Daily national Democrat., 1858-11-11
How Power Is Maintained.

AS an exhibition of the means by which
politicians seek to maintain their power
when once in office, we refer to the following
letter recently addressed to certain members
of Congress by the Collector of Customs for
the port of New York:
CUsToM House,
New York, Sept II.
SIR: Being about to nominate to the See.
retary of the Treasury for confirmation list
of appointments for this office, | would be
gratified to receive from each Administration
member of Congress from this city list of
the names of the persons in his district he
desires appointed, with the offices attached.
AS the number must necessarily he limited,
you will please place the names in the order
in which you are most desirous for speedy
action, and will do the best can As you
must be aware | cannot make appointments
without making vacancies by removals, you
will please furnish the names of such persons
holding office under me in your district whom
you are desirous shall not be removed.
Yours very respectfully,
AUGUSTUS ScHELL.
The administration members of Congress-
support the policy of the President because
he has the control of immense patronage,
and will not bestow it upon those. or at the
request of those, who do not travel in the
road he marks out. The Port Collector OBJ
tans his situation through the influence OF
Administration members of Congress :" his
bread and butter depend upon keeping on
the right side of those members To do this
he must be careful not to have any subordin.
ates who are obnoxious to the NJ C.'s, and
consequently, he will not run the risk Of
offending them by even nominating a man
without first consulting their tastes; charac-
ter, capacity, the wishes of the public, are as
nothing compared with the will of the Cad
ministration members of Congress-" Next
to the Administration, they are all powerful
and it is essential to the interests of place
hunters that they be assiduously courted.-
OF course, under this system, the various
subordinate offices are filled with men who
will go through fire and water for the Ad.
ministration, and will do anything to carry
out the behests of its head. The system in
vogue in New York is in vogue in every town
in the United States, and by its workings the
occupant of the Presidential Chair has at
least so, 900 able bodied, shrewd, and poiti-
cally energetic men bound to him by the
strongest of all tes-sef.interest These
10000 men have at least 100000 friends and
followers, who feed at their hands and live
off their bounty, and are valuable auxiliaries.
This entire force of 100000 men, distributed
throughout the country, and receiving mil
lions Of dollars annually from the Govern
ment Treasury, are continually at work TO
advance the interests and carry out the plans
of the select few to whom they are indebted
for their positions. They work not, care not
for the interest or wishes of the people
Their aim is to please the Administration
members of Congress" and receive the appro-
baton of the Administration itself The
head of the Administration thinks for all
these men, furnishes principles as well as
means of physical support for them, issues
his commands to them, and they obey with
alacrity. 1t is by the regularly organized sys-
TEN of nepotism (if we may be allowed the
use Of the word) and espionage, exhibited in
the above letter, that a few politicians expect
to hold on to place and power. This detest-
able system, if not put an end to by the pa
triotism and good sense of the people, will
soon result in the subversions of all their 20
litical liberties and their dearest rights as
citizens The terrible results likely to flow
from it should arouse all to a contemplation
of its hideousness, and induce serious exer-
tions to put it Downs. T. Call.