Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-10-25
Election Tuesday, Nov. 9th,
CLEVELAND'S PORTRAIT.
DRAWN WITH A FAITHFUL HAND AN \.


ORIGINAL MUGWUMP.
The New York Independent.
Henry C. Lea, the famous publicist of
Philadelphia, was one of the original
Mugwumps. He verify thought he was
doing the country service in adyocat-
ing, in 1884, the election of Grover ClevC-
land as a Civil Service Reformer. His
article on another page shows that he
has come to lament the part he took in
that campaign; for in elevating Cleve-
land to the Presidency, ave have been
made" he says, speaking for the Inde
pendentS, 1.-The instruments of betraying
the cause which we thought to serve"
Mr. Lea gives review of the Cleve-
land Administration, showing how all
the Presidents pledges have been bro
ken. and how the Civil Service has been
degraded instead of elevated. The ar
ray of proof he gives is startling in its
conclusiveneSS. Not only was Il "clean
sweep" made in the offices, even down
to scrub women, but the places of old and
experienced officials were given in many
eases to raw recruits, to Democratic
heelerS, ard to men of ScandalouS rec
ord. From his own Cabinet the spOilS
system has been diligently worked, and
he himself has countenced the most
shameful orders, while posing before the
public as reformer.
Mr.. Lea describes his conduct in the
severest language yet applied to it; but
it is not too severe The meanest of all
persons is the hypocrite. But this is
precisely what Mr.. Lea declares Mr..
Cleveland to be, and, worst of all, he
proves the case against him. 1t would
be blow to the interest of public NOR
ality, as he shows, to re-elect such Il man.
Here is Mr.. Cleveland rs painted by
Mr.. Lee in a few bold strokes:
mo professional spokesman, openly
proclaiming his belief in the prostitution
of patronage, could have wrought one
hall the injury to reform as the hypO-
crite smiHngly asking: Art thou in
health, my brother?' while he plants his
knife under the fifth rib"
"The celebrated order of July IA, 1886,
warning all place-holders against 'obtru-
sive partisanship,' was of interest only as
a curiously superiOus exhibition of hy-
pocracE."
"The President himself debaSed his
high office and broke with all its tradi-
ton by interfering in the local politics
of New York City to aid the election Of
former beneficiary Of Tweed"
"I'he only effect, indeed, Of Mr.. Cleve
lands reform professions was to give a
deeper shade of guilt to this whole scan
dal0us performance. Before he COM
pletely threw off the mask, to save him
self by pretending to remove only for
cause, he deliberately smirched the rep
utations of thousands of honest men,
who were denied all opportunity OF de-
fense against secret accusations"
"With another four years of his Ad-
ministration the rags and tatters left Of
Civil Service Reform would not fit out
scarecrow sufficient to frighten the most
beggarly rooster"
"To secure the control of the machine
indispensable to his denomination, he has
encouraged the encrOachment of the leg
islative branch on the executive, for the
foul business of Congressional office
brokerage has never been more often
sively rife or more cynically public that
in the scramble for spOilS which his pol
icy has stimulated"
"The effect of these transformations
is reflected in the massive egOtism of Mr..
Cleveland's recent letter of acceptance,
in which he assumes that he is the Gov
ernment, and lectures the opposition in
Congress as though resistance to his will
were reasonable"
"Incidently, may call attention to
the deplorable aspect of Mr.. Cleveland's
candidacy in the degradation of Amer
lean politics, which his success would
imply after his self-eXpOsure of broken
pledges and dishonOred promises"
"Mr. Cleveland's defeats therefore, a
condition precedent to any hope Of relief
from the spOils system. He has been
weighed and found wanting, and our
first duty is to make an example of him.
When farmer nails chicken-hawk to
his barn-door, he not only gets rid of a
plunder, bnt he gives wholesome warn
ing to its fellows"
Such is the record "Reformer" Cleve-
land has made. The machinery of the
Government has become largely the ma
chinery of the Democratic party, and
officials from President down to scrub
woman are pouring their political con-
tributions into the treasury of the Dem
ocratic party. No salary is too small to
be levied upon, no office or position too
insignificant to be overlooked by cam
paign agents. Everybody receives no
tice that the Captains office" is open,
and somehow it seems to be well under
stood that the prudent thing to do is to
''step up and settle" And this is re-
forml And there are honest, intelligent
men who advocate such reform! Shame
on them! They are allowing the enemy
70 Iaaaiva tban, tIyipaI