Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-12-10

THE LEADING MUGWUMP PAPER ENFoShS Ihh
INCONSISTENCY or THE PRESIDENT If HE
RETAINS MIR. BENTON UNDER THE LATEST
DEVELOPMENTS IN REGARD TO HIS CAM
PAIGN SPEECHES.
From the New York Times, Dec. 3.
When President Cleveland reinstated Dis
trict Attorney NJ e. Benton of Missouri he
had been led to believe by the frank tone"
of Mr.. Benton's letter of Nov. 10 that sus-
pension from office was too severe a punish
ment for the offense of which he had been
guilty, The long printed list of engage
mcuts to make political speeches, sometimes
twice day. in different parts of the state
of Missouri, had not been filed by Mr.. Ben
ton, and he assured the President that he
had not neglected his onGal duties to fill
the dozen or more engagements which he
had kept In his letter resembling the or
der of suspension the President said 81
did not intend to condemn the making of n
political speech by federal official to his
neighbors and friends, nor at any time and
place where it was merely incidental, i the
SPEECH itself irdS dcceut dhd Gdir."
1t now appears that District Attorney
Benton failed to tell the President the whole
truth and the omissions of his letter are
most grave and vital For instance, he
failed to state that his speech at Gallatin,
Davess county, Mo. ON Oct II, contained
the following passage;
81 don't agree with President Cleveland
in everything. | don't believe in his civil
service humhuggery. | do believe III gen
uine civil-service reform, but | don't want
men under me to work every conceivable
/ dodge to defeat me and my party at the
! next election But he believes it, and he is
a man of iron nerve
District Attorney Benton likewise mad,
no mention of these further utterances al
/ the Gallatin meeting
Il don't agree with Mr. Cleveland on tbs
silver question. He was raised east of the
/ Allegheny mountains, and he gets his idea
from that region. He never has been wes
of Buffalo He gets his ideas OF
finance from the gold bugs of Wall street
who once demonetzcd silver and had it 9TH
dollar stricken from the coinage act clan
destinclv and without the consent of TIN
people. He learns his financial theorie
from Wall street. the leeches which sucl
the honest blood of the yeomanry of tn
west like vampires That's where Mr.
Cleveland gets his ideas Of finance. Whel
he wrote his grntuitous letter on the sublec
Of silver coinage. even before he was inau
gurated as President, he illustrated wher
he got his ideas and he struck n blow at tn
West in the interests of the bondhoder
and money sharks. and | felt like sinkin
down in my boots but when Reagan d
Texas and others stood up in their dignife
manhood and wrote to him that he was tn
executive and not the law making power
and ! saw these Democrats battling for thei
rights and the rights Of the people again,
his assumption, ! reioiced again that ! wa
a Democrat.
Our authority for these extracts from Di
trict Attorney Benton's speech at Gallati
is letter from Mr. William T. Sullivan
editor of the North Missourian, n week.
newspaper published at Gallatin, to Co
William \. Stone. who was lately suspend,
from the office Of United States Dstri
Attorney for Western Pennsylvania. II
entire letter is printed ON our first pas
this morning.
If upon investigation it shall prove tn
these utterances have been truthfully al
, accurately reported from Mr.. Benton
speech. the President. il seems TO us, "a
q have no choice but to dismiss Mr.. Bent'
\ Immediately and ANONYMOUSLY from Il
II federal service. In his letter refusing to T
, instate Col Stone the President said
e Il certainly supposed that his Stone
=. sense Of propriety would cause him to I
E. frain from pursuing such partisan cour
II IL. int
u friends Of the administration NJ
=. Stone, when he was permitted to remain
office. became part of the business orga
$, ization Of the present administration, bou
" by every obligation of honor to assist wit
in his sphere in its successful operate
This obligation involved not only the prop
IS performance of official duty, but a certa
p good faith and fidelity which, while not e
]. acting the least sacrifice of political prin
la pie, forbade active participation IN pure
partisan demonstrations condu
ed ON the avowed theory that the admin
tration of the government was not EMIT
to the confidence and respect of the people
Whatever may have been the extent
u Col Stones "pernicous activity, and ho
ever 1ealously he may have labored to CO
, vince the Republicans of Pennsylvania Il
the present administration lis not EMIT
IS to the confidence and respect of the peopl
H. his course can have been in nowise M
hagrantly vicious and disloyal than that
District Attorney Benton. We have q
sidered the Presidents reinstatement of
:, Benton as the result of determination
to do him an injustice and on the state
Z facts made known by Mr.. Benton the
was iustifable But the retention in of
of this district attorney, after the Pr
dents refusal to reinstate Col Stone
reasons which apply with double force
Mr. Benton. now that the whole truth c
corning his conduct is known would be
possible under any theory of consistenc!
logic or politics.
Mr. SuIIiVan's LeIter.