The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-21
BEGINNING OF THE END,


he at last has received 'the most unkindest
cut Of all" and that, too, at the hand Of
sworn friend and coaijutor. Chagrined at the
fiasco of an examination Of the charges made
against Postmaster Jones' of this city, he
hoped to secure second hearing, or, failing
in this, to successfully appeal to the President.
A few days reflection, however, convinced
him of the futility Of such hope The
character of the report made by the com
that it was intended to relieve
the President Of the embarrassment
of coming into conflict with Mr.. Hendricks
and to make this beyond the possibility Of
trouble, the honorable gentlemen voluntarily
went out of their way to not only acquit Mr..
Jones, but to surround him with wall Of in
dorsement as to render further complaint use
less. Realizing this long after the public in
general had realized it, Mr.. Swift, as last
resort turned to his favorite mugwump pa
per, and stated the case, confident in the
belief that he would receive sympathy, if not
actual assistance, in showing up the far
cical examination. To this end he wrote
out his exceptions, and forwarded them
| to the New York Times. That paper pub
lished them, of course but in commenting on
them inserted the cold steel in the region of
Mr.. Swifts fifth rib. 1T is clear" says the
Times Gas Mr.. Swift contends, that the spirit
and intent of the civil-service law were VIC
lated in the discharge Of the employees in the
classified service because they were Repub-
licans, and in the case Of one of these men,
Wilmington, the postmaster concocted
clumsy and easily exposed falsehood to justify
his action Instead of bringing in verdict
| Of conviction, how ever the Times, like the
in escaping a very unpleasant dilemma.
''This action" the Times continues, 'does not
conflict with the slight and narrow restric-
tons upon removals imposed by the law, and
we think Mr. Swift has no reason to be dssat-
isfed with the action of the commission upon
this charge" To sink the iron deeper into
| Mr.. Swfts soul the Times cooly dismisses
him with the words: eve think Postmaster
Jones can be allowed to rest He has learned
good deal in the last few weeks, and the
lesson appears to have done him good"
Mr.. Swift is thus publicly snubbed and
Inundated because he is slow to learn that the
farce Of mugwumpism is rapidly playing to
its only possible conclusion. A great many
of the mugwumps have already gone over to
Democracy, and others are preparing to follow.
Few are left with patience to hear complaints
of violations of the civil-serv;ce law. The
President must not be vexed. According to
the Times, the exponent of mugwumpian
doctrine in all its purity it is not worth while
to bother him about postmasters who violate
the spirit and intent Of the civil-service
law, and who concoct CLUMSY falsehoods'
to defend themselves. Mr.. Jones has indeed
'learned good deal in the last few weeks,
but We are not so sure that it has done him
good. Among the things ho has Learned"
is that he can do pretty much as he pleases,
and not only escape reprimand, but actually
be patted on the back and given an unquali-
| fled Endorsement. He has learned that the
civil-service rules can be spit upon with i'm
punity, and that investigations are conducted
for the purpose of smoothing things over. He
\
| has learned that the commission is nothing
more than the official apoogist, a breakwater be-
| tween the administration and the enforcement
of laws hateful to the Democracy. And Mr..
Swift has learned even more. He has learned
that many who betrayed the Republican party
house only as an apology to their conscience
or a mask to their real intention of going the
rest of the way to the enemy. The mug
wumps are gradually falling into the Demo
cratic line and adopting Democratic views.
They are impatient at any criticism of the
administration, and, like fresh converts in
general are loudest in condemnng every
body that dares to question the results
of last falls election Witness how the mug
| wump papers jumped upon John Roach s.
Son. Their failure, when the government
threw So 900, 900 worth OF unfinished work on
their hands with the opinion that all moneys
paid them could be recovered, and that they
had 70 contracts with the government at ALL
was the signal for one Of the most brutal at
tacks upon their character. The regular
Democratic press We're ashamed to go to the
length that the mugwump press did. But
the farce is rapidly approaching its conclusion.
The uninitiated, like Mr.. Swift will be
snubbed whenever they persist in the