The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-21

Of the men who hold offices of trust and profit
for years have held office, must be driven out,
the only question being how this shall be &C
complished with greatest speed and least
scandal to the party making the removal.
After witnessing the methods pur-
sued for nearly ten months, the
Journal was moved to exclaim:
''The Democratic party's other name is the
School of Universal Defamation. 1t is run
by thieves and informers." The elegant and
highly refined Courier thinks this is vulgar.
A second reading sustains the charge. The
truth of it has not been questioned; but it is
indeed rudely and vulgarly stated, and no one
but "bigot" would tell the truth in such
harsh and unpalatable style. If we were to
attempt to convey the idea now, we should
say: ''The political organization known as the
Democratic party may, without violation~of
the truth, be termed the Acadepa;, Of the Po-
lite Science of Animadverslon. 1t is under
the management ofsentlemen whose ideas of
individual pgefnetorship are quite eccentric,
and~ssff men who voluntarily convey informa-
ton of questionable nature Or,
if we desired to particularize, and still
tell the truth, we would say:
Letter carrier Storms was dismissed from the
postal service on the unsupported word of a
gentlemanly streetcar driver by the name of
Ash, who was but recently promoted from the
Reform School, to which he was admitted
| gratuitously because Of the fact that he had
| informally appropriated articles belonging to
some one else. There is bare possibility
that he had learned to prevaricate as well as
to peculate; but it was thought best not to
allow Stems a chance to defend himself, lest
Mr.. Ash be unduly injured"
Instead Of vulgarly saying that Mailagent
Bowling is a confessed briber, we might just
as well have said that he had voluntarily ad-
nitted having influenced the opinions of GER
tain public servants by a judicious employ
| ment of certain articles of value sometimes
called bank notes, or money. 1t would take
little longer to state it thus, but the effect
would be altogether more agreeable to Mr..
Bowling and to the editor Of the Evansville
Courier.
If we were to say anything about the gentle
man appointed to succeed an offensive partisan
postmaster at Lincolnville, Me-, we would say
simply that owing to the unconsidered fact
that the gentlemanly appointee was in durance
vile for having by night invaded the office to
which he was appointed as successor of a
very offensive and altogether intolerable par
tisan, his purpose being to carry away certain
valuables to him not regularly belonging, it
became necessary to appoint some one else ad
| interim and until his engagement in the
| county Jail be terminated. If we were to re-
state the facts about the horse thief appointed
out in Colorado-well, we would skip that.
Some things are too vulgar to be dressed up
in polite language, and, with no desire to Of
fend horse thieves and their political asso-
clateS and friends, we would content
ourselves with saying nothing. To deal with
these polite diversions of the great reform adj
ministration one needs to be well up in bellies
lettres and saturated with charity. May the
spirit of civil-service reform, now so beauti-
fully exemplifying itself throughout the land,
lay its benignant spell upon all hearts, and
make us one and all more gracious in our
conduct toward the thieves, bribers and IN
formers now holding letters of marque to
prey at will on the fair fame of such as they
cannot openly and honorably assail. May we
learn to love the assassin of character, and the
partisan highwayman who, not content with
taking the purse, demands, also, the bauble
reputation. May we be delivered from vul-
garity, nor speak harshly of garroters nd
thugs, against whose attacks no defense can
be allowed; and may we be cast into outer
darkness if We don't call spade spade.