Wichita eagle., 1889-04-30
COL DUDLEY AND PRESIDENT HAIR
RISON.

To the Editor of the Eagle.
The lately published letter of Col. w.
w. Dudley to a personal friend in In
diana touching his relations with the
administration is, no doubt, a surprise to
many, but it is nothing new to the inti-
mate friends of Col. Dudley who have
watched the course of events since the
inauguration of President Harrison. The
exceedingly good men who have been
elevated to the chief places of honor and
trust by the leadership of men like Col.
Dudley, have by some strange meta
morphosis, developed virtues which it
seems almost impossible for mOrtals to
possess without danger of being trans
ported, Elijah-like, to heaven at once be-
yond the concentrating influences of
modern politics.
The writer has had a little experience
in Indiana politics, and knows that it is
not desirable place for an over-zealous
civil service refOrmer to wage a wal for
political supremacy. In that state it is
hardly the thing to undertake to subdue
the wild and woolly Bourbon by the
distribution of Sunday school tracts,
or lengthy dissertations on the
beauties of civil service reform by George
William Curtis. Fighting Democracy in
Indiana is past-time not sought after
by those in pursuit of pleasure. To carry
Indiana requires political leadership of
the highest order, and no one knew this
better than Harrison. Knowing this he
sent for Dudley Immediately after the
Chicago convention, and designated him
as one of his special representatives on
the national committee. Whatever was
done bv that committee. either individ-
ually or collectively, was done with the
full knowledge and consent of Harrison.
We are not discussing the right or the
wrong of what was done by the men
who led the Republican party to victory.
We are not of the number of those who
believe that politician Is synonym for
rascality, and that to be politician one
must be capable of committing any
crime against the government Conse-
Quently we take no stock in the ridicu-
lous stories told of Col. Dudley and his
associates, but we are morally certain
that Harrison was cognlZant OF what
ever was done by members OF the
national committee, and if any crimes
were committed Harrison was, by reason
of his knowledge of and assent thereto
particeps criminis. 1t would be a weak
defense of Harrison to say that he knew
nothing of Colonel Dudley's methods
after having twice been the.special object
of the latter's solicitude IN two great po-
litical contests.
In 1880 when the presidential contest
was to be practically decided by the vote
of Indiana and Ohio in October, it was
the matchless leadership and executive
ability of Col Dudley as chairman OF
the executive committee of Indiana that
saved not only the state ticket. but the
legislature as well, which subsequently
elected Harrison to the Uuited States
senate This was the chief object of in
terest to Harrison in that memorable
contest, and Dudley saved him when all
others had almost forgotten the i'm
portance of saving the legislature. II
he chose Col. Dudley as one of his conf
Dental and trusted representatives
on the national committee IN
the late campaign he must
have done it with full
knowledge of what he had done and
could do again for him.
If Colonel Dudley really committed
the grave crimes charged against him
by the baffled and enraged hypocritical
Democracy of Indiana, is 1t not just
barely possible that Benjamin Harrison,
good pious christian though he is, knew
thing or two about il? Yet after the
goods are stolen, if they were, Mr. Har
rison appropriates them, enjoys the
usufruct of them, but takes special care
to elevate his pious nose on "a bee line
for heaven whenever the name OF the
thief is mentioned. If the scriptural in
junction Let him that is without sin
cast the first stone lis strictly observed
Colonel Dudley Will never get bruise,
nor will there be any use for rocks about
the white house for several years yet
To the men who know Colonel Dudley
best he needs no defense. His unselfish
devotion TO his country and his coun-
try's Interests has been attested
in thoNsand instances, even
since he left a leg at Gettysburg.
He never missed a call 10 duty, but re-
sponded without stint or uuramer, many
times, as we happen 10 know, at sacri-
fee of his own personal interest. Presi-
dent Harrison is as welcome 70 all the
comfort he will get out OF his attempt
to sacrifice Dudley at the behest OF the
rotten Democracy OF Indiana, but he
will find that there is day OF reckon
ing coming. JUSTICE.
Winfield, kan. APRIL p, 1888.