it was on the second day of march 1881 1981 continued thomas L james postmaster general during the garfield administration that mr fl ft lies lins whom I 1 had learned to know wit when he tie was a delegate to con gresa from the terri territory torN ot of new dexl fo ro called upon we at my office in ae new york after the greeting greetings of cordial friendship were over mr alkins explained that he wanted to send a telegram to james G illaine Ill alne und and he presumed be would merchant almost president how abbott lawrence of massachusetts Mast achu wa was nearly nominated for running mate to taylor in 1848 1841 aery president of the united states at the time 0 of hi his election was either a lawyer oi 01 else had gained gret military renown yet there was a time when but for the narro narrowest sest chance and the queerest sort of cal sentiment a manufacturer and merchant would have been nominated for vice president upon a ticket with a ca candidate for president who two years after hie his inauguration died it was as in 1848 the great whig leaders of that time bad pitched upon general zachary taylor of louisiana ae as he the man for presidential nomina tion who ho would be more likely to ftp ap peal to the voters of the united states than aly other whig general tay lor had galmed renown in the mexican war and after its termination ard retired to his cotton plantation in lou illana he ile himself was reported to hac bae ha ba c e said that he dida I 1 know exactly where he stood sto od politically he sure whether he be could properly property call himself a whig or not but he was a protectionist allol aol that was enough tor for the party leaders one of the most prominent among their number being thurlqw thurlow weed indeed it wa was mr weed who first suggested general taylor for the presidential nomination and he it was who convinced his how ilow leaders that they could make no wiser choice after we had decided upon general taylor mr weed waa was fond fondon of telling in the closing year years 1 I his life we of one accord felt that it would be well to select elect for the vice presidential honor a man from new england we also 1090 felt that the candidate should be a it strong advocate of the princles prin ples of protection go strongly advocated and bad supported by henry clay and so to fl finally nally we decided upon abbott law rence of ot as just the man we a were after mr lawrence was a manufacturer jf cotton goods good he its had util utilized led the v ter rower ot of the merrimac river built great mills upon the banks of the river and thus founded the city which bears his h a surname burman ul he lie was a man alti un a it man ralta of much cuti milo and one of the leaders of at the development in manufacturing interests la in the states we wo were sure aura that the presidential ticket of taylor and lawrence lawrance would appeal to a majority of the voter voters of the united states and when prior to the assembling of our convention the split camo in the dam dern socratic party which resulted in martin van duren buren being nominated for president upon a free soil boll platform we WO were more than ever sure that our ticket as agreed upon in conference would be elected dut but we e had overlooked one little thing shortly before the convention met a louisiana whig w wrote rote to us 8 spying thatis that it would 14 never do to have abbott lawrence on the ticket and for far one re reason abou general taylor he aid said was as a cotton planter abbott Law lawrence reace was wa a manufacturer of c cotton goods it would never do to have cotton at both ends of the ticket it had never occurred to up but we saw instantly the force of the argument therefore we reluctantly antl aban abandoned donod mr bir lawrence and at the last minute NI millard I 1 I 1 tar d T it I 1 york me rj 0 of f ne new w was selected as 28 the anig can didaka tor ter vice president la Is why he h and not a manufacturer and that and merchant through tigh the constitutional succession became united president of the states in july of copyright nil III by E F I 1 all rights reserved receive an answer ulith it added that the gm something that con ceniti when we returned tal after luncheon we foai fc thero there awaiting bit eb reading tte the I 1 that 11 at ha he had who bc was to be secreta 71 the new there were any chully cha garfielda Garf lelda cabinet pu p blaino had replied thi do none then elkins i are to bar a I great of verv very difficult au alii 4 perho pel task tas K before more you aj u tho post postoffice office depart depar you doubtless doubt lesi bayl hi r lately a it good intimations that the th gat ing wronged by the tractors trac tora I 1 tell you rut these reports ark am true personal ll 11 that the govern meath by etar star louta brome eminent a t 0 M cers an w beg these contractor contractors I 1 au some details the after you have got ot to quain quainter ted with tew p ment should be to tion of the contract de i it up the cont contract radde 1 plotting etar star rout route it i amount of million millions A service la Is riven and 11 wd tors are to the post effice aith crift run counter to torn gain T politician ns I 1 am ia li however that you vill t 11 support from front the pw blaino aa as secretary 0 mr I 1 yoe macay attorney general mr kikin elkins therel borne some frauda L upon 0 tb thit t li able to base the 1 iny contract dep department a ramet of department W M pete huge swindles ha the government was where between III 1 ew B million rall llon dollars by thes tb we prosecuted cri eft in ing g conspirators tat but 71 possible to 11 1 ton which would oed bood xa broke up tor for route i e in the first instance to lt IL given to ue us by wa was one of the 1 dered to the 00 have any cersoli pere per solI until now president cabinet ere the 0 OBO mr elkins him av it wa was through the llew elkins that this binl aorl wae was begun copyright 1911 u by 1 r |