The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-23


ing to 81 And during the administration u
Van Buren,, sJacksons man." and the creation
OF his kitchen cabinet" it reached the great
sum OF Sill. Subsequently the honesty and
splendld administrative ability of the Republic
an party reduced the amount lost or stolen on
the Vi, OOO to less than eight-tenths of a mill,
although the revenue of the government mean
time had increased sevenfold.
Inc spolls system is an insidious disease which
mas lnIected the very vitals of the Democratic
party, and is reasonable explanation of the
fact that that party has iuggled with. discred-
ited alternately Endorsed and abandoned every
principle OF government involved in the politics
of the last quarter of the century. It has been
on the wrong side of every question, sometimes
terribly'in the wrong; and on all sides of every
question. Those gentlemen whose sleep il
filled with fond and foolish dreams Of
obtaining tariff reform from the Democratic
party are referred to its official utterances on
that question Until 1872 it declared in favor Of
free trade. In that year, however, becom-
ing simply ravenous after twelve-year
fast, it repudiated its past and nom
tectionist of this country. Horace Greedy, and
declared in effect for protection to domestic man
ufacturers with incidental free trade. This alb
negation being barron of fruit in 1876 1t declared
for tariff for revenue only. In 1880 Is reaf-
frmed this, but that very issue being raised,
greatly to its surprise it met disastrous defeat
In 1894 much chagrined at having been taken al
its word, and not to be caught in that trap again,
sort of Janus gate opening both ways, so that
the free-trader who, perchance was the out
side might labor under the pleasing deiusion
that he was on the inside. This year, at least in
Indiana, the Democratic party has returned to
its mutton"-I had almost said to its free wool,
and declares the tariff to be robbery under the
forms of law" but what in the opinion of the
Democratic party, the tariff will be in 1888, with
the Randall wing growing in number and in
fiuence, man knoweth
Let us look at its record on other questions.
1t Is matter of common history that before the
war the fidelity of the Northern Democratic pol
iticians to the South became degrading syco
phancy. So eager and thankful were they for
the crumbs which fell from the Southern table,
and despairing of obtaining those crumbs else
where, they suffered themselves to become the
supple tools OF the slave power. They degen-
Grated into a race of place hunters, bastard to
the soil, with whom Office was the end--not
the means-and whose craftsmanship, like
that of the Augustan Senate consisted
in justifying personal fiattery by speculative
principles of servitude. They steadily prosti.
tuted principle to preferment and came near in
volvlng this country In irretrievable ruin. In
1861, when the last hope of peaceful solution OF
the slave question disappeared, they sympathized
with and favored secession. In 1862 they OPP
posed secession, and favored reconciliation on
the basis of slavery. In 1864 they declared the
failure; in 1866 they declared the war
success; in 1868 they opposed the constitutional
anne ndments: in 1872 they favored the consttu-
tional amendments; in 1872 they demanded the
Immediate resumption of specie payments in
1876 they demanded an immediate repeal of the
resumption act; in 1884 they declared for econU-
my and retrenchment; but. under the first
eighteen months of the new administration.
every department except the Treasury demand
ed and received an increase of force, and the
appropriations this year $54 600 900 in excess
of the expenditures of last year. Such is the
havoc of honor, and wreck of principle, which
the spols system has wrought In the Democratic
party
LOOK AT DEMOCRATIC ''REFoRMr
And yet. despite the fact that the Democratic
party never made a promise but to break it, it is
in Oower to day. Why Is this2 Two years ago
IL, Democratic party struck up a singular ALI
ance "People were married that year who had
never been married before"
Certain Republicans, among them George Will
lam Curtis, forgetting that the Republican party
put the first civilservice reform act. incomplete
though it was, In the statutes in 1871, and that
it passed the Pendleton act in the face of the al
most unanimous opposition Of the Democrats in
the House of Representatives, Endorsed the NOM
inaton made by the hungry and thirsty" party,
and so Mr.. Cleveland was elected. l have no de-
sire to impuen the motives of those gentlemen
nor to question their right to absolute political
independence. thought then, and think now,
that man who would write book and call 10
"Prue and l." was not sufficiently robust char
acter to lead great political movement success
fully. l thought then, and l think now, that
party which had been out of power
for tweuty-four years was not divinely
appointed instrument to compass a re-
form of this nature. However, it
is not unreasonable to believe in the sincerity Of
President Cleveland himself, since it would be
difficult to conceive that sane man could, with
deiiberation and design, write as many tracts on
civil-service reform as he has written and after.
wards stultify himself completely. He pre-
sents to-day one of the humiating figures in
the history of American politics. 1t would be
absurd to treat his professions seriously had he
nnf ali n1 ;ctin ;uo1v ri,
reformer. AS such he received the support Of
the mugwumps. The spoilsmen OF the Demo
cratic party were also Jealous in his cause. re-
garding his utterances on that question only as
the harmless vagaries of an amiable 'crank."
After President Cleveland's inauguration his
troubles began. The famished wolves were soon
at the White House door making day and night
hideous with their howls He threw Higgins to
He must decide ' oucRy the w os1e
must be fed and they were fed
1t was accomplished in this way After so
many professions of devotion to civil service re-
form, it would not do to make removals on the
ground that to the victor belongs the spoils So
charges must be preferred against incumbents.
The 10Th of April is the date of an inglorious
and dishonorable surrender On that day Post
master general Villas issued his celebrated circu-
lar must leave the Characterization of that
vile document to Senator ingalls,
more thoroughly degraded loathsome execrable
and detestable utterance made by any pub
lie official of any political persuasion in any country
in any age. 1t invitation to every libeler
every anonymous slanderer every scurrious defaner
to suice the fecuent sewage of communities through
the Postofice Department, with the assurance that.
without any lntimation information to the person
aspersed, incumbents should be removed and Demo
cratic partisans appointed.
Even the fair name of woman did not escape
These night ravens of politics, these befoulinR
harpies turned their weapons Of SANDER against
the widows of soldiers When that is said all Ia
said. Well, what was the character of the new
apponteesl have q list of some of them, the
legitimate progeny of such a system. One man
from Baltimore who was made an Indian inspec.
tor in 1885, was denounced by the independents
OF that city as ballot box suffer professional
gambler and the companion of Higgins The
postmaster of Sioux City, Ia, was convicted and
sentenced in Dakota for violation of the pension
laws. In Rhode Island postmaster was APP