The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-04-06
an ATTACK THAT RECoILED.

The first attempt of the State Depart
ment at reform" has resulted in dis
closing a malicious desire to smirch the
late administration and has called public
attention to the bungling methods of
the present one. About ten days ago
the public was informed that Secretaries
Gresham and Carlisle had been shocked
by the discovery of the e%xtravagant al
lowances that had been matte to the
clerks and attaches Of the Boring Sea
Commission. The particularly with
which the facts were given, stating the
exact allowance made to different per-
sons, showed that the information was
official. and there was every indication
that it was given out for publication at
the State Department. For several sue
cessive days it was stated that Secre-
taries Gresham and Carlisle were still in
vestigating the matter and considering
what was best to be done. They were
represented as being determined to do
what was right and hew to the line, let
the chips fall where they might. They
would not shut their eyes to the con-
summation of such a wrong as that
which they had unearthed, etc. After
this had continued several days there
came by Associated Press a statement
that the Secretary of State had cabled
the following to the United States con-
sul at Paris:
Neither the State nor the Treasury De-
partment is responsible for mischievous
publications. The administration will do
everything in it's power to maintain the
case of the United States. and to support
our agent and conns before the tribunal
of arbitration.
1t had evidently dawned on some
body's mind that the continued exploita-
ton of an alleged scandal in the organ
izatiOn Of the commission and the fire.
Quent repetition of the charge under the
sanction of the State Department, ac-
companied by official figures, could not
fail to injure the commission in the eyes
of foreigners and damage the cause of
the United States before the arbitrators.
The result of this discovery was the
foregoing cablegram. In trying to
smirch the former administration Secre-
tary Gresham found he had overshot the
mark. In trying to discredit Major Hal
ford and w or three other attaches of
the commission he had smirched the
commission and the United States gov
eminent.
The statement that neither the State
nor the Treasury Department is respon-
sible for mischievous publications" is
manifestly untrue. The information on
which the publications were based could
only have come from one of those de-
partments. and it bore every indication
of having come from the State Depart
ment. On this point the intelligent
Washington correspondent of the Pitts
burg Dispatch. who first obtained the
information, Gelegraphs to his paper rs
follows:
The criticism of the appointment of ex-
Secretary Foster es advisory counsel foi
the commission, of ex-Secreiary Halford as
disburslng officer. and of j. Stanley Brown
as an expert in SEALS" as published in the
Dispatch last week. emanated directly
from the inner sanctum OF the State De-
partment, and the criticisms were accom-
panied by an animation that come remedy
might be applied to this laRrant violation
of good taste and economical ~administra-
ton. 1t wssremarked at the time by those
more accustomed to deal with such matters
than is the Secretary, that the mere publ
cation of the statement would tend to throw
odium upon this country from q foreign
point of view and humiliate tho American
commissioner and counsel. 1t required
two days for Secretary Gresham to make
this discovery, and he then makes another
mistake. almost as awkward as the first
by simply disclaiming responsibility for
the criticism and declaring that the admin.
istration will stand by Foster ct al. with
out IN the least asserting that there Is No
ground for the charges.
The time for Secretary Gresham to
have denied all responsibility for the
"mischievous publications" was the mo.
ment they first appeared. Instead oil
that they were allowed to run for
whole week, growing by evaporation
and distortion, before he disclaimed re.
sponsibility for them. The disclaimer
probably came too late to ave the com
mission from being embarrassed by the
attack in the rear. as it certainly did toe
late to save the Secretary of State from
the suspicion of having inspired the at.
tack.