The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-02-19
Why the Chief Executive Was Condemned and
Rejected by His Own Party-A Scorching
Criticism of the Retiring President
Mills sWreStles with Randall and Is Easi-
ly Thrown by the Pennsylvania.
The Dakota Statehood Programme Disarranged
by the Action of Georgia Congressman
Other Items of Washington News.
EDGERToN TO CLEVELAND.
Some Disagreeable Facts Presented I'm the
Plainest Kind of English.

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:
Il was indebted to You for the only ap-
pointive Office i ever held. You now de-
appointment. /, with equal right can say
that regret the acceptance. Your regret
was never made known TO me by you in any
word, or utterance, or action until now, at
the close of your administration, and on
the day before my removal. Of course.
If you believed me unfit for the position or
neglectful of duty, you should have re-
moved me long ago; but presume there
were prudential political reasons why you
did not make the removal until after the
election. In this regard, 1t would seem as
if you were willing to play false with tho
mugwumps to enable you 10 win with the
Democrats. And here, permit me TO define
the term mugwump, as referring to class
of political reformers who have the spirit
of reformation without the common
sense and good Judgment to reform;
personal denunciation, but by reason. The
result of the election placed you In di-
lemma from which few people would have
known how to extricate themselves. You
found a man on your hands whom the mug
wumps had declared war upon as an enemy
to their civil-service reform theories and
your plan of becoming g their representative
in the future would be weakened or de-
feated If some assurance OF your hdeilty 70
Accordingly, it appears that you
decided upon the removal of the head
of the commission, and, deeming Mr.. Thomp-
son good enough mugwump Tor them,
you therefore demanded my resignation
that you might appoint him. apparently as
an atonement for your previous lnactlon-
Mr.. President, with due courtesy TO the
high Office you hold. allow me to say that
you are a very peculiar man, positive
man-positively wrong or positively right
and therefore an unsafe man TO trust;
and that element IN your character pc
Ieye led TO your defeat. Pope says Inc
most positive mem are the most credulous
since they most believe themselves. and
advise most with their fellow
hatterers and worst enemies be
ing one of that kind of positive
men yourself, you have kept, some men OF
like character around yOu who are positive =
only in their malice and concelt. They
hatter you, and have the concert tnat
would magnify themselves and the, malig-
nifty that would ydetract from Others;
Juvenal says, There is nothing man Will
not Dvifcy6 IN MS own 1avof fuu were
credulous enough to believe that you
were elected President by the magwumps,
and. therefore, you permitted them to
malign your real friends and to fiatter you
into policy which led to your defeat. You
are man who would no: permit your real
friends to admonish you with freedom and
confidence, and as a result you have sui
fered for the want of friends. and your
wrecked and wretched greatness has dis
covered that there is no true success in life
without the power and blessing of friend
ship. You believed that your will and your
power to enforce it was above all powers;
but the Will of the people. expressed IN a
constitutional way, has taught you that
there was wiser and better way than that
chosen by you.
Having sworn to support the civil-serv-
ice law it has been my constant effort to
do so; but never did swear to support a
mugwump Interpretation OF 1t based on
monstrous assumption that the commission
was independent of law. How many poor
unfortunates have been denied the advan-
tages and benefits of the law by questions
never contemplated by it. and how
many expenses have been incurred
through unnecessary and devious re-
Quirements and practices, 1t is
not my purpose at this time to state. You
will be censured and condemned because
you put no trust in your own party, but be-
lieved yourself to be better than your own
and greater than all parties. You have as
certained that the many. were not made for
the one. If you can lind as many reasons
for removing me as the Democratic party.
through an Indifference which was simply
retaliatory, had for removing you, 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 con-
tinues:
"You cause to be placed upon the Con-
gressional Record this announcement of a
nomination by you, to be confirmed by the
United States Senate: Hugh s. Thompson,
of South Carolina, TO be United States Civil
service Commissioner, in the place of Alfred
y. Edgerton, removed j do not ask You
and so do you, that the only one you could
give would be that it was your
will, for if you attempted to give
any other, your own previous words
would prove 1T to be untrue. In my inter-
view with you before the removal, You ex-
pressly disclaimed having any reasons for
it except by refusal to resign to enable You
to make Mr.. Thompson's nomination. Re-
moved is a word of far-reachlDg potency,
especially when record does not explain
1t. l 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 l address you. / cannot, like
you, make prayer for relief to the public.
such as the article seemed to be in the
Baltimore Sun of the 14th inst. This 10
ment 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 his
| party and the country for approval: Be-
| tween the lines can be read the special plea
| for reelection. can point to another re-
moval than mine, beyond a parallel to 90
down through history when l shall be
| refer as proof of your ignorance of public
| opinion, and not of your indifference to it,
| to what you say in the Sun article of Mr..
| Burnes, of Missouri, as one not guilty of
| the annoyance to which you were sub
| jected by the country members of Congress
| introducing to you their constituents, be-
! cause he always presented his constituents
at public receptions. If Mr.. Burnes were
| living he could tell you another reason,
which he had often told to others.
| that he had been rudely treated
by you and had no respect for
you personally, and ascribed the defeat Of
the Democratic party TO your ignorance of
| it. 1t was unnecessary that you should
| make some such ex xplanation for your attack
| upon the way back members, but you were
| unfortunate in the selection of your wit
ness-one of the ablest and noblest legis-
| lators in Congress.
| But, to the case of removal which must
! become an important part of the history OF
| the country. / was on the floor OF the
House of Representatives during the time
| the votes of the Electoral College were
counted. and heard the announcement OF
| the result-that Benjamin Harrison was
| duly elected President of the United
| States-but the words that burned deep
through the empty boxes. of the sd-
ministration could not be ofdclaliy
| added. though known 20 be txcas