The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-04-22
Hon. + +. Bishop and Civil service
Reform

Reform
Editor Pal4tkz New:
Taking i, tor gra1Jel that you I'll
crate fr-s1lE. q opinion - e certain
exteU,- All a-a wiling - acc-rl q far
hearing on in-portal: subjects. / AK
the privilege Il SAYING through your col
unns that 1 am I supporter = cEr den-
ocTatlc aduinisiFal.o1. suppart
GroTer C.eveisG4 today - ! supported
him IN TIE Chicago oUnv.atioz, and for
precisely the same Eeas -t-s. | voted for
him there IN preference = li0!e eminent
statesmen because IL. NOE fully than
any othet democrat in t;.s land. hal dem
nnsirated his reliability d ,h0r0u-h-g0-
ing ref0rmer If the cIv.! service. | knew
that. IL elected. IL w0L enforce tie
Pendleton Law without arY !isL1le-,
ralterlny or aDy u1!nar.F yelling - the
demands If sFo.lsmen. | knew. too.
that the spirit VI that law would IL the
spin. Of his administration. Such
knowledge was the common property
# all well informed Americans. l, was
because Of su.h know.el.e tia, Grover
Cleveland was nominated. AMI because
ot il that be vas elected.
IL has become very fashionable. since
the election. 10 speak coat@iHltu1usly
Of the independent republicans, ari
men thinkthey are very Lrish, when they
curl their !iIs in ut,eEing the name
"Mugwump." b. the democratic dele
ga:es a. Chicago ualtEstgel full. well
that the only ro44 to success Tor tieir
party Lag through the nomination q d
candidate Acceptable % ihGse indepeni-
tnt-. Those men did no. then stand in
our conceptions o. q little company Of
feeble sentImeuiali,ts. We saw in their
leaders men very thoroughly prepared
for intellectual conflict with tie ab,e.;
adyersarie- who could bebFought against
them and ~ hal common sense enough
10 place Just estimate upon the re.en-
forcsment which they were Offering u..
Having achi, we'd success through their
assistance. shall We now -rlwl and sna-l
and whine because the president whom
they helped US - elect. viii not prove
false to all his pledges and show himself
to Re q monumental frauI:
There is something very tiresome in
the steady reitefation, in one form AMI
another. q the statement; that the mug.
wumps hal 10 higher motive t1r their
action than an unrss JHing hatred u
I Blaine. What vas the cause 81 their
aversion 10 him Il WAS the fact that
lie was typical .po!ls!aaa-a typical
( representative" Of that a,r0c'Uus system
I against which they had Teen making
war with ever Increasing earne.tness
for a dozen yeats. II We prefer iatelli.
gencc 10 ignorance, we shall Keep our
ewes open to the additional IA. that thi.
war il not vet ended. We shall observe.
/ too that the ranks If the mugwump
army are swelling and that It's outposts
are moving forward from day 10 day. II
I 1t il true that sectional animosity Is 20 be
a political factor no longer. there are
I growing multitules % Us who arc pre-.
pared 10 asCribe paramount Importance
/ 10 the issue which has lepn Joined be.
I tween the spoiis system aud the merit
/ system. As between those who say
/ Public office is public trust" AMI
those WHO say Public office is CJtnpen.
satlon for partisan service" wo shall
know where our place l.; and we shall
T understand that, in tie language of our
/ president. There is TO middle ground. :"
( Those who maintain that there can to
no organization Of party without tho
( partisan activity Of federal Office holders
must have forgotten the twenty.four
/ wears during which no democrats were
to b. found in federal Officers. II Ire.
member correctly, the democratic party
maintained something very similar to
an organization in those years. 1t hap.
pens to be unquestionably true that there
are great many American citizens in
all parts Of our land who have motives
To political activity entirely different
/ from craving for spoils.
In nominating Cleveland, knowing
tho record that be had behind him. the
democratic party proclaimed tothe world
its adhesion to the cause Of civil service
reform, and the country is nov await
ing an answer to the question, WAS
that proclamation hypocritral device
IL the answer shall turn out to he affir.
NATIVE, the republican party in isss,
will try its hand at putting forth the
game proclamation and will be slgacious
enough to cast away all possibility Of
proving fal.e TO it, Then I'VE shall sec
what we shall see +. P. BISHOP.
San Mateo, Fla, April 2Qth SO.