Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-09-04
SENATOR EDMUNDS.
His Attitude in Regard to Appointment
to OiliCe.

His Attitude in Regard to Appointments
to PONCE.
\ reporter for the Boston ErCHiHg- Rec
ord interviewed Senator Edmunds, at St
Adams on Friday, and gives his own i'm
pressions and the Senator's views on GER
tain points as follows
| was agleeaby disappointed when |
met Senator I.dmunds. Let any man
who takes stock IN the stories afloat about
his lack of sympathy, meet him as one
gentleman meets another and he will find
II most genial aud hearty person. | never
met warmer Lealted, Il more cordial and
interesting gentleman in my life than this
Vermont Senator, to whom | was intro
duced at Camp Pingree' yesterday. In
stead of reserve, Indifference or want of
sympathy, the Senator shows the utmost
frankness, and was himself most interest
ing and entertaining. | saw him later in
the day chatting vivaciously, joking and
laughing with ladies and gentlemen
friends by whom he was surroun led, and
| found his GOODNESS a myth.
After short conversation with the Sen
atOr the record correspondent asked him
! II he would say anything for the public in
regard to State or national politics. AS to
certain questions in State politics he said
he should hesitate about saying anything,
as delicacy would naturally forbid it, He
had been In the service so long that, what
ever faults he may have committed, he
hardly thought it best to say anything in
regard to these matters which touched
upon himself personally. AS to national
politics, however, the Senator seemed free
to speak He had, he said, been away so
| long that he might not feel perfectly clear
on many points, but had no hesitancy in
giving anything that he well could.
Your correspondent then mentioned the
subject of the course of the adminiStra-
ton i'll regard to appointments and the
question of Mr.. Edmunds'S probable atti-
tude i'll the Senate in regard to appoint
mentS which were not in accordance with
the principle of civil service reform,
taking as an instance the case of Gen.
! Wells and the Burlington cOllectorship.
Senator Edmunds Immediately replied:
well, so far as that is concerned any
one who knows me and my course i'll years
past knows that | have always been, and
am still, Il friend and advocate of civil ser
vice reform. He knows too, that | should
oppose any departure from that principle
in the matter of appointments, whether
the person Immediately concerned be d
friend or an entire stranger, whether ht
be from Vermont or from Texas. AS t
the policy of the administration in this
matter, | said last spring that Mr.. Cleve
land > intentions were good and that If he
got the hight Kind of men about him he
might be able to carry out his purposes il
this regard. BY right kind of men,
meant men friendly to civil service reform
and with back bone to stand out agains
the opposition they would encounter from
the Democratic spOilsmen. Such opposi
zion must necessarily be very great, fO
the larger part of that party still cling It
the oldlJacksonlan principle i'll regard tC
appointments. But President CleVe
land has not about him the mel
l,..l,, Ia .,.1l
to civil service reform. The major
, ity of his Cabinet are unfavorable to it
1t is impossible for one man to Investigate
the details concerned i'll each appoint
ment. The President cannot know him
self the circumstances of one per cent o
, the appointments he makes. There woult
not be time enough, II he worked twenty
four hours il day, for him to attend per
: sonally to them all. Hence the difficult
of carrying out this principle when tn
President and his advisers do not agree il
regard to il, Thus it is, that at the pres
ent time mans name, comes up FOR re
mOval some speciouS charges have beel
l prepared against him, as in the case o
! Gen. Wells. The man is removed ant
another appointment made without tn
truth or the falsity of the charges bein!
known or even Investigated. | thin
, there is no doubt that gradually thes
changes Will continue until the policy an
5 practice OF the administration have de
t generated into simply a spoils system
; There Is no doubt that if the Senate hat
: not been Republican the change woul
: have come already. If the Senate ma,
. been Democratic, it would not have ad
. journed when it did, but would hav
stayed over IA month or more, and Their
would have been Il clean sweep"
Senator Edmunds said that he shoul
remain III Burlington the remainder o
the summer, save, perhaps, IA short trip t
, Washington to see about some matters il
the supreme Court.
Speaking of twSpaper reporters tn
senator sad talk freely to you, Ou
| generally am shy of them. Many q
them are mere Bohemians and not to b
relied upon. They will distOrt and mani
facture IN Il wonderful way. In Washing
10 ton have been approached by reporter
1 and asked to dlvulge the proceedings of
secret session of the Senate, or asked I
give in advance the probable action Of
committee Oh some subject of importance
, | politely but ptlsistently decline to sa
; anything, and the next day read III som
newspaper what Senator Edmunds ha
, said ON the very subject about which | e
, fused to talk. This Is what some report
+ ers call enterprise. 1t is often don't
. with some financial end in view Th
, other day, after | had gone to Europe,
saw an interview in some paper Whicl
purported to come from me on my depart
IRE from New York ; but it all came frol
ne fpIti lp IinnUiuDtlnu nf soma rpnOrtpr