Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-02-21
AN OPEN LETTER.
Ex-Commissioner Edgerton's Bit
ter Attack on the President.
MUGWUMPS AND THE CTVIL-SERyICE.
The Defeat of the Democratic Party Laid
at Cleveland's Door-Incident Con-
corning the Late Congressman
Burnes-Etc.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20.-Judge A. P. Ed
| gerton- who was recently removed from
the office of Civil-Service Commissioner,
| has written an open letter to the President.
He says, among other things:
Twas indebted to you for the only appointive
office ever held You now declare by your &C
ton that you regrOt the appointment. 1, with
equal right can say that regret the accept
ance.
Mr.. President, with due courtesy to the high
ONCE you hold allow me TO say that you are
very peculiar man. positive man-positively
wrong, or positively highland therefore an IN
safe man to trust: and that element in your
| character believe led to your defeat.
Pope says: 1.-THE most positive men are the
most credulous. since they most believe them
selves, and advise most with their fellow tatter-
ers and worst enemies"
Being one Of that kind Of positive men your
self, you have kept men oflike character around
you who are positive only in their malice and
conceit. They f1atter you and have the concert
that would magnify themselves and the malig-
nifty that would detract from others
Juvenal says: There is nothing man will
not believe in his own favor"
You were credulous enough to believe that
you were elected Pre- ,ident by the Mugwumps,
and therefore you permitted them to malign
your friends and to f1atter you into policy
which led to your defeat. You are man who
would not permit your real friends to adm nish
you with freedom and confidence and, as a re-
suit you have suffered for the want of friends
and your wrecked and wretched greatness has
discoveredthat there is no true success in life
without the power and blessing Of friendship
You believed that your will and power to en-
force it was above all powers but the will Of
the people expressed in Constitutional way
has taught you that there was wiser and bet
ter way than that chosen by you. -
You will be censured and condemned because
you put no trust in your own party, but be-
heved yourself to be better than your own.
and greater than all parties. You have ascer-
tanned that the many were not made for the
one. If you can find as many reaso s for re-
moving me as the Democratic party, through
an Indifference which was simply retaliatory,
had for removing you, 1 shall be quite willing
to remain with you in the gloom of defeat.
The Judge proceeds to give his under
standing of the Civil-Service law, and
continues:
You caused to be placed upon the Congress
sional Record this announcement of nomina-
ton by you to be confirmed by the United
States Senate: Hugh S. Thompson, of South
Carolina, to the United States Civil-Service
Commi sion, in the place Of Alfred P. Edger-
ton, removed
do not ask you to give any reason for this
act. know. and so do you, that the only one
you could give was that it was your will, for if
you can give any other your own previous
words would prove it to be untrue. In my in
terview with you before the removal you ex-
pressly disclamed having any reasons for it ex-
cept refusal to resign to enable you to make Mr..
ThompSon's nomination
Removed is word of far-reaching potency.
especially when record does not explain it. 1
am conscious of this and deeply panied by the
consciousness.
The people have the right to know the truth
IN all matters OF this kind, and for this reason
only do 1 address you. 1 can not, like you
make prayer for relief to the public such as
the article seemed to be in the Baltimore Sun
OF the 18th inst. This is the first time in the |
history of the Government that an outgoing
President has found it necessary to advertise |
through the newspapers his particular work |
during his term of office and his claims upon |
MS party and the country for approval. Be- |
tween the lines can be read the special plea for |
reelection. l can point to another removal |
than mine beyond parallel to go down through |
history when 1 shall be forgotten Before do /
so, let me refer, as proof OF your ignorance of |
public opinion, and not of your Indifference to
it, to what you say in the Sun articles, of Mr.
Burnes OF Missouri, as one not guilty Of the |
annoyance Tn which you were subjected by the
country members of Congress introducing to
you their constituents, because he always pre-
sented his constituents at public receptions. If
Mr.. Burnes were living he could tell YOU
another reason, which he often told to others
that he had been rudey treated by YOU and
mad no respect for you personally, and ascrlbed
the defeat OF the Democratic party to your ig-
norance OF it. 1t was necessary that you
should make some such explanation for your
attack upon the ''wayback' members but you
were unfortunate in the selection of your wit |
nesses, one of the ablest and noblest legislators
in Congress.
But to the case of removal which must become
an important part of the history of the country |
l was on the floor of the House of Representa-
tives during the time the votes of the Electoral
Cole were counted and heard the announce
ment OF the result-Benjamn Harrison was
duly elected President of the United States
but the words that burned deep through the
empty boxes of the Administration could not
be officially added, though known to be true
in place Of Grover Cleveland, removed By
whom and for what cause removedp The |
answer is now being made in every home. in
every business in the land, and history will in |
scribe it upon all Its records.
Judge Edgerton ascribes Mr. Cleveland's
defeat to his disregard of the opinion and
advice of the most eminent men of his
party, and to his political ingratitude. and .
continues:
You do not understand the Civil Service law
Mr.. President. Its examinations are not made
or those inside but for those outside Your .
heory of inaction would defeat the law You |
lave not dared to weed out incompetents q
Judge Edgerton criticises the conduct of ,
one of the other Commissioners, without
his name, and concludes as
olows: s
am justified in stating one single fact of
nischievous distrust and wrong doing on the I
art Of a Commissioner in charge Collector {
dagone, of New York. addressed to me a per- .
onal letter, thus marked on the envelope the
ostage paid, no indication that it could be Off q
ial on the inside also marked personal and | I
his letter was opened and read by the Commits
Toner in charge and forwarded to the other a
then in Boston, and by him an :
wered before the letter was sent to me at my
ONE in the West Such features as this has t
aused nearly all Of the attacks upon me, and
doubt not most Of my opinions Of you +
Whether they had any influence is questionable.
lSiguaG A. p. EnEEppcS ,
IL seems unlikely that anV revision :