The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-11-17
MIR, BLAlNE'S ANSWER
TO THE TwIsrERs OF TRUTH,
The MASSACHUSETTS, MugwumpA MalIgu the
s1,sserstary In Regard to the Civil SER
Vice RefOrm-IIe Replies in III,
Usual Vigorous 'Ytiu,

AUGUSTA, Me-, Nov, lG,-Tho following
letter will bs published here tomorrow
AUGUSTA, ME,, Nov, 10, 1886,
To he Editor Cfthe Kenmbec Journal;
THANK you for calling my attention to q
circular Issued by the so'csllsd Indspsud'
ent Committee during the recent canvass
In Massachusetts,, touching my position on
the question Of Civil Service Reform,
Absence from home for several weeks has
prevented my seeing 1t sooner.
The circular embodles singular per-
version OF what said, and q still more
singular peryersion, OF what quoted In
my upeeCh, the 10Th OF October, at Hunt
ingdon, Pa. How the error, or mlsrepre-
sentation originated 1t 10 not ior me to
say, My speeche In Penusylyanis were
accurately reported for the Philadelphia
PreS1 by skilled stenographers, aud | per
sonally, SAW the report Ia no other paper
| send you herewith the speech oil 0cto,
ber 10, IS itsppeGred In the Press, and
respectfully ask you to repubIish 1t In
your columns side by side with tho CirCu-
lar issued by tho Massachusetts lnde-
pendent Committee.
AN IRRESPONSIBLE soURCE,
THANK you further for submitting to
me a public letter Of October 20, from MI,
Martin Bhntner, OF Boston, in which !
am accused Of "Rspudiating tho reform
OF the Civil Service with sneer." Per.
haps Mr.. Brlmmsr inconsiderately based
his remarks upon the circular OF the In
dependent Committee, and has thus been
led into publishing u statement which
does me great injustice. II my supposi-
ton be correct, Mr.. Brimmer will, rs a
gentleman, withdrawn his Language. It
Ia scarcely necessary TO cay that have
never repudia!ed reform in the OWL Ser.
vice, nor sbated my interest thsre-
in; nor have ever regarded the
Bneer as fgrGlbls mode OF argument.
Were tempted to resort to 1t, should
direct it, not againEt the reform Of the
Civil Service but against tho hypocrisy OF
thoss who wish tho condition OF that
service 10 be enforced sgRinat their pOiI-
iCal friends. Tho point which sought TO
establish In my speech ct Huntington
was entirely confused and obsCHTed iu the
Independent circular. In effect / said
that thU English Civil Service, which
was held up a3 a model for our own gov.
ernment by those who loft the Rspu6li.
can party two years sio, is nov Inder In.
vestigation and apparent condemnation
by the Euglish themselves; that the Brit.
ish Ministry have instttuteda a CommiEsion
10 examine into the alleged abuses, and
thGt MIR. George ". Smslley, apparently
agreeing hitherto with the American ad'
mirerB OF tho SnSlish service, nov dee
Clares the belief ia England to bO that tho
civil service ia worse in all the depart
ments oil tho GoVeEpmelI than 1t was iofty
yesta oRo.
DEFECTS or EEGLlSH SERVICE.
Mr.. Snslley gives detailed recital OF
the defects and abuses alleged to exist in
the English service, defects and abuses
which were never attributed TO our own
OWL Service even by 10 most meTOilesS
censor. My argument implied, ard was
intended to imply that the Republican
party had teen wise in not adopting the
English system with its largo pension list
and all the attendant evila which have at
last demanded investigation by q NINA.
teial commission. Nor would Justice and
fair courtesy have been done to my speech,
even II my remarks on Civil Service, torn
FROM their logical connection, had been
correctly quotad by the independent
Committee. Those remarks were but part
OF nm argument in which Gndesvored to
illustrate how truly American ia lie boCt
gense we're The whole policy and history
OF tho Republican party, and how under
the lead Of the so.called Independents, the
Democratic party, both In its revenue eys-
TEN and its OWL Service rulea, was to be
coniorned to British policies Just at tho
very time when the British themselves
are finding o fatal weakness In these poli-
CIes. In short, though ! did not cay
40 In words, l meant To convey
my belief that the worst leaders and
guides for q Continental Republic are
those who persist in seeing the perfection
Of human GoVernment IN an insular mon
archy, whoge Copdlllops are In all re.
specis radically dilsTelt iFom those OF
our own broad land. The Massachusetts,
Independents should learn that American
inspiration ends where imitation ot Eng
land begins. Very respectfully,
JAMES g. BLAINE.