The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-10
CURRENT PRESS COMMENT.

CURRENT PRESS COMMENT.
We honor Mr.. Curtis for the steadfastness and
ability with which he has pressed the work of civil
service reform for so many years. Even his deplor
able detection of last year cannot make US cherish
any other than friendly sentiment. But in his pres
en treatment of the subject he is the creature of his
own circumstances, and he is bound by his OWE
withes; lie apologies for an administration whea
ne ought to be free to speak the plain truth-Phiia
delphia Press.
GENERAL GRANTS death ought to impress upon the
minds OF sundry of our esteemed contemporaries the
of public man if he might die next day. and the
papers have then to publish his obituary. If what
some OF our contemporaries said about Grant when hs
was living were true his body should have been So
upon dung hill 1t their posthumous estimates OF
him were correct they deserved social ostracsm as
malignant slanderers. The country has had enough
of that journalism which undertakes to atone for libel
ing man in his lifetime by lying about him when he
is dead.-Philadelphia Record.
UNHAHpILY, this country has placed itself in such
position that it no longer act freely to induce
any other nation to aid in the remonetization Of
silver if that desired. The United States has
left only the power to save itself from the conse
quences of nudicous attempt to restore silver to
general use by ITSELF but without operation with
other nations But the influence of the United States
upon tho action of other nations would be great and
possibly decisive if this country should at
fuse to stand any longer between the merchants and
manufacturers of Great Britain and the natural
sequences of the policy of their government.-New
York Tribune.
THERE is something odd about the treatment Of
John Roach. 1t is assumed by partisan papers that
he must have meant to cheat the government because
his bills for the four ships were so much below
those of other builders. Does not the statement
those of other builders and the contracts had been
awarded to him, charge of corruption might have
been in ORDER if they had been only per cent lower
than those of other builders charge OF collision
might have seemed reasonable; but his bids more
than 10 per cent below those of his lowest competitor
or $3.50 900 on the entire JOB How can such bids
anything but strictly honest-Fiank Leslie's IL
Illustrated Paper.
IT has not hitherto been found possible to carry on
any kind of free representative government without
parties and it is in the collisions and developments Of
party activity that the safety of human freedom has
always been found. The only mode of reaching
perfectly partisan government that has yet proved
successful has been through the abolition of liberty.
In Russia there parties party contests, be-
everything is ordered and regulated By the
single supreme fat of the Gar. In France, under
the second empire, an endeavor made to arrive at
similar suppression of parties and the substitution
OF the imperial will as the sole and permanent ruling
power. But this attempt proved unsuccessful and
on the first serious trial of strength the imperial will
itself was suppressed and taken prisoner by the
emy.-New York Sun.
THE believers in State supremacy and the right Of
secession hold to those doctrines firmly ever
and they grow enthusiastic over jeff Davis because
he is the chief representative of every rebel heresy
In the South there is that viii provoke such
enthusiasm that of Jeff Davis. If the South really
wished for changed order of things in the future Il
would present leader to represent the ambitions
OF the people and become the object of popular en-
thusiasm. Yet no man fire the Southern heart like
JEFF Davis. 1t is difficult to say when the force of
his pestent and traitorous example will be SPENT
since the Southern people are still welded to him as
their idol and the rising generation is taught to regard
him the greatest and noblest of Americans, hold
ing place high above Lincoln Grant and on level
with Washington. Chicago Tribune
SO long the President receives the Endorsement
of the National League, it will be useless for local
mugwumps to raise objections to the dongs of the
Vice president subordinate officials. The Indian
apols case will serve as precedent for the balance of
and ha al
that while the President is still to be held and upheld
the model eivilservice reformer of the age, the
not to be interfered with If the administration even
with the aid of the National Civservice League
hopes to fool the American people by such sham and
hypocrisy it will find itself woefully mistaken. Re-
pubcans have right to expect continuance in Office
not within the scope of the civ lsevice act but intel
gent of all parties will utterly repudate hypo
critical pretenses and refuse to accept the acts of
spoilsmen genuine civilservce reform.
Chronicle.
1T is evident that for years to come statues of
Grant will be in demand. Washington, Chicago New
York and San Francisco already discussing the
subject. 1t is to be hoped that then works will h-
worthy of their subject The rage for heather aerory
has pretty well died out and leading sculptors win
probably represent the great General he was in the
costume which he actually and looking like the
ing poetic as truth. statue Of Grant in the con-
ventional cloak, which he wore, with baton,
which he never carried would be as offensive to the
artistic eye it would be false to nature. Let us
have the man himself clothed he clothed him.
self looking as he looked, and not statue such as
Canova made of Washington, whom, in obedience to
imaginary of art, he represented writing his
farewell address in a state of seminudity.-San Fran
cisco Chronicle
In short, does this administration claim to be in
advance of the last Republican administration which
framed and observed the rules which the present adj
ministraton refuses to extend2 If So then what is
the spirit of reform that guides it, and why should it
be one thing to-day and another tomorrow Why
should the administration claim credit for retaining
Republican employe, maintaining that it is cvlservice
reform and claim exemption from criticism when it
removes Republican employee whose efficiency is the
same, maintaining that civiservice reform does not
require his reentions These straight questions
that call for reply from whoever holds that this
ciyil-servce reform administration. If ciyservice
reform is something that has principles hut is to
be determined arbitrarily by the appointing power,
except i'll the case of few subordnates and in this
case only as to appointment and not removal then
civil servce reform is indeed poor thing.-Alwau-
1ee Sentinel.