The Washington critic., 1890-04-11
LEA TO THE PRESIDENT.
AN OPEN LETTER OF ADVICE TO
Mr.. HARRISON.

vauias subtle SenatOr-The Execu-
tive Advised TO Drop senator Quay.
Senator Matthew s. Quay has not
gained the commanding position he
now holds in national and Pennsylva-
MIA State politics without struggles
which have made him enemies. These
are both personal and political, and
there is scarcely anything in the way
of political warfare they would not do
TO destroy his hold upon the Admins.
tration andEruin him IN the estimation
Of. his party. Some weeks ago highly
sensational story was published in the
New York World alleging at great
length, and with ridiculous attempt at
fine writing, that Senator Quay, when
Treasurer, was defaulter, the amount
of the defalcation being made up by
party friends to prevent public scandal
The story was not very probable one,
and the manner Of its telling was such
as to give it the air of flake" rather
than of verify.
Another attack has just been made on
the Pennsylvania Senator by Mr.. II. @.
Lea, q leading publisher of Philadel-
phia, who has written and published an
open letter TO President Harrison. This
letter has created something of polit-
ical sensation in Pennsylvania, and may
prove to be an important factor in the
politics of that State this fall, and even
in the national campaign two years
from now. Hence THE CRITIC repro
duces Mr. Leafs letter, which is as fol-
lows:
"SIR: No graver scandal has dark
ened our political history than the
charges brought against Senator Quay
: by the New York World in its issues Of
February 10 and March 3. 1t would
be useless here to recapitulate them
further than to say that, with full de-
tails of names and places and dates,
the World asserts him to be man
whose political career has been sue
cession of fiagrantly dishonest acts, in
Guiding the temporary abstraction from
the State Treasury of $500, 900 in one
instance and of 100000 in another.
mo such accusations, involving ini-
guilty so varied and so continuous, and
supported by such an array. of minute
detail, have ever before, / believe, been
brought against politicianso conspicu-
Gus. Ii they are true, Senator Quay
ought to be in the penitentiary. II
they are false, he is cruelty libeled
man; his accuser is journal of the
highest financial standing, and
no jury Of his countrymen would re.
fuse him exemplary damages that
would put him beyond all future reach
of want. Vindication and profit both
await him as an incentive to prove his
innocence; but although two months
have elapsed since the gravest of the
charges were made public, neither
solicitude for his character nor desire
Of gain has prompted him to break
silence. II is his own fault if the pub
lie should regard him as acquiescing in
the truth of the charges
1T is true that the crimes alleged
against Senator Quay are connected
only with his career as Pennsylvania
boss, but your close connection with
him has rendered the scandal national.
You are duly warned in advance from
friendly source of the dangers of such
an alliance, yet by accepting this man,
Mr.. anamaker. as a member of your
Cabinet, you assumed responsibility for
both of them. In pursuance of this
alliance you have enlarged Mr. Quay's
Importance by virtually giving him
control of the Federal patronage in
Pennsylvania, thus rendering him the
dictator of the Republican party in the
State.
He boasted of your subserviency to
him when, in explaining his triumph
over Representative Dalzell in the strug-
gle for the Pittsburg Postoffice, he pub
licly said that the President, though
very anxious to crafty Mr. Dalzell, for
whom he has high esteem, could not.
under all the circumstances, well avoid
complying with my Wishes Even Mr..
Quay's remarkable silence under the
accusations of the World does not seem
to have lessened his influences over
you. He signalized his return from
Florida week or two since by captur-
ing the Pittsburg Suryeyorship of
Customs against candidates urged re-
spectively by Secretary Blaine and
Representative Dalzell.
Indeed, his power would seem to be
as great in Washington as in this State,
for the party organs now tell us that he
has been endeavoring to buy off super
t1uous candidate for the Governorship
with an Assistant Secretaryship of War
In thus entering into political partner
ship with Mr. Quay, you must share the
losses as we'll as the gains of the ven
ture. 1t is not Pennsylvania alone, nor
even the Republican party only, that
has q right to protest: every citizen of
the land must feel humi iIiation at the
smirch thus inflicted on the Chief
Magistracy of the nation.
uAo a DopuJlioop l,xy oonu;ot,nn nv
IDENTIFY desiring the success of the party
so long as il deserves success, let me
request you, Mr.. President, to take a
calm survey of the situation and render
10 yourself an account of your steward
ship. Thirteen months ago you en-
tered upon the duties of the highes,
Office which the world has to bestow;
your party was supreme in the control
of both Houses of Congress and of the
Executive; everything promised pros
which you, by simply adhering to the
pledges under which you were elected,
might earn another term from the con
tidence and gratitude of the people.
The only cloud upon the political
horizon was your acceptance of q Post
master General at Mr. Quay's dictation,
ostensibly as reward for certain serv-
ices performed during the canvass.
That cloud, then no larger thana mans
hand, has spread till 1t covers the
armament.
Look back now and reflect upon
your work. You have sedulously de
voted yourself to the distribution of pa
tronage;' you have turned out nearly
10000 Democratic office, holders, ant
in this ignoble business you have filled
vacancies thus made by giving 'recog
nitiOn' 10 the worst element In the nartV