Page:United States Reports, Volume 257.djvu/161

80 Rh of Customs Inspectors asking for the reinstatement of Norris. On June 6, 1914, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury responded that there was no position of inspector vacant at Baltimore; that Norris was entitled to reinstatement, and, should a vacancy occur, he would be given consideration. On February 18, 1915, the plaintiff wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury asking for reinstatement to the position of inspector of customs.

In the additional findings it appears that after the plaintiff was dismissed he remained a few months in Baltimore, and then went to a farm in Virginia; that he occasionally visited in Baltimore, and that no facts appear to show that he was not ready, willing, and able to perform the duties of the office up to and including May 20, 1916, and at the time of the taking of his deposition in August, 1919.

The question is, upon these findings, and the additional findings: Is the claimant entitled to recover the compensation which is sought by his petition in this case? It appears that during the period of eleven months after his suspension without compliance with the statute, plaintiff took no steps to vindicate his right to the office, nor to recover the compensation incident to the same.

We need not repeat the discussion in the Nicholas Case, No. 10, just decided, of the principles which we deem controlling in cases of this character. The question here is: Did Norris use reasonable diligence, in view of the obligation placed upon him, notwithstanding his wrongful removal, to assert his right to the compensation attached to the office? It is true that it has been found that he was ready, willing, and able to discharge its duties, but no fact is found explaining his failure to assert his right to the office, or its emoluments, for the period of eleven months and a little over. He did not, as did Wickersham (201