then have a party, to be sure, with new elements but also with new vitality in it. The third is to go forward in the line of reform far enough to disgust some of the old party—for almost any degree of systematic reform will do that—but not far enough to inspire the reform elements outside of the party with that enthusiasm which will induce them to step under your banner in mass and as an organized force. Thus the gap would be made and not filled. This is what we might call sitting down between two chairs. The second policy appears, therefore, not only the best one for the country, but the only safe one for you and your party.
You will have noticed that the Republican platform in Ohio makes two issues, one the “bloody shirt,” and the other civil service reform. The first is more or less burnt powder; but the importance of the second will depend on two things: what the Democratic State conventions will say, and what you do. The Republican platforms will all fairly ring with the reform cry. There is danger that the Democratic conventions will be far less outspoken in that respect. If so, everything will depend on you, not merely as regards this year's campaigns, but the success of your Administration and the vitality and fate of your party generally.
If, under these circumstances, you would permit me to make a suggestion, it would be 1, to extend, as soon as possible, the civil service rules beyond the scope in which you found them, even if it be only a little; 2, to leave in office or reappoint some conspicuously efficient Republican officeholders; and 3, to correct, as soon as it can conveniently be done, some of the mistakes made, for instance, in the internal revenue collectorships in New England.
Pardon me for adding that the sweeping changes in the internal revenue collectorships have always struck
