Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-06-24
A POWERFUL INDICTMENT.


Has Become Tainted with Fraud.
|. The most comprehensive and caustic ar
| raignraenc Of President Cleveland that has
ever been published, says the Cleveland
! Leader, has been written by a Democrat
whose Democracy has never been ques-
| toned, who, as editor OF the Buffalo Courier,
! supported Cleveland for Mayor, for Gov
ernor and for President, and who never
/ asked favor from the President-Joseph
| O'Connor, now Of Rochester. This review
| Of the osicial career Of the Chief Magistrate
| published in the New York SIN would I'LL
J five columns of the LeGSeT, and It is a mas
| terpiece Of literature es well as OF logic
| Its great interest and Importance, its graces
| OF diction and forceful truth, justify some
what extended abstracts and quotations.
| Regarding Mr.. Cieveiand's declaration
| against second term and his subsequent
efforts to secure denomination, Mr.. O'Con-
nor says:
| II he believed what he said, then he can not
| honestly seek a second term. He has by i'm
| plication cast suspicion CT the men OF the past
| who have aspirei 10 a second term, and the
men OF the future who may aspire TO it, and he
! can not plead eXemp ton for himself as higher
| and boiler than the rest OF humanity. In de-
! liberately pursuing an END which he thinks
| dangerous to the Republic, and declares at
| tainable only through corrupt means, he be-
| comes transgressor conscious OF his wrong
! doing Under any Interpretation, the essence
! Of such conduct is fraud.
lam disposed TO think that when Mr.. Cleve-
! land wrote his letter of acceptance he did not
mean to run for the Presidency a second time,
| but the temptations Of the great Office, the IN
| trigues Of politicians whose fortunes depend
| upon his continuance in power, the anxiety OF
! the South and let it be said with all due re-
| spect. the natural desire OF the woman whom
| no has married to spend few more OF the
/ years OF her youth in the high social position
she now holds, all have united to overcome his
resolution. It looks as if he had given way,
| knowing the meanness of weakness, and as II
/ there had been something like breaking down
OF his manhood, if not of his moral nature, in
consequence. At any rate, through his dupllclty
in this matter, his whole Administration has
become tainted with falsehood-
Two columns Of the review are devoted to
! the sham and hypocrisy OF the Presidents
! Clvil-Service reform pretenslons. Mr..
O'Connor tells how in 1882, while preparing
for an aggressive Gubernatorial campaign,
MIR. Cleveland began the composition OF a
speech upon the "rascalities of the Repuo-
! lican party" but when the revolt against
Judge Folger'S nomination occurred he
thrust this speech aside and played the
non-partiSan dodge for all 1t was worth.
sThen follows list Of his Civl-Service re-
form pledges, in letters to Mr.. Curtis and
Mr. Eaton, and in his messages, with con-
vincing proofs of the shameful violation OF
every one of them. With these pledges and
proofs Of violation our readers are suth-
GENTLY familiar. Mr. O'Connor closes this
branch of the subject as follows:
In the hope Of Republican support,Mr CleVe-
! 40 ,;a nd In
Democratic support he violated them. He
found tho cause OF Civ-Service reform in good
condition: he added nothing to 1t through leg
islation; he discredited it by his hypocrisy. 1t
Is cause whose success depends upon the good
faith of all officials and the support or poth
parties; and yet Its especial champions, the
independent Republicans, jeoparded it by
seeking to identify it with the political fortunes
of one man. Nothing was gained but brief
DELAY In filling the Federal Offices with Demo-
Gratis; but Mr. Cleveland, through keeping up
for q time the pretensc of not revarding party
LOYALTY was enabled to make loyalty TO himself
the condition Of appointment, and SO became,
Us no man for many years has been, the abso-
lutte master Of the Democratic organization.
he played the reformer exclusively at the ex-
peuse of Democratic politicians that he wanted
to get out OF his way. For the sake OF second
term he tried -partisanship; and when he
found that the charm was broken, and he
could no longer conjure with it. he fell back on
craftsmanship for the sake of a second term.
Mr.. Cleveland's record in regard to the
tariff issue, and the motives which have
inspired his course, afford Mr.. O'Connor
opportunity for some wholesome truth
telling.
In rearrang1ng the political game it was nee
essary for MIR. Cleveland to identity himself IN
a special way with some distinctively Demo
1oo +r{n in
his second canvass, to great extent, parti-
san one And so, for want OF better, he
chose revenue reform as the traditional issue
on which to go before the National convention
Of his party and before the country. In this
matter. too, he was forced by stress OF circum-
stances into cowardly dupi city.
The declaration of principles made by the
National Democratic convention OF 1884 was
very cautiously worded in go far as IL dealt
with reform OF the tariff, as 1t was the opinion
Of poll icians generally that the BRIEF demand
for tariff for revenue only" made IN 1850,
had led to the defeat of the Democratic candl-
date Of that year, General Hancock. Mr..
Cleveland carefully avoided any alluSion TO the
subject in his letter OF acceptance; and there
was great anxiety throughout the canvass
to keep Democratic speakers and editors from
discussing it. In some quarters the tariff ter
ror was pitiable In the inaugural address mir.
Cleveland merely ment oned the tarln de-
handing that our system OF revenue shall De
so adjusted as to relieve the people from I'M
necessary taxation, having due regard 10
the interests OF capital invested and working
men employed in American industries, ana
preventing the accumulation OF surplus in the
Treasury to tempt extravaganza and waste"
The stsunchest protect ZIONIST would not quarrel
with that statement.
The motive underlying this change of
position on the tariff question is thus de-
scribed:
WHY did Il requirs nearly three years for the
Democratic Pres. dent TO advance beyond the
position n favor OF revenue reform which
President Arthur held IN 1892 Il IS conceded
that the tariff law ought TO be reeast, and that
the work ought net 70 De done in partisan
spirit; and that po.nt SIR Cleveland cunningly
urged But why d.d he put the matter into
such shape that it would be almost inpossi-
BILE TO keep partisanship out of the dscussionf
Simply because, at the threshold OF his first
wear Mr.. Cleveland did not care for reelection,
or hoped "a comeass It through Ionpartisan-
ship; while at the threshold Of 1855 he was
eager for recollection, ard saw no chance for at
tanning itexcept through forcing tariff reform
as party issue. And so he took I'D tariff re-
vision as a. political chsriatan and not as
statesman.
Then follow quotations from Mr.. Cleve-
lands first. second and third annual mes
sages. showing how he gradually but surely
executed complete flop on the tariff Ques-
ton, passing from the position of moderate
protection to that of unqualified free trade
Concerning the Presidents oft quoted
declaration; 1T is a condition which con-
fronts US, not theory" Ar. OConnor
says:
Il is taking phrase, which Democrats with
out the courage Of their convictions are fond OF
quoting; but ii Is merely rhetorical subterfuge.
The theory lies behind the condition, and It