The sun., 1893-07-02
No Consuls for Life!

| Certain Mugwump mystagogues. like the
| Providence journal and the Springfield Re
publican, are sore of heart and sour OF face
because Mr.. JOHN JAMES PIATT has been
removed from the post Of American Consul
at Dublin. and Democrat appointed in his
place. Mr.. PIATT had been In the consular
service for some years. and he was Consul
at Queenstown for some time before and dur
ing Mr.. CLEvELAND's first Administration.
He is a cultivated and accomplished man.
but it could hardly be expected that a Repub-
lican appointee should have the good for
tune to keep his place under two Demo-
cratic Administrations We have no
doubt that Mr.. PIArT deserves the
praises which the Springfield Republican
quotes from the Dublin Euening Mail.
| No doubt "he was a grrtd persona
| to the mercantile community OF Queens
| town and OF Cork while all that was liter
| ary and cultivated in Ireland priced him for
the graceful and vigorous poems-mostly
| on Irish subjects-which he has contributed
to the literature Of the Victorian age"
This is all creditable to Mr.. PIATT but
what has it to do with the question OF his
| removal? We suppose that even the Mug
wumps will not maintain that Mr.. PIATT Is
the only man in the United States who is
capable Of being liked by the Cork mer-
chants. and we are not aware that liter
ary man has any especial privilege which
entities him to hold Federal office for life
When men like HAWTHORNE and LOWELL
accept Federal Office. they accept 1t as
partisans: and they have no more right
than the pettiest heeler to expect that they
will be spared when their party Is beaten.
They play the game as politicians. not as
men Of letters. and they must take the
chances OF the game. The laurel around
their heads doesn't exempt the same from
the attentions Of the axemen Of the new
Administration.
There was great pother among the Mug
wumps when Mr.. FRANCIS H. UNDERWOOD.
Boston literary man to whom Mr.. CLEvE-
LAND gave Scotch consulship. WAS removed
by Gen. HARRISON. Mr.. UNDERWOOD was en-
joying himself. and had made many friends
among the Caledonians. but his literature
and his friendships didn't save him when
the Republicans came into power. He has
lately been appointed to another Scotch
consulship. and Mr.. PIATT's friends should
live In hope OF another Republican Admins
tration that will restore that gentleman to
the lcttered case of an Irish consulship.
AS Mr.. JOSIAH QUINCY. First Assistant
Secretary OF State. is getting considerable
abuse for his activity In ridding the consul
iar service OF some OF the gentlemen who
have been SO long in office that the Repub-
licans and Mugwumps seem to have thought
them irremovable. it is only right to say
that Mr.. QUINCY Is carrying out not only
the Democratic. but the American idea.
The notion that an ofiiceholder acquires
sort of right by prescription to his office. by
holding it for a considerable time. Is part
OF the Mugwump ideal Of an Anglo-Chinese
civil service reform state. with an official
bureaucracy and tenure OF Office for life
Such q notion is not approved by the ma
jority Of any political party In the United
States. II We except the MASSACHUSETTS, Co
lumbian party with its membership OF one.
Only a very small minority. composed al
most entirely Of Mugwumps. and there
fore not even minority Of voters. are
believers In this idea OF life tenure Of
Office. The great majority OF the people
believe that appointments to and removals
from Federal ofiice should be made for polit-