Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-03-20

tions."
The New York custorn-house should be
placed on the same footing with the New
York postoffice. But under the suspended
officers the custom house would be one OF
the principal political agencies IN the state
of New York. To change this, they profess
to believe, would be, in the language OF Mr..
Cornell in his response, ito surrender their
personal and politscal rights. !"
Convinced that the people of New YORK
and of the country generally wish the New
York custom house to be administered sole
ly with view to the public interest, IL Is
my purpose to do all in my power TO lnIro-
duce into this great office the reforms which
the country desires.
case and with deep sense of the response
bic obligation imposed upon me by the Con-
stituti0n to take care that the laws be
faithfully executed, F" 1 regard it as my PLAIN
duty to suspend the officers in question and
to make the nominations now before the
Senate in order that this important office
may be honestly and efficiently admins
tered. r. Is. HAYES.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, Jan. 81, 1873.
The President tells the Senate
that, with deep sense of the obli-
CATION imposed on him by the Con-
stitution to see the laws faithfully
executed, he regarded it as his plain
! duty to suspend Arthur and Cornell
and to make the nominations then
pending before the Senate for con-
firmati0n; and why? In his own
language, "In order that this inn
portant Office may be honestly and
| efficieutly administered" Accord
| ing to this Arthur and Cornell had
not administered their offices hon
estly, and the President wished
men to take their places who would
SO administer them. OF course a
democratic Senate could not take
the responsibility of retaining in
office men upon whom a republican
! President had put the brand of dis
| honesty, and Mr.. Hayes nomina-
| tiOnS were confirmed and Arthur
and Cornell were compelled to re-
tire. The administration scored a
victory in the long and bitter war
between it and the Senator from
New York. The White House was
wreathed i'll smiles. An extra guam
| THY of lemonade was ordered and
| the Cabinet drank the health of
| their victorious chief, who with the
scalp of COnkling, as he supposed,
dangling from his Wampum belt,
strutted around the council board
cutting fantastic tricks before high
| heaven, as he is. in the habit of do
| ing. He felt that ciVil-service re-
| form had triumphed, and he was
happy. But his eXultation was OF
| brief duration. Conkling's picket
line was driven in, but he had only
| fallen back upon his reserves. Re
| turning to New York, he summon
ed his clans. Cornell, whom Hayes
and Sherman had turned out of Off
&c on the alledged ground that it
was not honestly administered, was
taken up by the republican party OF
New York and nominated for gov
ernor. Thus did New York's un-
conquered Senator fling defiance
and contempt into the very face of
! the administration. How was the
insulting challenge received? There
was then witnessed a scene of alb
| iect humiliation and establishment
on the part of the administration
destined to stand, it is fondly hoped
and believed, without parallel in
our history. William M. Evarts,
Mr.. Hayes Secretary of State, and
who is supposed to have great in
/ fiuence with the more respectable
element of the republican party in
New York, went to that State to
persuade the people that the man
Hayes had turned out of Office for
dishonest administration of it
ought to be supported for governor
by the honest men of the State.
John Sherman, the Secretary of
the Treasury, also went to New
York to make speeches for Cornell
and to give him a good character.
When asked by a voter i'll his au-
dience how he could advise honest
men to support a man for governor
of a great State whom he had caus-
ed to be removed for official mis-
conduct. he had the audaclty to
state, in the face of his own letters
and the message of the President,
that Cornell was not removed on
account of anything affecting his
official integrity. Mr.. Hayes sta
ted in such a manner as to get it in
to the newspapers that if he were
in New York he would support Cor
nell for governor.
The triuph of Conkling left moth
ing to be desired, even by that
naughty and imperiOus despiser of
Hayes. Achilles, with the dead
body of Hector dashed to his victo-
rious chariot, would fifty represent
the scene, but for the inability of
the Administration to sustain the
character of Hector. Cornell him
self must have felt a touch of pity
and forgiveness when he beheld the
debasement and abject humiliation
of the Administration.
Not only has Mr.. Hayes ignored,
disregarded, and unblushingly viO-
lated all his promises made before
and since his Inauguration relative
to the character of men to be APP
pointed to office and the rules by
which he would be governed in
making the same, but he has sur
rendered every civil-service reform
principle announced by him when
the success of his party and the re-
quirements of its stalwart leaders
demanded it to be done. His cele-
brated ciVil-serVice order was an
infant of feeble promise at its birth.
1t struggled only for a moment in
the arms of its fond father and was
then laid away in its little grave to
rest. The order expressly forbade
any officer of the Government to
take part in the management of any
caucuses, conventions, or election
campaigns, and it was expressly
stated that the order applied to ev-
cry department of the serVice-nO
exceptions-every officer, high and
low, was prohibited from engage
ing in such work. Yet in every po-
litical campaign since that order
was issued members of the Cabinet
have openly and VIGOROUSLY en-
gagged in election campaigns. In
his last annual message Mr.. Hayes
undertakes to justify the action of
himself and members of his Cabi-
net in travelling over the country
to deliver partisan harangues in ut
ter contempt and oblivion of his
civil-service order. If the follow |
ing awkward and not very perspic- |
uous extract from his message is
not intended as an apology for their
conduct l am at loss to vnder- |
stand its meaning:
When the people have approved policy |
at national election, confidence on the /
part of the officers they have selected, and |
political institutions, should be consulted |
in the policy which it is their duty to carry
into effect, is indispensable. 1t is eminently |
proper that they should explain it before the
people, as well as illustrate it's spirit In the
performance of their official duties.
Now, it is a notorious fact that
members of Mr.. Hayes's cabinet
and Mr.. Hayes himself during the
last election in Ohio went to that |