St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-16
TRavEsTY ON REFORM.

HENRY CHARLES LEA. one of Phila-
delphia's foremost citizens, and Re-
publican without guile, has written an
open letter to President HARRISON in
which he scores the president for his
failure to keep his civil service reform
pledges. Mr.. LEA takes Boss QUAs for
a text, and shows that, Notwithstanding
the serious charges recently brought
against the Pennsylvania boss by the
New York World and Boss QUAY's fail
ure to acquit himself of them, he is
still welcome visitor to the White
house, as if there were no faint on his
record; and, more than that, is given
absolute control of federal patronage in
Pennsylvania, to the exclusion of all the
more reputable Republican politicians.
Mr.. LEA enters into a detailed state
ment of QUAY'S corrupt practices i'll
Pennsylvania politics, and shows most
fearfully corrupt state of affairs. He
then accuses the president OF being in
partnership with QUAY, and be conse-
auently must expect to share the losses,
as we'll as the gains Of their political
venture. After describing the revolu-
ton that has taken place in public opin-
ion, MI. LEA concludes his letter with
this earnest appeal to the president:
Let me counsel you, Mr.. President, as a
friend. to reflect that this has been your work
in one short year of misused power. If this
retrospection should bring with it repentance
and amendment, You still have before you
three years which may be fruitful for good.
Bear in mind that faithful are the wounds
of friend, but the kisses of an enemy are
deceitful." Discard the advisers who are
Turing you to your downfall. Recognize that
the truest political expectancy lies in the ap,.
plication of conscience to public affairs, and
that you can serve your party best by stimuli
lating the nobler aspirations OF the nation,
rather than by pandering to the baser appe-
titles of spoilsmen. Cease to expect to
gather figs of thistles or to touch pitch with
out defilement. Apply to your public duties
the high standard of morality to which you
adhere in your private life. Remember that
evil can give birJh only to evil, and that you,
as chief magistrate of 65, GOO, 600 of freemen,
have OH your soul a charge for which you
must reckon to posteritv and to God.
1t is hardly probable that Mr.. LEA's
singing rebuke will have any effect on
the swollen-headed gentleman against
whom it was directed. He is fairly
launched as a candidate for renomlna-
ton, and relies on QUAY'S sharp prac-
tees and corrupt methods to get it for
him. 1t is not likely that man who in
the first Instance would willingly be-
come the beneficiary of fraud would
suffer any qualms of conscience in re-
sorting to QuayiSm for second term.
The decent Pennsylvania Republicans
are doubtless Inundated on account of
the absolute power conferred upon
Quay by the HARRISON administration,
and yet the chances are that they will
swallow their wrath and vote for
QUAY's ticket at the next state election.
The president knows that Pennsylvania
Republicanism is so hide-bound III adj
herence to the protective policy he can
resort to any sort of skullduggery to
keep the Pennsylvania machine within
his grasp. He wants the Pennsylvania
delegation in the next national Repub-
lican convention, and that is all the
civil service reform he is hankering
af ter.