Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-08-26

THE Washington Sentinel, the only
true blue Democratic paper in the Capi>
tai, in its issue of last Sunday, has
trenchant review of the course of Pres
ident Cleveland, and of the civil service
record of the Administration, which
concludes as follows:
Thus the Democratic Administration
after being two years in Office. has been
rather failure rs far as true civil ser+
vice reform is concerned. The Democrat
ic party will have no right to claim that
as one of its issues in the next Presiden-
tial campaign. Sham and hypocrisy in
the service may blind for time; they
will no longer DO it in 1887. On the
contrary. the Republicans will have
some reason to claim that their handling
of the service was all right, and can
point with pride at the undeniable fact
that the Democratic Administration has
run the Government with the Republi
can machine work, not trusting its own
party friends with that sort of business,
and hence whatever good the Dem 1crat-
ic Administration has done it is due to
the Republican officials; at the same
time pointing at those Democratic ap-
pointments, such as in the District of
Columbia and elsewhere, where mistakes
have been made. The Civil Service
Commission, as it is constituted now, is
farce and fraud on true civil service
reform.
The Sentinel with like boldness, ex-
presses its opinion on recent Democratic
doings in the several States in this wise
The Democrats have met in several
States in Convention. They have adopt
ed platforms, not one of which agrees
with the others. The Pennsylvania
Democrats are for high tariff. On the
prohibition question, notwithstanding
the Republicans at their Convention
have pronounced in favor of some pro-
hibitory measure, they arc silent. The
Ohio Democrats show again signs of IL
nancial unsoundness, whilst on the pro-
hibitiOn question they are right Thus
in almost every State the Democrats
seem to differ Cd the cardinal principles
of their party.
All. however, have adopted resolu-
tion fully endorsing the present Admin
istratiou. That is imbecile and coward |
ly, because they do not in their hearts |
approve the course of President Cleve-
land. Of the leaders whom we have met |
here at Washington, in and out of Con-
gress, during the last twelve months, |
there is not one who has not expressed |
his dissatisfaction to us-of course pri, |
vately.
President Cleveland has not hesitated
to offend friend and foe, and violate |
most inexcusably his own civil service
rules. No gratitude toward his own
party friends has induced him to assist
them in perfecting the organization of
his party and bring them together Oh
the leading topics of the day.
Those whom he has favored he has
politically ruined. He has created dis
satisfaction among the rank land file of
the party and almost extinguished the !
old Democratic fire, without which no
battle can be won. On several occasions
he has eyinced stubborness in adheriDg
to blunders, and contempt and disdain
for the opinion even of his best friends
that would become the autocrat of Rus
sia more than the President of the Uni
ted States.
The party is no longer what it was in
March, 1885. No measure in Congress
has passed since then which would have
it.
1t is weaker now than it ever was at
any time since the war.