The times., 1898-10-13
to their Indignation and to their reme-
dial purpose the only effective express
sion it can find, at the polls.
An EminentIy Correct Thing.


If anyone supposes that sensible DEM
ocrats, sensible civil service reformers,
or any other class of sensible people
will go mad and froth at the mouth
because the Administration has taken
stand upon the questions of offensive
partisanship'' and ''pernicious activity
dametrically opposed to that of the late
Grover Cleveland of unpleasant mem
ory, that man will be miserably disap-
pointed.
In the first place. the Cleveland con-
ception of what a public officer should
or should not do, in connection with his
citizen relation to party politics. was
far from the civil service reform view
of the same matter. AS on all other
possible occasions. the sodden servant
Of rotten foreign ring, conjured with
q virtuous principle to accomplish ne
farious design. John J. Irish, a Gov
ernment officer. at San Francisco, was
supported in taking the stump against
Bryan and in favor of gold. as were
many other bolters and traitors to their
party organization and its platform.
Their partisanship was not offensive"
neither was their activity "pernicious,"
as long as either was utilized for the
Tory purpose of feating the Demo-
cratic candidate and electing Mr.. Nc
Kinley- 1t was otherwise in the cases
of regular Democrats, who dared to
speak a word in support of the nominee
of the party that Cleveland was pre-
sumed to, but never did, represent. All
such persons were promptly and vio-
lently turned out of their positions when
detected.
Intelligent citizens of all parties-at
least all those without personal axes to
grind-support the principle involved in
the civil service reform regulation that
employees of the Government shall not
be compelled against their will to take
any active part in partisan politics, or
to contribute money for political pur-
poses Aside from these two self-evi-
IDENTIFY proper propositions. there does
not appear any just reason why John
Doe. Republican postmaster, or tide
waiter, or district attorney, should not
climb the hustings and tear the air with
lurid eloquence to further the ambition
! OI IllcndGu lNOt, u Tie ptil ~
| in the district for Congress. Doe being,
! perhaps indebted to Roe for his Gov
ernment position. If there were any
| thing immoral or opposed to public pol
icy in this, il would be equally wrong
for a United States Senator, during his
term of office, TO exert himself in pro-
noting the election of legislators in his
State favorable to his designs upon a
second term.
There are many directions in which
we are glad to recognize good American
common sense in the views and action
! of President Mckinley. The course
adopted presumably in conformity with
/ his ideas and wishes, by Assistant
/ Postmaster General Heath. in the mat
! ter of the right of Government officials
to take active part in politics, meets
with our entire approval 1t is correct
/ in ethics, and could only be made objec-
tionable by confining the privilege it be-
| slows 10 those who would be safe TO use
| it in the interests of the party in power.
| We shall watch with interest To see
how impartially Mr.. Mckinley may
/ compel his people to construe and apply
| the rule We are not in the least afraid
/ of his developing into a Cleveland. in
the connection. and we sincerely trust
/ that neither viii he permit himself to
! be Hanna