Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-11-17
LET US HAVE A CIVIL SERVICE.

| tween the upper and neither mill-Stones
LET Us HAVE A CIVIL SERVICE,
Let US have peace" is every body's
motto, and we will have peace, after
while and after sort But desirable as
peace is, there are other things as much
needed. We want honesty and capacity
in Office. The lack of these qualities in
public officials is the great evil of the
times. If in the past ten years, we had
had in the various departments of the
public service, men competent, mentally
and morally, to fill them, there would
have been no civil war. Peace and good
government would have prevailed. Two
thirds Of the members of Congress in
both branches, and as large a proportion
of the State Legislatures, are unfit for
their positions. They lack qualifications
both natural and acquired. Such fellows
are partisans, greedy always, and corrupt
upon the slightest opportunity. They
got offices by being partisans and nothing
else. Their only hope to retain public
station is TO be extreme partisans. Out of
their weakness and conscious unfitness is
bred the corruption of the day.
The better class Of citizens do not and
cannot compete with such men for the
! important Offices Of the nation and this
evil is growing day by day. A man Of
capacity and refinement does not desire
an office that vulgar fool can get more
easily than he. If a change does not soon
take place, men Of responsibility will re-
fuse to have them. Who wants TO 90 to
Congress after men, who a dozen years
ago would have felt honored to be Justice
Of the Peace, have become distinguished
as the Hon. Mr. So-and-So, the able and
efficient representative How this thing
is to be remedied it is impossible to see.
Indeed, with the extension of the suf-
frage it is likely TO grow worse. A most
saIutary measure, however, has been in
troduced into Congress by Mr. Jencks
OF Rhode Island, which should become a
law. 1t proposes to have a standard of
qualification for every appointed officer IN
the civil service, and a board of exam
liners to apply the tests. The details Of
the bill are admirable. In its present
stringent shape, itperhaps could not pass,
but the preservation of the forms Of the
government will soon require some step in
that direction. 1t would be the greatest
blessing that could bclall this county if
some system could be adopted that would
put a stop to the ofIice-sceking mania.
Out Of the five million or more of voters
in the late Presidential election. the sue.
cessful party getting but a little more
than onc-halG say 2,75O,OOO votes it is
safe to say there are 100000 men who
expect to get an office. And 1t is safer |
still 10 say that not one in hundred |
have any qualifications whatever, and |
further that nine-tenths of the offices |
will be filled by the poorest in the lot.
On this subject, anabIe contemporary |
says
From all quarters there comes ND the |
cry Of fraud, Democrats charging Radi-
Gals and Radicals charging Democrats
with election frauds, and the country at
large incenscd at frauds by Federal off
Gals IN almost every department OF the
government connected with the public
funds. The root Of these evils Is one and
the same. Men cheat at the ballot box
to get into office, and when they get into
office they steal Eutii turned out. The
immense value Of the public patronage
prompts election fraud, and the uncer-
taiuty OF Office prompts fraud on the
Treasury. To potter away here. a. the |
Union League SageS are doing at an al
legged election fraud, or to potter away
there, As Mr.. johnson is doing at one
form OF fraud in the revenue, is small
business. The axe must be laid at
the root Of the tree TO fell the
updN' A4DilllS til limo mere OF /
there rather strengthens the rest than
otherwise. We must begin at the be-
ginning, and that is to take the patronage
of the Federal government out of tho
market. The old maxim was, to the
victor belongs the Spoils. The new
maxim must be. no spOls. The amount
of the patronage it is not likely will be
from the necessities Of
the growth Of the republic, it is likely
even 10 augment; but when once dis
posed OF it can be left unchanged. In.
stead Of cleaning out of the depart
ments every four years, just when the
are beginning to learn their
work, and a furious influx in their stead
of ignorant and greedy partiSanS whose
only claim is that they are partisans, We
need civil soryica-just rs we have
a military service and a naval service
adaptive, and permanent.
Foreign countries have such organiza-
tons and their result has beenI ound to be
honesty, efficiency, and as much of econ
0my as is consistent with ctfcctual oper-
alton.
Give u civil service, then, you Con-