Show THE NASBYS OF THE COUNTRY Col Joliu JP Irish of California locates Their Political Position Col John P Irish of the Oakland Cal Times was recently interviewed at Omaha on the Postmaster question and asked to speak his mind thereon In substance he said that the country postoffice was the sole point of contact between millions of our people and the Federal government There may be great changes in policy and the great currents which arise in and manifest the energies of an admiration may be deflected flected dammed or diverted implying reforms re-forms of great gravity yet if the people continue to get their country mail from a Republican postmaster the party which is beneficially changing the major policies of the government will get no speedy credit because it shows no change in the politics or person of the postmaster whose continued stay deprives the people of needed visible evidence that there has been change of par ties in the government I am a great believer iever in the forcible declarations of the St Louis platform of 187G that to effect needed reforms we must have a change of measures and of men On that platform we elected to the Presidency the greatest leader that has appeared ap-peared in a half century and though the machinations of the men who should have been changed cheated the country of the service he could have given Mr Tildens election gave him a primacy in the party to which we owe the nomination and election of Mr Cleveland Now I believe thoroughly in civil service reform and support from my place in the ranks every expression of Mr Cleveland in its favor and these postoffices of the class mentioned are the most powerful instrumentality in establishing that reform since they greatly influence the votes which are to condemn or endorse that amongst the other great policies with which Mr Cleveland is so happily engrossing the attention of the country The Democratic arty is sincere and wholehearted in its support of this reform while the Republican Republi-can party is thoroughly antagonistic thereto there-to It requires no argument to show that if the pirty of civil service reform is beaten in the tate elections between now and 1888 civil service reform is dead in this country Now I think the President perfectly comprehends compre-hends the need of securing contact with the people in the only possible way by which millions of them can be reachedthrough I the small postoffice and inasmuch as such contact is vitally in the interest of his foremost fore-most policy it is a demonstration that civil service reform requires a change in these postoffices Of course this throws the greatest great-est weight of present responsibility upon General Vilas and I am glad to know that in him we have a man able to bear it and one who will in the end satisfy his party and gratify even the doctrinaires by seizing and using the practical means by which this reform re-form policy is to be entrenched beyond the possibility of successful assault even by a future Republican administration As to the differences and divisions in the party they are more apparent than real Mr Cleveland is in the midst of myriad difficulties difficul-ties but after all his strong will and wonderful won-derful judgment of men make simple to him a task which would hopelessly whelm a man less strong There are so many meritorious meri-torious men in our party deserving recognition I recogni-tion for long and heroic service that their recognition during one presidential term is not possible The President thinks of the future and deals with policies which will project every worthy Democrats opportunity into an almost boundless field of success I that lies ahead Mr Cleveland is not building I build-ing for today but for the coming quarter of a century To go out of power in 1889 after I a four years trial imports a sombre fate for the Democratic party Therefore patience I hold up the hand of the President advise him unselfishly in short show the world that principle and the proper means of propagating was the motive that enlisted our army and won the splendid victory of last year |