Evening journal., 1889-02-19
EDGERTON TO CLEVELAND
An Object Lesson in Civil Ser
vice Reform.
TUE PRESIDENT ARRAIGNED.

Judge Edgerion Openly Charges the Presf-
dent with Violating CivIl Service Rules.
and Argues That Himself Is the Only
Trne Exponent Of the Science.
WASHINGTON. Feb 1a.--Judge Edgerton,
lately removed from the position Of civil
service commissioner, has addressed an open
letter 10 President Cleveland, in which he
eritises the president severely for this action,
impugns bis motives in making the removal,
nnd accuses the president by not removing
nun before the election, Of playing false
with the mugwumps to enable you to win.
with the Democrats Judge Edgerton, in
opening his letter, says.
ITO the President.
II was indebted 20 You for the only an
pointive osiee ever held. Younow declare by
your action that youregret the appointment
!, with equal right, can say that regret
the acceptance Your regret was never made
known 70 me by you in any word or utter
ahce or action until now, 40 the close Of your
administration, and ON tho day before nv
removal II you had any just, or unjust,
cause Of csmplaint against me you had not
4 Nst-AN etiA' AAAiA' ~ fsiAoWu 70 Hlts lou
have never asked from me any explanation
Of newspaper or other statements and charges
| rejecting upon me which may have come 10
| your knowledge. II any Of these were ever
made known To You such knowledge was
withheld from me- No intimation wns ever
made 70 me by you or by any one acting foE
| you that my opinions OK actions were noa
approved by you / certainly could not be
eNpec9d to make inquiry Of you concerning
charges, orof youropinions which were never
disclosed TO ma.
"Ot course, II you believed me unfit for tha
position or neglected. Of duty, YOU should
have removed me long ago, but presume
there were prudential political reasons why.
You did not make the removal until after the
election, Ia this regard it would almost SEEM
as u You were willing TO play false with ths
mngwnmps 70 enable you to win with ths
Damocrats And fnre permit me to define
tle term 'nlugwuInpn as referring 10 a clasn
q political reformers who hare the spirit oe
reformation without the common sense and
good Judgment 10 reform as reforms are,not
effected by unjust personal denunciation, but
by reason. The result Of the election plnced
you ID a dilemma from which few peopIa
Would have known how 10 extrcate. them
selves You found a man ON your hands
whom the mugwumps had declared war upon.
as an old enemy 70 their civil service reform
theorics, and your plan Of becoming their
representative in the future would be weak
ened or defeated II some assurance Of your
fidelity TO their cause could not be secured
| Accordingly, It appears that YOU decided
/ apon the removal q the head Of the eommis-
sion, and, deenling Mr.. Thomson a good
enough mugwunlp for them, YOU. therefore.
demanded my resignation that you might ap.
point him, apparently as an atonement for
| your previous inaction.n
Mr. Edgertan then calls the presidents a.
tention TO TIE fact that ON July %, 1888, hs
was good enough civil service commissioner
for the president, when no indorsed the fourth
annual report of the commission, and said:
"Ihe path Of the civll service reform has not
at all tunes been pleasant or easy The scope
aud purpose Of the reform have been much
misapprehended; and this has not only given
rise to strong opposition, but has led To ia
invocation by its friends 70 compass objects
not IN the least related 70 it;n and asks, "Did
! then hold such relation 10 the commission
as 70 be included in your commendationg os
did then bold relation 10 it which justified
my remoyall II included in the commenda.
ton, what has since transpired TO justify q
removalpr
"Mr President, he adds, "with due cour~
tosy 70 the high office you hold, allow me to
say that you are very peculiar man, a posi-
tive man, positively wrong on positively right.
and, therefore, an unsafe man to trust: and
that element m your character | believe lel
to your defeatn
Judge Edgerton then observes that the
president was credulous enough 10 believe he
was elected president by the mugwlnnus.
and therefore permitted them to nalien his
real friends and fatter him into a policv
which led 70 defeat, that as a result Of not
permitting his real frienE 10 admonish him
with freedom and confidence he suffered for
want Of friends and "the presidents wrecked
and wretched greatness he says, has dis
covered that there is no true success in life
without the power and blessing Of friend
ship
Judge Edgerton then asserts that, having
sworn to do so, it had been his constant
effort 20 support the civil service law: but
he did not swear to support a mugwump in
depreciation Of IL, based on the mOnstrous
assumption that the commission was indie
pendent Of law. Referring TO his interview
with the president, when the latter requested
Judge Edgerton 10 resign, the ex-civil service
commissioner says: "When, on the sth Of
February, you requested my resignation, you
expressly declared that you had no other
reason than that it would enable you to nom
mate Mr.. Thompson for commissioner, who,
without my resignation, would have no pros
pect OF confirmation By the senate Among
the many newspaper charges against me, |
handed to You The Chicago Tribune OF the l4th
Of December, which stated among other things
that for several months you had Contemplated
nv removal After reading the statement
carefully You declared the whole article to be
"a lie assuring me that you had been, and
was still, my friend; and Tor that reason that
il was due to you, as a personal friend, that
should give you my resignation to enable you,
If possible, 70 provide place for Mr.. Thomp-
SON As already said, may have been wrong
in many things, but not in fidelity 10 the
civil service law. This 1 was sworn TO exc
cse, and so were you Was it a faithful
execution of the law to appoint commits
sioner and then not 70 ask him TO any confer
ence or consultation concerning its businessl
BY whose advice, through whose action, were
you led TO believe that this was justi You
must not, and / presume you do not, claim
any immunity from censure, neither can you
be Indifferent 70 it, even from members Of
your own party, 10 whom your indiherenceis
past understanding; neither must you expect
that truth and Justice will remain Inactive
You win be censured and condemned because
you put no trust in your party, but believed
yourself to be better than your own and
greater than all parties. You have ascer-
tained that the many were not made for the
one. If you can find as many reasons. for re
moving me as the Democratic party, through
an incffferanca which was ci.,,.,Ixy