The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-19
MIR. FoULKE,s RESEARCHES.
A Republican Paper Considers the Matter
and Proffers Good Advice.


Chicago Tribune.
If Mr.. w. d. Foulke. the Indiana State sen
ator, and president of the Civilservice Reform
Association of that State, were not so seriously
In earnest his story of the results of his pursuit1
AFTER official knowledge. as detailed in the lasM
issue OF the Tribune, would be as fun : reading
as farce. Mr. Foulke. it may be promised "a
the head muewump of Indiana and would prob
ably have been heard from still more widely
were not the sisterhood weak in that State.
be TINS as 1t may, 1t is appare ut that he had Sc
rous doubts about the honesty of Cleveland as a
reformer, and does not share the confidence
which the Eastern ndgwumps .epose in him.
The fruits of reform We're not visible 10 him in
Indiana. however blooming they might be in
New York, so be set himself about the task of
finding out to what extent the epidemic of reform
had pervaded his own State He addressed let.
tiers Unfortunately to suspended postmasters
asking if any charges had been made against
them, and if they had had an opportunity for in
vestigation or defense. Out of I5S replies 1876
informed him that notice had been served. no
cause had been assigned and no opportunity
given for Defense denial or explanation. They
were simply kicked out like yellow dog
Our sorrowing mugwump friend then went
straight TO the fountain head of reform, only to
find it before he got through as badly rolled and
as muddy as the Scripture pool He communi-
Gated the results of his search for knowledge to
the President himself. He was not comforted
when the President informed him that he APP
proved of this style of doing business and that
he had no time to furnish the victims of Steven
sons ak with the reasons why their heads were
to be chopped off. He then demonstrated with
the President, and made the obvious suggestion
that there little use in requiring that charges
should be preferred. if the postmasters were not
allowed to see or answer them. The President
only shrugged his shoulders, regretted that he
(Foulke) had made the inquiries, and closed the
interview with the gratuitous information that
he had great difficulty in bringing his party
friends up to his ideas of this reform, and that
Indiana was particularly bad State in this re-
spect"
AS Mr.. Fouke is about the only mugwump in
the State of Indiana and, therefore, must feel
very lonesome, it is not surprising, perhaps
that he has not before this discovered the ms
and outs of reform. Nor is it surprising that he
says, with some bitterness, it looks to him ''as
if the reform policy of the President, outlined in
his letter to George William Curtis, was limited
IN practice to those parts of the country where it
would do the most good" 1t is probable also
that he finds some difficulty, after the result of
his letter writing, In understanding the follow
ing declaration of the President as to the admin
istration of the civi-service law contained in his
message:
ably suggest an amendment of the methods of
Its execution, but venture to hope that we never
shall again be RENTED to the system which dis
tributes public positions purely as rewards for
partisan service. Doubts may we'll be enter
tanned whether our government could survive
the strain of a continuance of this system, which,
upon every change of administration, inspires an
immense army of claimants for Office to lay siege
to the patronage of the government, engrossing
the time of public officers with their importuni-
ties spreading abroad the contagon of their dis
appointment, and filing the air with the turmoil
of their discomfort"
If Mr.. Foulke will try to realize that President
Cleveland has been engaged for nearly ten
months in doing nothing else but breaking down
the safeguards of the civil service, and that he
has been looping off Republican heads at the
rate of LOCO per week for forty weeks, removing
these 40 600 oficeholders for other reason than
that they were National Union Republicans-if
he will bear this in mind he will perhaps appre-
cIate the utter inconsistency and hypocrisy Of
the presidential twaddle on the subject and
realize that Cleveland does not believe what he
breaches The best thing, under the circum-
stances, for Mr.. Fouke is to quit and come back
home, and no longer roost on the cold and cheer
less mugwump tree, lonesome and dismal tit
willow