The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1845-06-03


gent effort appears to be made at present il
certain quarters to give currency to the rumor thai
great dissatisfaction exists amongst the democracy
IN consequences Of Mr.. Folks "apethy' in efect1np
removals at Washington. The rumor and the efIor
have originated with pestilent malignant, unscru
pulous. and restless species of animal which abounds
at the seat of govemment-the Washington Office
beggar, and as the character, and employment, o.
this class are not quite SO fully known to many al
they should be, we may as well devote little time t.
| their calculation.
The population OF Washington is made up almos
entirely OF the oceholders their dependents and tn,
ofiice-beggars Against the former the laSxaron
carry on an eternal and most malignant warfare
Many OF these beggars hang on from year to year. anc
become regular fixtures in the bar-rooms OF hotels
and tavems whilst their ranks are constantly re-
ceivlng fresh accessions of mendcancy, hunger and
despair, from the various States-contnual car.
goes of weeds thrown up by the great tide
OF political agitation, and left high and dry to
wither and rot upon the beach. Thus the fierce
army of clamorous and shrieking begqary is
continually recruited, and never for day ceases the
war upon the holders of Office under the government
One OF the chief objects Of the beggars is to get hold
OF the correspondents of the newspapers throughout,
the Union, especially those possessed of weight and
influence. The eterwriters are coaxed and fattered
and wheedled into compromising with the Office beg
gars and assaron who are all the time ounging about
the Notwithstanding themselves into every corner
fastening themselves upon every one connected with
the Government with whom they can possibly come
IN contact-collecting all sorts of gossp-smelling
out secrets-prying into private family affairs-in-
venting and circulating all sorts files scandal and
misrepresentation. Then, under pretence of being
able to communicate important information, affect
ing to know all about the movements of parties and
the Government, they impose upon the more YER
dant of the letter writer's whilst with others promises
and occasionally something more solid than pro-
misses, are effectual In this way the beggars often
succeed In obtaining publ ,ity for their calumnies
and SANDERS, and rumors calculated to annoy and
embarrass the heads of departments, their subordi-
mates, or the administration itself
Then again these ofice-beggars expend an i'm
mense amount of time and labour in writing anony-
nous letters to influential newspapers, in which
they pretend to communicate in confidential man.
ner the most important information. These letters
generally begin with some piece of authentic news
and then follow, often introduced with great nge-
nuty, the most violent attacks upon the oce-hold-
regret that the President and his administration
are likely to endanger their position in the
confidence Of the democratic party by their
awful, lamentable, deplorable apathy" in
not sweeping from Office all the present incumbents
We have a pile of such letters before us received
within the last few days. More melancholy evil
dence of the decentralization and infamous unscru-
pulousness of these oce-beggars, could not be pre-
sented, than that afforded by these truly exraord-
nary epistles. They are full of the most atrscous
libels on the office-holders of Washington. One
man is denounced because he is wing, and in the
exercise of his duty in opening the letters OF one of
the heads of departments, is guilty of the
grossest dishonesty is represented as
having nothing do, and boasting that his Office in
the public buildings saves him the expense of hiring
one for his own private busness-a third is openly
accused Of plunderng the public treasury, because
he keeps a carriage and builds houses, with salary
of a thousand year-another is represented as
waowing in RIGHTEOUSNESS, and as guilty of crime
too revolving to be named II is really sckening to
read these letters-whole reams of which we re-
ceive in the course of the year. If such atrocous
statements written in cold blood, and sent to us
in the expectation that they will be published what
must be the violence and malignty with which this
fraternity Of SANDER and beggary assal the charac-
ter of the ofice-hoders in private What mean
ness-what dupcity-what treachery-what secret
rancour-what dishonorable espionage and caves
dropping-what utter decentralization must exist in
that strange community at Washington The pic
ture is humiliating in the extreme in the eyes Of
every honorable man-every true patriot-every
genuine friend of free government.
Noyv what ia the cauoo IF oil fh,c Il - ,bo ~.
cognition of the absurd and detesable principle Of
rotation in office. This is designated true demo
cratic principle. We deny it. 1t is principle oI-
posed to reason and common sense, as well as to
propriety and justice. 1t is wicked and detestable
principle. 1t was detestable in the time of Van
Buren,. 1t was detestable in the time of Harrison
1t was detestable in the time of Tyler. And it il
equally detestable in the time of Mr. Polk Applied
to the heads Of departments and the principal officers
Of the.govemment, the priocple is all very WE'LL
But that the subordinate officers-the employees
the govemment-the men who do the mechanical
labor-the men who constitute the working machine
ry Of the State should be periodically removed from
office, or removed on every change in the admins
tration-is principle abominabe, irrational and de
| moralizing. What merchant is there who woulc
apply such principle to his clerks and porters 2
Who is there that does not know that the longer al
individual fulls the duties Of any employment, thu
more competent and valuable he becomes? w,
know the practical truth Of this. Every year add
value to the services of the printer or the newspaps
editor. So with the employees Of the government
The longer they remain in Office the more familiar
they become with their duties, and consequently dis
charge them with increased fidelity, efficiency ane
despatch
Let us hear no more, then, from just, honorable
and intelligent men, of this ridiculous and demoral
zing principle Of rotation in Office" II was rota
ton in office that caused the devil to enter paradise
Enlightened and pure democracy spurns it with in
dignaton. No matter what his politics-no matte
what his opinions, let no offce-holder be removed
except for immortality or incapacty. AS for tn.
"family cliquesm, on which these beggars declain