The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-04-22
THE PRESIDENTS POSITION.
A Statement of His Views Which Pur-
ports to Be Authoritative.
While Making No Effort to Secure the Nom
nation for President, He Will Not
Decline if 1t Is rendered Him.

fishes the following from its Washington CORE
spondent:
A very close friend of President Arthur. who
has recently spent some time with him, and win
whom the President has talked with some free
DOM was asked tonight whether the President
was making any active effort to secure the nom
nation at Chicago. 1.-The President, to my GER
tain knowledge he replied, ''has never lifted
his finger to secure the nomination, and has
never said to q single one of his friends anything
which would justify them in making the canvass
for that nomination. He has simply left them
to infer that in case the nomination came to him
he would accept it, and would be gratified at re-
ceiving it. l suppose there is no day in the week
that the President does not have from ten to
twenty calls to say nothing of his mall from
friends and politicians who desire to express
their wish to serve him in any way in their
power To all of these the President listens, but
gives no other encouragement"
HAS the President any choice in case he him
self does not receive the nomination.
II do not think he has the slightest prefer
ence In fact, know that his only desire is
that the convention shall nominate some lie
publican who can command the united support
of the party and who can be elected.
The President feels that the party is greater
than any one man in it. | would like to say
something about the Presidents course since he
entered the office.
HE has been charged with being a machine
boss in New York city. The facts are that,
after the President became collector of the port
committee, of which he had been member for
some years, and he never served on the commit
tee again until after his retirement from the col
lectorship. He not only refused to act in that ca.
pacity but he declined twice to go to the national
convention as delegate because he thought that
collector such action would be improper
Furthermore he refused to allow his subordl-
mates in the custom house to become o1lclally
connected with any committee on the ground
that such course would be improper. The Pres
letter 10 sherman.
fore he retired from the custom-house. shows,
always made it rule in the case of promotions
or appointments in the custom-house, for any
important Office or any office paying o salary
larger than 81, 900 year. to make the appoint
ment by promotion. That letter also shows that
the percentage of removals was very much less
under Gen. Arthur than had ever occurred be-
fore in the administration of the custom house
THE CIVIL SERVICE
$50 the President, while collector, had some
experience which was of avail to him after he
entered the White House in regard to the civil
service reform movement. In his first message
he entered into this subject of civil-service re-
form and said that the movement had his hearty
sympathy and co operation. He did not believe
that we could ever satisfactorily adopt the
English system, for reasons which he then
stated, but he did believe that something
ought to be done to reform the service in
respect to the minor appointments. After the
civil-service act was passed it met with his
hearty approval, although he regarded it in
some measure as tentative, but he thought that
out of the experience that the act offered oppor
tunity for getting we could establish system of
civil service which would be satisfactory to the
country and which would reform abuses which
PROFESSIONALLY existed. There is no man in the
IL
civil-service reform movement than Dorman b.
Eaton. Mr.. Eaton says to-day that had 1t not
been for the cordial and hearty cooperation of
the President the civil service law would have
been failure He says that the President has
not only in all cases shown earnestness for the
best results. but has given to the commission
great many valuable suggestions, which have
been adopted. 1t does seem little curious to
the President that in view of these facts the
civtl-service reformers of New York have not
seen fit to accord to him the justice which his
own acts merit
'sWhat has been the Presidents policy in re-
gard to appointmentsp
1.-The record will show that but | can say this:
That in every single instance where the Pres
ident has had an appointment to make he
has first inquired whether there was not sub
ordinate competent to be promoted. Take the
case of Mr.. COonS, recently promoted to the
Assistant Secretaryship of the Treasury, and Mr..
Lehman promoted from cerkship to the
Second Assistant Postmaster -generalship. tits
probable that no minor appointments ever made
were more unsatisfactory to the politicians than
these but in both these cases. the President
asked the Secretaries whether there were any
subordinates who were competent to fill the
offices. In both cases recommendations were
made by the Secretaries regarding the com
potency of the men appointed, and the President
declined to listen to any political pressure from
anybody on the outside. The appointment of
Mr.. Burrows as Solicitor of the Treasury was
made probably because it was found that the
Secretary could not recommend any subordinate
for promotion. l will tell you one interesting
fact about that appointment. After the Presi-
denthad determined to appoint Mr.. Burrows,
prominent Republican politician called upon
him and said: DO you know that this man
Burrows is Blaine man and that he intends to
go to the Chicago convention with the Michigan
delegation and make speech for BlaineF
%, yes, | know that very we'll, replied the
President at least have heard so, but that
has entered into my mind in making this APP
pointment.'
Il want to say furthermore that in all cases
where the President has had minor appoint
ments to make, like those of postmasters, he has
left them to the decision of the members of
Congress for the districts for which the post
masters were to be appointed. 1t is absolutely
impossible for him to make an appointment of
this kind in any other way. He cannot know
personally all these people, and the only means
he has of determining who are proper men to
appoint is from tine word of members of Con
gress. Since he has been in tho White
House he has never asked whether
man whose name was proposed was what was
called stalwart or a half breed OF course, in
New York State, where his personal acquaint-
ance is very large, he did know what some of
the old-time affiliations of those men were, but
he has tried never to allow this knowledge to in
fuence him, and he has probably suffered more
on account of so trying than any one who ever
held the Office Of President. In respect of his
appointments to the bench he has simply aimed
to get the best men. When he had some active
part in New York politics it was partially
through his own exertions that such men as
Van Worst and Sedgwiok were put upon the
bench. Such men as Phelps, who was three
successive times elected district attorney as a
majority against him. and Russell Rollins Si and
others were elected to fill important, judicial
and prosecuting positions The nomination of
Elihu Root for district attorney of