New-York tribune., 1886-03-20
PRESIDENT CLEVELANUS RETREAT.

PRESIDENT CLEVELINDS BEIHEAI.
The precise course W hich THE TRIBUNE has
repeatedly urged the President to take has now
been taken as to appointments III one Ol inc
departments by Secretary Manning. DOUBT
less he acts by direction OF the President. III
has been pointed out again and again that the
President could not afford to stand before the
county as IL wanton slandcrer OF faithful
officials. 1t was perfectly proper for him at
any time to state that no charges were maze
affecting the personal or Oflcial integrity OF the
officers removed. Their removal would then
rest upon his discretionary power to decide
whether the Offices were of suoh character that
politIcal sympathy of the holder with the Adj
ministratIon was needful to secure desired eili-
cheney. Had the President taken this course at
the outset, when The TRIB UNE urged that 1t
was the only manly and fair course for him to
take, he would have avoided a long controversy
out of which he does not come with credit.
In reply to inquiries about the cause OF the
removal of internal revenue officers, Secretary
Manning has at length consented to state thai
there were no charges against these oihclals
affecting their personal integrity or Official
fidelity. On this ground the Senate Committee
has promptly recommended the confirmation OF
the persons appoiRted III such cases. 1t Is
probable that, wherever the President VIII thus
remove all unjust imputItions from faithful
officials, the Senate will leave him free TO make
for party reasons what changes he likes within
the limit Of discretion given BY law. 1t Will
hold that the country can judge whether the
duties of the office are such that ii change for
political reasons is justified. The President
can thus extrlcate himself from IA position
which his best friends have seen was quite
untenabie. If he insists that none but Demo-
Gratis can faithfully inspect the collection of the
tax on whiskey, or the handling of the mails, or
the appraisement Of imported goods, the
country can judge whether hc Is light. 1t is not
necessary that the public service should be
embarrassed by any controversy over that
matter.
In the explanation now made, the President
leaves no room to doubt that the removals thus
explained we're made tOl political reasons and
not for cause. He had promised, it is true,
that he would remove no man except for cause
But the country never expected him to keep
that promise in any broad sense, as 1T was
understood by those who persisted Ill support
ing him as a refOrmer. The country rightly
concluded that he did not yet know what his
promise meant, and that he could find hum
dred ways of evading it that lie was Demo-
cratic politician, the close friend of trained
Democratic spOIlsmen, and must be expected So
to administer his Office in the main as to serve
the Democratic party. Expecting that, the
country was not disappointed, as some reform
ers who have supported him were, when the
President suggested Ill his message that it
would be necessary TO regard political sympa-
thy as IA sufficient reason for removal i'll many
cases. That was enough to show the tendency
of his mind. He meant to clear out Republicans
and put in Democrats, whenever he could help
his party by doing so, and he conceived that he
could do so on the broad ground that in his
jud sment political sympathy with the appoint
ing power was necessary to efficiency of the
incumbent in this or that Office. His present
position is simply the language of his message
translated into acts. 1t puts an end to the pre-
tence that he makes no removals except for
cause and is plain confession that he does not
believe, as some of his supporters have imagined,
in a non partisan service.