St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-26
THE WANDERING STATESMAN.

THE WANDERING STATESMAN
ALECK JONES is the name of perIpa-
tetic statesman who has the misfortune to
be without local habitatiOn. but when it
comes to getting a nice fat Office gets there
with an alacrity that is something of sur
prise to the old Office seekers who are
blessed with permanent abodes. Mr..
JONES has had something of checkered
career in politics, but somehow or other 1t
doesn't make a particle of difference how
great the changes or evOlutions that occur,
Mr.. JOKES always comes up standing. Mr..
Jones' public debut was as young officer
of the regular United States army Oh mill
tarv duty in the Northwest. When the
curtain rose on the second act MI. JONES
was leading Confederate regiment against
McCLELLAN's lines in the memorable
seven DAYS battle around Richmond, and
got bullet in his arm as the punishment
for his dislOyalty to the national flag.
When he stood before the foOtllghtS in the
third act it was in the role of an active Re-
publican partisan receiving from the hands
of President HAYES his commission for an
important Japanese cOnSulship, which had
been given to him as a reward for active p0-
litical services in helping to count TILDEN
out of the presidency There was some
little difficulty at the time with the HAYES
administration in determining to what state
Mr.. JONES should be accredited. After
looking over the list of states with view
of asceItaining which of them lacked its
quota Of Officeholders it was determined to
put Mr.. JONES down as a West Virginian,
although at the time the West Virginia peO-
pie wondered, and are still wondering,
where and when Mr.. JONES had residence
among them. Mr.. JONES continued to en-
iOy the hOnors and emOluments of his lucra-
live consulship under successive Republic
can administrations until CLEvELAND's
election, when he was supplantef by the
appointment of a sure enough West
Virglnian to the post. Now the
cutain has rung up for the fourth act of the
JONES drama, and we are treated to the
startling climax of this great political
drama, which is entitled to be called 1.-The
Political Chameleon, or The Man Who
Knows How to Turn His Coat" in which
the hero is again receiving his credentials
for a new diplomatic mission from the
hands of Secretary BAYARD. In making
the appointment Mr.. BAYARD experienced
the same difficulties with regard to pro-
vidng a local habitatiOn for JONES that the
HAYES administration had experienced.
The lucky JONES, who evidently
retained some pleasant reeollections
OF frontier life in the Northwest, wanted
to be credited to Minnesota, but the secre-
tary of state thought differently, and not
withstanding the protests of the congress
men from that state, Mr.. BAYARD again put
him down on the books of the state depart
ment as a West Virginian. jones' case
seems to illustrate the value of bull luck in
politics as well as to illustrate the ride
ulously arbitrary methods by which import
ant state affairs are sometimes disposed of
by prominent government officials. JONES
is to be congratulated on his good luck
while Secretary BAYARD is to be con-
demned for his bull head work.