The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-03
THE INDIANAPOLIS POSTOFFICE.
The Boss Mugwump Organ Discusses Hen
bricks and Jones DiSrespectfully.

"N~s
bricks and Jones DiSrespectfully.
New York Evening Post.
Very likely if Aquilla Jones had not put Fred
and Ben, his two sons, in the postofice, he
would have had to support them himself. and he
did not like this. So, also, it is most probable
that Billy Morgan. Mrs. Hendricks nephew, was
occasionally forced to fall back on his illustrious
old uncle, who was getting tired of it, and who
knew Billy could not get either into the pubic
service or any other service if he had to undergo
any test of knowledge or capacity. 1t was nat
ural that, under these circumstances. 1.-The old
man should be bitterly opposed to the civil
service humbug," and should now be threatening
war Oh the administration in case Jones is
removed, and Billy Morgan has to so back to the
drug store.
What we see in the Indianapolis postofice to-
day, it is safe TO say, we should have seen in
every postoffice in the country by this time were
there no clvll-service act, and were Mr.. Cleve-
land a weak man who WINGED under pressure
We should, in fact, have seen the business of
delivering the mails and collecting the revenue
handed over to a large army of drunken people,
and bankrupts, poor relations, and failures Of
one sort or another, to whom the American
people, in their private capacity, refuse to fur
nish a living. There would not have been the
slightest pretense that the change had, or ought
to have, anything to do with an increase of eff
cheney In the public service, or that the offices
were anything better than prizes drawn in a
lottery.
Consider for a moment, too, the figure which
Mr.. Hendricks, the leading Democratic states
man of the old school. who was bred in the spoils
system, is cutting in this matter. He is over
sixty years Of age, and has ali his life been a
public man. He has at last obtained the reward
of his party fidelity by elevation to the second
highest place in the government. One would
expect that since March last he would have been
occupied busily with schemes for giving, either
th rough legislation or administration, the Demo
cratic party a stronger hold on the affections of
the people. No one expected that the change of
great mind, for this everyone knew he did not
possess. But everyone might fairly have expect
ed that it would find him in possession of a seri-
GUS mind, and occupied more or less with the
serious questions which occupy statesmen Of
similar standing in other countries-GladstOne,
Bismarck or Ferry, for nstance-such as trade,
justice, taxes, banking, currency, and so forth.
AS a matter of fact, however, it seems that his
one thought, when his party came back to power
after twenty-five years of reinforcement, was
how be could best get hold Of a few clerkships in
the departments and the indianapolis postofice.
His first public act after the 4th of March was to
dismiss the doorkeeper of the Vice presidents
private room, the one place in which he could
make a ''clean sweep" He then haunted the
departments and the White House till he got the
postofice for Jones. Probably at this moment
his brain is seething with excitement over Jones
DOdd and Albeit, Fred and Ben have to go, and
the four widows are put back into the jute-sack
room. Chancellor Oxenstiern, as his famous
saying shows, had a poor opinion of statesmen,
but his imagination probably never, in his most
pessimistic mood, conjured up anything of the
kind so silly and trifling as the present Vice
president of this Republic,