Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1889-06-12
A Pen Picture of Malone

A Pen Picture of Malone
The Washington correspondent Of the
Philadelphia Record writes:
II thought the Living Shelton had escaped
from the Dime Museum as / came up behind
a thin little figure of man on street cor.
ner to-day. He wore the first seersucker
suit, narrow blue and white stripes have
vet seen out OF doors this summer, and the
wind blowing It tightly against his body re-
yealed the sharp outlines OF an eXtraordina
ry form, as well es the trinity. covered feet,
whose neat prettiners declared their iden-
tity. It was Malone, Virginia. as be still
registers and agns his name He wore a
Gne Panama hat with Oh unusually wide
brim, end his gray beard flowed plctur
esqueIy down from it like Florida moss. He
has not changed apparently at all since he
came into prominence ten years ago His
shrewd little Irish face has no mere wrinkles,
his piratical hair and beard ara no wilder or
grayer. He still wears plated shirt bosoms
and rufiled wristbands and lace-like scarfs.
He still talks and walks with wiry nerV
ousness which seems like vigor, and his
mind has lost nothing of its cunning. At
Chicago, he was like Quay, one of the half
canvass By every means 10 his power,
good and bad, be fought the Blaine men in
the Virginia delegation and on the floor of
the convention. Fighting them, he had, Of
course to fight the movement TO nominate
Harrison which The Blaine men carried
through. If Malone and Quay had had
their way Sherman would have been nomi
mated and Harrison would have been prac
ticing law at the old stand to this day. But
the Blaine men-and no less those in the
Virginia delegation than those elsewbere-
nominated Harrison.
"Thereupon Malone sprang nimbly over,
and became and has ever since continued
supporter Of Harrison, and, therefore, has
claimed and received full control over the
Federal patronage OF Virginia, to the abso-
lutte exclusion of the Blaine men in the Vir-
gipia delegation, who helped to nominate
Harrison against Mahone's utmost efforts.
Now, this is great achievement. When
Garfield and Arthur turned over the patron
age of Virginia to Malone Ia 1881 Malone
was the renl representative of the entire re-
publican party of Virginia. 1t was, perhaps,
fit under the feudal rules of the spoils sys
TEN that the recognized boss OF the
party in power for Virginia should say
VINO should and who should not serve
the people n federal Offices within is
b fders. 10 sense Malone was entitled
10 all that he got. But nowadays be repre-
st nts only the Malone machine in Virginia.
All the popular leaders of the republican
party are opposing him, and the rank and
file have no voice in his proceedings. When
a State convention Is 10 meet Malone writes
to his personal representative in each dis.
trict, giving them the names of the men
whom he desires sent as delegates TO the
convention. These men and no others are
sent. When they get into convention Ma
hone gives them list of the officers of the
convention, which they adopt, and then
their resolutions and then their candidates
are served to them aud swallowed by them.
There Is no system like it now ex'
tant 30 far as my observation goes. LII the
last relic of old.feshioned boss rule. The
wishes of the republican party, to say moth
ing of the people of Virginia, are deliberate
y suppressed or Ignored with all the frank
ness imaginable. for Malone, like the old
bosses, is amazingly frank. He has no
qualms of conscience, for he has no con.
science, and having no feelings CT delicacy
or propriety, makes no pretensions to Sun
dsy-school principles in politics.
IL
the end always ustifes the means, so why
make any bones of it? Whatever else is,
Malone is not hypocrite, and in the abb
sence of prominent positive virtues we must
make, suppose, the most of this negative
one. He is just as frank in politics as he is
open Ia his personal habits. He drinks and
swears and plays poker in the most natural
manner possible. He thinks nothing of
.obt I'd fob nt
this man, so unprincipled and so thoroughly
and wholly unrepresentative of the republi'
can party as q political organization, how
ever he may represent the habits of its poll
ticians, has been selected by President Har.
risop to represent his administration in
dealing out the Offices allotted to Virgin
la. His power over Virginia patronage
is now far more absolute and exclus.
i've than it was under Garfield and
Arthur Then he had to divide with other
leaders. Now he stands alone, and as long
as Postmaster General Wansmaker, for ex
ample, says 10 every Virginia applicant, nc
matter what other Endorsements he may
have, You must have General Mabone's
name before he can get small postofhce-
Malone, you may be sure, will entertain nc
oyertures for peace from the other republi
can leaders. To unite with them would
mean to divide with them. And that would
be ridiculous, said Malone. and SO it would
from his point of view. Meanwhile, Rid
dleberger and Cameron and Groner and
John S. Wise, and all the other rebels q:
Malone calls them, will freeze to death in
the outer darkness.
"Mabone has no. gained his present posi-
tion by his own strength alone. He frank
ly admits that without Senator Qusy's hell
he could not have climbed to such unrival'
ed power. OF course Quay in helping Ma
hone looks to the future rather than the
past. He is not thinking 80 much OF wha'
Malone did at Chicago as of what Malone
will do at the national convention and in