Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1852-02-27
OmciaI Patronage.

Official Patronage. ~
The rights and liberties Of the people are never
entirely safe, when the executive department of the
government ha, at its disposal, and under its imme-
diate control, the majority Of the public Offices
This enormous patronage often becomes the instru-
ment OF illegtmate power, and enables ambitious
men and their designing cliques, to subvert the OBJ
Jects and purposes for which republican governments
are instituted. 1t places ia one mans hands a
power, which he may WELD for partizan and selfish
purposes in opposition to all the spirit and all the
principles of true democracy
Il creates dangerous rival to the national sover-
eighty, and places in that rivals hands, the uncon-
troled disposal of the most efficient means for win
ming personal adherents and party tools. The pres
ent enormous patronage which the Presideat Of the
Unted States dispenses and controls is sufficient 10
cause alarm in the breasts of al true patriots And
the steady increase of that patronage seems to de-
mana that some means be adopted check and COM
pletely reform this process Decentralization
The expenditures Of the Government, nearly all OF
which under the con,rol of the Administration.
have been for certain periods as foiiows:-In 1880
$l3 229, 5Ss; in 1910, $22,sss ,56; and in 1852,
debt; showing that the expenditures Of the Govern
ment have nearly doubled in every ten years since
1880. In addition to this there is under the con.Os
OF the Administration large portion of the press Of
the country, by means ofthe publication of the laws
and particularly OF the public advertisements
The following are few items of expenditure over
which the President has q direct indirect con-
troll ,
Executive Department, $I,12O, e62 o.
81 554s496 10
Surveyors and other CLERKS, 60, $50 81
| Officers of Mint and branches, 43 800 90
All the Offices yielding this enormous of mon
ey under the direct csnuo of the Pre- sident and
be dispensed to whomsoever he pIe;ases, except
the legislative branches ct the governm ents of the
territories, an amount of power which our fathers
Indignantly denied to The British King when these
States were colonies. The foreign off ces which the
President dispose Of yield in the gross, about
$500, 600 year, and how those Offices are generally
filled, let Hodges and others bear witness
MIR. Smart, of Manes in speech in Congress on the
4h of February, says in reference to this same sub
| ject of government patronage
81 find that there upwards of one hundred COL
lection districts the United States and The Secre-
tary Of the Treasury tells his annual report that
he will need 81 600 pay the salaries and 9TH
| Ell expenses incident to these collection districts.
| Take tins branch OF the service alone, and l ask
this House if tdoes not present OF enormous
patronage of the Government! Ia the cities and
| towns where this immense is expended by the
apponees Of the President, the publishers OF leading
! newspapers are the recipients Of favor from the
President, and willingly do his bidding.
By such instruments, influence Is made in the great
cities of The country TO control the Union. This in
iuence exhibits itself in the shape of meetings,
solves, speeches, &C., and is often called public
tment, when in truth it proceeds from the dictation
1.-THE Executive and is merely the emanaton of his
whl. 1t is true, that when the people are in a
state of healthy excitement, they do their work,
and salaried men compelled to stand out of their
way. But in times of apathy there is always danger
from the Vaccinations OF the hundred thousand
who fed from the Treasury Of the nation. There
are it is true, many honorable exceptions among the
| men holding office; but the great majority oil those
who receive Office from the hands of the Executive,
respond it'll aacrity to his commands These ref
eences to the patronage OF the Executive are sut-
cent, trust, satisfy all of its magniiudeo salts
fly all that it has increased beyond the increase of
popuation-te satisfy all that ii is liable to become
dangerous power unless its control is to some extent
modified"
Under the administration of John Quincy Adams
the whole expenditure of the government did not ex
coed $I300000O yearly, now the expenditure is
nearly $50 900, 900. In the city Of New York
alone there are thousand employees in and about
the Custom House, with salaries averaging one thou
sand dollars year. In Boston there is powerful
phaanx and in all the commercial cities there
attached to this one department alone numerous Off
GERS. FThcse men constitute political regiments !;
they are all drilled and organized for political ac-
ton. They hive leisure which their political chief
secures to them by his official patronage, and which
the peoples money enables them to employ for their
partizan interests, to the utter subverson oil the
public interest.
such state Of things ought not to be permitted
to exist in a republican country. The more popular
the basis of election to all public Offices becomes,
will be better for public morals and faer for liberty.