The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-15
PUBLIC OFFICE IS A PUBLIC TRUST.

/ PUBLIC OFFICE rs A PUBLIC TRUST.
There are degrees in excellence and in evil,
and this applies to politics or the science of
government The attempt to magnify little
things and to obscure matters of importance
cannot long deceive the public. The Presi-
dent has played very long and very monot-
onous strain on the civil-service reform string.
But it has all been in one tune, and the tune
has been played for effect. Never were words
more misleading, and practically more dis
honest, than the pharisaical Public Office is a
public trust" With this declaration bla-
zoned on the walls by obsequious organs, the
President has gone right on giving the lie to
it and bringing it into contempt. Scores
and hundreds of the ablest and best public
servants the country ever had have been dis
missed to make room for men of the Bowling
and Conroy stripe. And 30 far from the
President respecting his fine words about the
character of public office, he has permitted
false and malicious charges to be put up
| against honest men in order to shield
himself from responsibility for their
dismission. He has tacitly confessed
his knowledge of the falsity of the
charges by peremptorily refusing to make
known the nature of the allegations made
against these men. The public, if any one,
is interested in the offices that are public
trust; yet when showing is asked the people
are given to understand that it is none of
their business. A system of black mail, under
patronage Of the President, has been estab-
lished, from which there is no escape and
against which there is no defense. The pre-
rogative of questioned precedence is set up to
keep the people from pronouncing upon the
merits of cases whenever honorable men are
driven out of public office (Which is public
trust) with the mark of some unknown ac-
cuser upon them. Strangely enough, this in
famous practice has found apologists, or
rather, the President has escaped the criticism
he so richly deserves. His party press has
not the courage to denounce this method of
BUSTING federal officials, because the Presi-
dent, as the distributor of spoils, has
left no other way for Democrats
to get at what they believe
to be their dues. 1t is but fair to believe
that many of them are most heartily ashamed
of the meanness to which they are compelled
to resort
The secret of the establishment Of this bu-
reau Of defamation is the desire to appear to
conform to the spirit of the civil service rules,
as though this were the end of good govern
ment So, while the photographer of his
own boosted virtue directs public attention to
this particular spot, and is adjured not to
move, the pockets of the sitter are being
rifed and his fair fame slandered without re-
course. But this is not the worst of it.
While the eve of the public is called to the
bidding policy Of requiring every letter-car-
rier and messenger to prove by demonstration
angle triangle is equal to the square of the
other two sides, there are practices going on
right in the Presidents official household
that threaten the interests of all the
people, and that are spreading the temp
tation to political Generalization through
out all the departments. The Presi-
dent is party to more harm
in the Garland scandal and is doing more in
| jury to the public service than he could hope
to counteract were he Presdentfor century.
A close corporation of Democrats are making
a desperate effort to gain control of monop-
oily worth millions a year and growing more
valuable from day to day. They have SUBJ
sidized man now in the Cabinet as one of the
Presidents advisers and are encouraged by
| the fact that the President himself approves
Of the arrangement whereby his Attorney
general will become more than millionaire if
the court only makes favorable decision.
Everything is working in the direction of sue
cess for the Pan electric steal. The Attorney
general is fixed, the President is willing, and
the court will receive encouragement to give
the decision needed to make the now worth
less stock instantly reach par. There is mill
ions in it for those interested, and the oppor
tunity is not to be lost All this
gigantic scheme for plumber is going
on with the Presidents taeit consent, at
a time when he is making meretricious dis
play of virtue and appearing to be losing
sleep because the postmaster at Podunk is an
offensive partisan or cannot name the Thirty
nine Articles. The present administration,
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