The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1869-08-05
A Word with the President.

Commenting on some of the appoint
ments of the President, the New York
Ecening Post (Republican) says, in speak
ing of the diplomatic and consular SER
vice:
Here he seems to have chosen men
with very little regard-in some notorious
instances with utter disregard-of fitness
or character 1t was not creditable to
him to send as Minister to France a man
unfit by lack of education, by all his
training, and by his ignorance of almost
everything required of a foreign Minister
1t was better to send him to France than
to keep him in the State Department, but
it is neither right nor decent to pay per
sonal debts by such appointment, or to
crafty the ill-judged ambition of favor
tie by assigning him to a post the duties
of which he cannot fulfill.
But Mr. Washburne's appointment be-
comes creditable, almost, in the light of
that of Gen. Sickles to be Minister to
Spain That the President should have
persisted in this choice after the public
exposure of Sickle's history, after the
protest of most respectable journals of
both parties, shows, it seems to us, more
disregard of public opinion and of right
and decency than is proper in the ruler of
a free country.
Some of his other foreign appointments
also show but little judgment in the Pres
ident; they were made, either TO crafty
personal favOrites, which is grossly wrong,
or at the bidding of politicians, whom he
was bound to resist upon his own theory
of the duties of the Chief Executive
If we look at the consular appointments,
again we find that many men of ability
and experience have been removed to
give place to persons who, whatever their
merits may be, at least lack experience
For instance, Mr. Elihu Burritt has held
for some time minor consulship in an
English city He was, as we happen to
know, OF considerable service to our coun-
try during the war; he is capable and
faithful officer, and he ought to have been
retained, if he could not be promoted to
a better place. He has been sent adrift.
There were no complaints against him
there was no pretence that he had miscon-
Quoted himself, or in anything failed to
fulfill his duties. But the least faithful OF
capable public officer could not have been
dismissed with less courtesy than Mr.
Burritt
Again Mr. Eugene Schuyler, who has
for several years held the place of Consul
at Moscow, has been suddenly dismissed
also for no cause, except that some less
capable man might be gratified with the
place We say less capable-for Mr.
Schuyler is one of the very few Americans
who speak and write Russian; he is famil-
lar with the people, knows the country, is
gentleman of capacity and probty, as
well as a scholar; and is III every way a
most creditable representative of this
country abroad He has been dismissed
by the administration. There are no
charges against him; he has done nc
wrong, nor omitted any duty; but his
Government does not hesitate to degrade
him by summary dismissal.
We could mention other instances of as
grave injustice. IL is not pleasant to see
the public service thus maladminiStered un-
der the rule of Chief Magistrate who, we
were taught to believe, would set aside the
old and miSchleVOus system of rotation i'm
office, and make no removals but for
cause. The election of Grant promised a
reform in this respect which all thought
full citizens had long felt To be needed. Ii
is impossible for the Government to obtain
faithful and efficient service, if its officers
are to be turned adrift at the within or Ca
price of their chief, and regardless of the
TACT That they have performed their duties
well. Gen. Grant must be conscious that
he could not have successfully managed
the armies on the principle on which he is
now trying 10 manage some parts of the
civil service If he had set at the heads of
corps his tavOrites, regardless of their
fitness or character; if he had not only re-
fused promotion, but degraded to the ranks
faithful and capable subordinate officers
If he had shown himself obliviovs of merit.
he would never have won the battles
which have made him justly famous.
Nor can we help remarking that those
appointments which are commonly and
justly regarded as the worst ere those
which have been made by himself In the
revenue service he has intcrfered but little;