alfred b. mullett 105
President Grant. The Baltimore Sun called the resignation of Mullett
the neatest trophy of Secretary Bristow. 106 Another article under-
scored the rivalry between Bristow and Mullett. It reported that
the good looking Kentuckian [Bristow] . . . has labored for months
under the delusion which Mr. Mullett endeavored to dispel, to wit:
that he was Secretary of the Treasury. When Mullett attempted to
apologize and withdraw his resignation, Bristow stuck to his accep-
tance of it. The effect of the resignation on President Grant s associ-
ates was predicted to be great. Boss Shepherd, whose fat contracts
with Mullett are taking bodily shape in newly-constructed edifices all
over Washington, made two visits to Grant today to have the matter
[the resignation] squelched and let Mullett stay in, but it was too
late. . . . This affair is regarded as a very serious blow to the city
Ring. 107
Mullett s Postgovernment Career
The profitable business that Mullett entered after his departure
from the Treasury Department was as vice president of the Chrome
Steel Company, in its Washington, D.C., office. This choice was not
out of keeping with Mullett s previous work, as he once described
himself as an architect and engineer. 108 The new position proved
short-lived and did not prevent him from becoming entangled in the
affairs of his successor.
Within a few weeks, he was engaged in a dispute with his succes-
sor, William Appleton Potter, over the ownership of photographs of
federal buildings. Later, Mullett claimed that he had given advice and
assistance to Potter without charge to the government, but the latter
refused all offers of assistance. Mullett characterized Potter as an ar-
chitect inexperienced in fulfilling the demands of public service. He
also decried Potter s attempts to destroy Mullett s legacy and reputa-
tion, particularly Potter s efforts to alter his designs and Potter s de-
piction of the Chicago custom house as so defective that it should be
demolished and rebuilt in a different manner.109
After Potter s departure in 1876, Mullett applied for reappoint-
ment as supervising architect. By that time, he was no longer associ-
ated with Chrome Steel. His application was endorsed by thirty-six
members of Congress. However, when James G. Hill was appointed,
Mullett related that if he did not know the influence granite com-
panies exert in the state of Maine, the reason for my rejection would
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