Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-10-20
Mr.. Cleveland OverruIed.

Mr.. Cleveland was entirely outside
the true idea of the civil service intend
ment and spirit of the law, when he
stopped all persons from aiding in party
politics who held Office under the gov
eminent, SO holds the present admins
tration. 1t is recalled that he removed
some officers on this account in Virgil
MA, drove Hoke Smith out of his cabi-
net, end did all he could to hamper all
public servants in their efforts to con
tribute to party success. This may be
explained in two ways. Mr.. Cleveland
was not then candidate, he was not
even at the time of his great act of muz-
zling these offic e. holders, Democrat,
as the term then and now is accepted.
All of his public acts, according to his
admirers, came from the highest sense
| of duty and the loftiest patriotism. 1t
cannot be said, however, of MI. Cleve.
land, that he was always right, and
now he has the present administration
against him as he had at the time heper'
formed the muzzling act aforesaid. the
Democratic party against him. With
such overwhelming odds against him it
is doubted whether he was sincere. and
since the bond deal it is doubted whether
his lofty patriotism was not, in that in
stance at least, overshadOwed by that
| first law of nature, self-preservation,
when he is said to have taken care of
himself at the expense of the people
first in allowing the bonds to be issued,
that is making their issue imperative
by paying out nothing but gold, and
secondly by arranging the deal so that a
good many million of those bonds be-
came his property, as has been charged
that he did.
But Mr.. Cleveland wanted the Demo-
cratic party defeated in 1896; he saw a
chance to aid materially in its defeat by
hushing the mouths of Federal Office
holders. He SO construed the civil SER
vice laws as to seal those mouths and
thus a grea. power was given the Re-
publicans and taken from the Demo
Gratis, and thus, too, did Mr.. Cleveland
perform function for the monometal-
lists no one else could have performed;
and thus, too, did he make a ruling
which will most probably never be fol-
lowed by any other President within the
next century, ruling which is secuted
by Mr.. Mckinley as not only absurd
and foolish. but as taking away indivi-
dual liberty and the right of the citizen.
This action, if prompted by the high
motives always attributed to him, was
most convenient and useful weapon
with which to Stay Democrats and was
used with ferocitY which indicated a
motive and feeling which we're savagely
bent on their destruction, and while mo-
tives are usually hid away in the human
breast, where no man can see them and
tell with certainty their real import, &C.
lions are public things and from these
must motives be judged. 1t is the pro
vince of the people to judge of these, it
is their right to do SO, and if the action
of Mr.. Cleveland in his construction of
this law rose from a high sense of pa
triotism, the Democrats of this country
will never be convinced of it since they
know how much else he did to defeat
the party in 1896. and how bent on that
defeat was the patron saint of gold, and
propagation OF that civil service bill.
Here is the way the matter is now
treated. Offensive craftsmanship and
"pernicious activity are dead, so far
as this administration is concerned.
First Assistant Postmaster General
Heath has thrown down the bars wher-
ever they had been erected by the previ-
GUS administration. There is abso-
lutelY nothing in the civil service laws"
says Mr.. Heath, "that forbids a post
master or any other government official
from participating in conventions,
making political speeches or exercising
any of the rights that belong to him as
a private individual. The only thing
bearing upon public officials is the pro
vision that they shall not levy political
assessments, make their employees OF
persons in the government service pay
tribute or act against any one on ac-
count of his or her religious belief. |
Wher that has been said all has been
said, so far as the law relates to the con-
duct of an official while in office. Mr..
Jleveland's ruling relative to alleged |
pernicious activity was binding only |
so long as an administration saw fit to |
enforce it..
This administration does not desire
to enforce it. and so it disappears.