The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1870-11-08
Dismissed for Honesty.

form. The phrase dismissed Tor hon-
esty" is rather novel, but is likely to be-
come trite before the close Of GRANTS
administration.
j. D. Cox, Secretary of the Interior,
has been elbowed out of his position
simply solely and exclusively because
he would not submit his department to
the pilferings of politicians and the
plunderings of Radical rings.
Cox, it is universally known, refused
to let that notorious scamp, CAMERON,
black. rail the clerks in his department
and thus raise funds to corrupt the Penn
sylvania election. But the great crime
for which Cox's head was brought to the
political guillotine was that of placing
the Indian service out of the reach of
thieving politicians.
In the letter of resignation extorted
from Cox he puts the case as mildly as
possible He says:
''The removal of the Indian service
from the sphere of ordinary political
patronage has been especially distastefu!
to many influential gentlemen in both
houses, and in order to enable you to
carry your purpose out successfully, l
am satisfied that you ought not to be
embarrassed by any other causes of irri-
tation in the same department
s'My views of the necessity of reform
in the civil service have brought me
more or less into collision with the plans
of our active political managers, and my
sense of duty has obliged me to oppose
some of their methods of action through
the Department
81 have no doubt whatever that pub
lie sentiment will sooner or later fully
sustain these efforts at what / regard
needed reforna, but / ought not 20 over
look the fact that for the present they
involve opposition which it may not be
for the interest of this administration to
provoke; and as my personal tendency
is to be rather more than less persistent
in the course to which | am committed,
l deem it my duty to place in your hands
my resignation of the office of Secretary
of the Interior, to take effect as soon as
you can conveniently determine upon
my successor"
This, in the ordinary language of ev-
cry day life, would read thus:
I'm trying to prevent my department
from being made an engine for indiscrim-
mate plunderng ] have encountered the
hostility of influential thieves and pro-
fessienal plunderers. BY retaining me
in Office you will share this hostility. l,
therefore, tender my resignation,in order
that you may be free to say whether you
prefer to do without me, or do without
the thieves"
GRANT accepted the resignation, there
by making his choice. Leading Radical
papers try hard to make believe that this
disclosure of GRANTS tendencies does
not hurt much, but the thing looks ugly
even under their whitewash.
The Cincinnati Commercial says.
"Gen. Cox rendered his resignation
distinctly upon the ground that he had,
by his policy in civil service reform in
his Department, placed himself in antag-
onism with influential politicians whose
hostility the President might not care to
embarrass himself with. The prompt
acceptance of this tender of resignation
by the President, shows that he did not
care to take the responsibility of perse-
vering i'll the reforms to which the Sec
retary was committed"
The Cincinnati Gazette, intensely Rad
ical, says:
"The President, under whose direction
the Secretary had hitherto acted, virtu-
ally, it would seem, decided upon a new
policy which rendered 1t necessary for
Cox also to change or retire. He sub
mitted the question squarely to the
President whether he should be supper
ted or the rings, and upon that issue his
resignation was accepted"
The Pittsburgh Commercial = also
good Republican authorityAsays:
Though the President has for the
moment been led into giving his counte
nance and support to those WHO resist
reform in the civil service for which Sec
retary Cox has taken noble stand, and
who seek to transform the Government
into political machine and would run
the administration for corrupt purposes
it is sincerely to be hoped that he will
yet be found acting consistently with his
professions"
When Grant attempted to form his
first Cabinet he was universally laughed
at for the incongruous elements he
brought together-his cabinet would not
stick together while he was making 1t:
but he got this credit at least that he
had repelled the influence of the politi
clans. Now, before his term is half oui
he has signalized himself beyond all his
predecessors in abject subservience to
political wire workers.
The acceptance of Cox's resignation
is humihatlng confession by GRANT
that he is hopelessly and helplessly in
the power of the cliques and rings which
are plundering the people.
The Negro Election In South Caro-
The ''election" in South Carolina, just
over, afforded a fair specimen of the
Radical fashion Of preserving the purity
of the ballot-box." On the seaboard
and islands, the negroes IN savage crowds
held the ballot-boxes and, crammed
them with all the Radical tickets sent to
them. The negro women were even
more violent than the men; and, with
arms in hand, these brutal mobs attack
ed, beat, and drove off every man, white
or black, who showed or tried to vote