New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-12-01
REFORM ON TRIAL.


from a re form Administration, that 1t shall be
clean. President Cleveland squeezed into the
Presidency by reason of the belief, honestly
entertained by LOO voters or more In this
State. no doubt, that he would reform things;
that the public service was full of rascals and
needed reforming, and that the Republican
candidate could not be trusted to break up
combinations and practices in which influential
Republicans had part. The bare statement of
this belief now kiDdles explosions of derisive
laughter. But 1t was doubtless the honest
belief in 1884 of more than enough voters to
turn the scale in Mr.. Cleveland's favor. How
foolish it was in the light of the knowu rea-
tions bet ween Mr. Cleveland and the most nOtO-
riously corrupt Democratic politicians, such as
Thompson, German and Barnum, need not now
be said. The looks Of the pudding may con-
vince good cooks and good judges, hut the
eating will convince anybody whether the pud-
ding is what it ought to be.
10 less than two years President Cleveland's
Administration is found to be not only leaky,
not only half filed, but absolutely water
logged with corruption aud scandal. Influen-
tial Democrats do not try to dispute the fact;
they see that public confidence has been I'M
paired by bad appointments, by scandals in
various branches of the service, by the reten-
ton of such men as Garland, Atkins, Higgins
and Thomas, and by the yawning gap between
the Presidents Civil Service professions and
performances. But they say his iDexperience
in public affairs is excuse; he means well,
but has had bad advisers, and has not been
willing to brand with disbonor, by expulsion
from Office OF public rebuke and disow ming,
,vho no ot first
The Presidents opponents feel that the excuse
has some foundation. They are not so clearly
convinced as his friends that the President
really desires to do we'll, and fear that he only
wants to have people give him the credit for
that desire, but no attributes to him per-
sonal connection with the scandals which sur
round him. 1t is felt that he would be glad to
get rid of diseraced men and disgraceful rela-
tons, Ii he could without open confession of
weakness and incapaclty.
That is the state of things two years after
President Cleveand's election. His party
| has lost States which it carried in 1854, and
attributes much Of its loss to public disgust
with the Administration. Pernicous PARTISAN
ship circulars, letters and performances, have
made long suffering supporters sick of the Re-
form President. The robbery Of Indian
lraueTS anu OIL tHe ppUllC ny tho ioou'hH Va WI"
missions to creatures of Atkins and pets of
Lamar, performance which would have
caused any Republican President to bounce"
the Secretary of the Interior and the Indian
Commissioner within a week if after exposure
of the facts the wrong doing had continued,
contrasts painfully with the fact that when the
Administration went boring through the de-
partments for Republican rascals to turn out
it found not a single scandal OF the sort, ex-
cept in bureau filled almost exclusively with
Democrats who are still retained. Garlands
retention in the Cabinet, in spite of an expos
ure which would have sent any Republican
official into retirement at once, and IN spite or
shameful incapacty demonstrated by the TALL
ure of his suit against the telephone company,
would not be pleasant thing to IL Presidents
supporters under any circumstances; but when
the President in question has gained his
position by prof essing to be a great reformer
and promising to turn the rascals out. 1t be-
comes intOlerably CALLING. SO strong has
grown the public presumption against the
honesty of this Reform Administration that,
even in the absence of most suspicious facts,
the public would have questioned whether there
Was not collision in the bids for Navy cruisers.
The air of Washington eeks with scandals
about the various departments, about the
police and about the real estate ring which has
proGted by the Presidents choice of private
residence. The reform officials abroad have
managed to set on foot more scandals in two
years than would have been expected in
twenty and the latest problem in reform
circles is whether diplomatic official can be
found who can stand the high altitude OF
Al. ;tbn
Turn the Iascals out, Mr.. Cleveland. Being
a reformer, elected as refoImer, claiming
public confidence only as a well-meaning
though not yet experienced reformer, the Pres
ident cannot afford TO let these scandals gather
about HIN any longer Ii he does not soon
begin to clear them away, it will come to pass
that men will ask whether the last is not also
the most corrupt of all Democratic AdIninistra-
tons.
TNRY V1CIIIATION.