Wichita eagle., 1889-02-19
KILLED BY MUGWUMPISM.
Judge Bdgerton Addresses to Cleveland a
Letter of Cold Truths.

Letter OF Gold Truths
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1S.-Judge A. P. Ed
gerton who was recently removed from
the Office of civil service commissioner, ha:
written an open letter to the president
He says among other things:
Il was indebted to you for the only ap.
pointive office | ever held. You now de-
clare by your action that you regret the
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 close Of your administration, and on the
day before my removal. OF course, if you
believed me unfit for the position or neg
lect of duty you should have removed me
long ago. but l presume there were pru-
Dental political reasons why you did not
make the removal until after the cleo
ton. In this regard it would
almost seem as if you were willing to play
false with mugwumps to enable you to win
with the Democrats, and here permit to
define the term "mugwump" as referring
TO a class of political reformers who have
The spirit of reformation without common
sense and good judgment to reform, as re-
forms are not effected by unjust personal
denunciation but by reason. The result of
the election placed you in dilemma from
which few people would have known how
TO eXtricate themselves. You found man
on your hands when the mugwumps had
declared war upon an enemy to their
civil service reform theories and your
plan or becoming their representative in
future in future would become weakened
Or defeated if some assurance of your
fidelity to their cause could not be secured
Accordingly it appears you decided on the
removal of the head of the commission
and deeming Mr.. Thompson a good enough
mugwump for them you therefore demand
ed my resignation that you might appoint
him, apparently as an atonement for your
previous inactiOn.
Mr.. President, with due courtesy to the
high Office You hold, allow me to say that
you are very peculiar man, a positive
man-posltvely wrong or positively right
and therefore an unsafe man to trust
and that element in your character | be-
iieve led TO your defeat. Pope SAYS: The
most positive men are the most credulous.
since they most believe themselves and
advise with their fellow flatterers and
worst enemies Being 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
roncelt. They fatter you and have the
conceit that would magnify themselves
and the malignity that would datract from
others. Juvenai says: There IS nothing A
man Will not believe in his own favor
You were cred1lous enough to believe Won
were elected president by the mugwumps.
and therefore you permitted them to
malign your real friends and to fiatter You
into policy which lead TO yonr ;defeat.
You are a man who would not permit
your real friends to admonish YOU with
freedom and confidence, and as q result
you have suffered for the want of friends
and your wrecked and wretched greatness
has discovered that there is no true sue
cess in life without the power and blessing
OF friendship. You believed that YOUR will
and power to enforce it was above all DOW
BIS, but the will of the people expressed in
a constitutional way, has taught you that
there was a wiser and better way than that
chosen by YOU.
Having sworn to support the entire civil
service law il has been nv constant effort
10 do so, but never did swear to support
mugwump Interpretation of it based en-
monstrous assumption that the COM
mission was independent of law. How
many poor unfortunates have been de
MED the advantages and benefits of law by
questions never contemplated by il. and
how many expenses have been incurred
through unnecessary and devious require
ments and practices, it is not my purpose
1t this time TO state. You
will be censured and condemned because
you put no trust in your own party, but
believed yourself to be better than your
own and greater than all parties You
have ascertained that the many were not
made for the one. II You can't find as
many reasons for removing me as the
Democrat party though an indifference
which was simply retaliatory bad for re-
moving you, shall be quite willing to re-
main with You in the gloom of defeat
pa - 70 e~1x- J. -
standing of the civil service law and con
tinues: ''Iou cause TO be placed upon the
congressional record the announcement
Of nomination by you to he confirmed hv
the United States senate: Hugh s. Thomp-
son, of South Carolina, to be United
States civil service commissioner in place
d Alfred 7. Edgerton. removed. | do not
isk You to give any reason for this act
know and so do You, that the only one
fou could give is that ii was your will. for
4 you could give any other your own pre- |
Fious words would prove it to be untrue
IN my interview with YOU before removal
rou expressly disclsimed having any
reasons for it except my refusal TO resign
10 enable you TO make Mr.. Thompson's
domination.
Removed is word of far reaching no.
bency, especially when'a record does not
Explain il. | am conscious of this and
deeply panied by the consciousness. Peo-
pie have right to know the truth in all
matters of this kind and for this reason
Dnly do address you. cannot, like you.
make PRAYER for relief 70 the public such
Rs the article seemed 20 be in the Balti-
more Sun OF the l4th inst. This is the
first time in the history of the government
that an outgoing president has found it
necessary TO advertise through the news
papers his particular work during his term
Of office and ms claims upon his party
aud the country for approval Between
lines can be read the special plea for re
election. l can point TO another removal
than mine beyond parallel TO go down
through history when | shall be forgotten.
Before | do so. let me refer-as proof of |
your ignorance of public opinion and not |
of your indifference-to what you say in |
the Sun articles of Mr.. Burnes, OF Missouri,