On  the  other  hand.  Republicans  who  had  fed  the  fires
of  personal  slander,  had  cheered  themselves  hoarse  at  the
mention  of  the  name  of  James  G.  Blaine,  and  had  ran-
sacked the  political  garbage  cans  for  new  filth  to  hurl  at
the  then  Governor  of  New  York,  loudly  cried  hypocrite
at  each  removal,  however  necessary,  while  despite  his
honest  and  persistent  fight  for  reform  against  an  increas-
ingly powerful  faction  in  his  own  party,  many  even
among  civil  service  reformers  looked  upon  the  President
as  a  betrayer  of  their  confidence,  a  wolf  in  sheep's  cloth-
ing, a  champion  spoilsman  camouflaged.  This  was  his
penalty  for  leadership  of  a  party  not  yet  regenerate.  Over
and  over  again  his  friends  broke  party  pledges  in  the
belief  that  the  President  would  never  know.  They  made
partisan  removals  in  such  numbers  as  to  justify  the  com-
plaint that  the  Democrats  were  no  more  attached  to
reform  than  the  Republicans  had  been,  and  the  reckless
manner  in  which  Congressmen,  Senators,  and  others  high
in  ofiice  lent  their  names  to  undesirable  candidates  caused
the  President  to  wonder  whether  any  recommendation
could  be  considered  of  value.  "The  Vice-President,  and
at  least  half  the  Democratic  Senators,  and  nearly  all  the
Democrats  of  the  House,"  commented  the  Commercial
Gazette,  "[have]  banded  themselves  together  to  break
down  the  President  and  his  Cabinet,  and  force  him  to  do
their  bidding.  .  .  .  The  first  surprise  of  the  President


FACING  THE  POLITICAL  BREAD-LINE  147

was  as  nothing  compared  with  his  amazement  over  the
later  features  of  the  office-seekers'  raid."

Yet  the  more  judicial  reformers  knew  that  he  was
reforming,  slowly,  cautiously,  practically,  but  really;
working  as  one  who  knows  the  limitations  of  executive
power  must  work  if  permanent  results  are  to  be  attained.
