Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1869-02-11


Hon q w woodwards admirable
speech against the civil service bill Is
a complete demolition Of that measure.
lis supposed merit, "competilive eS
ANIMATION Of applicants" "a shown to
be no remedy atall for tho evils of our
day The topics incidental 10 tho sub
icot were treated in q very eloquent
way by Mr. Woodward. A few ex.
tracts may give some idea OF his
speech:
But tho honorable gentleman from
Rhode Island, shocked by tho unparal-
lelcd corruption that has crcpt into
our civil service in the last eight years
exclaims, "What is to bo done 2
Like an honest man aud true patriot
he looks at the ghastly condition OF
public affairs, and cries out in agony
of soul, "Who shall deliver US from the
body of this death 2" lie has told us
on this floor what ho said in his New
York lecture, that one hundred mil
lions of the peoples's revenues are an
nually diverted into the pockets Of
fraudulent officers and their confeder-
ates. Think of it, one hundred mil
lions q year If this were collected
it would pay the national debt within
the time in which it is payable. And
the people who are thus robbed pay
over thirty millions a year to support
sixty thousand oihco-holders, among
whom the robbers are to be looked for.
What proportion of the thirty millions
goes to the robbers and how much TO
honest and faithful officers, | have no
means of determining, and the honor
able gentleman has not found out.
But the case is bad enough as present
ed AS the gentleman has said, the
payments to the civil service are not
niggardly. They are largerthan those
paid in France or Germany, or, except
TO the higher Offices, in England.
Observe the gentleman from Rhode
Island cannot complain of want Of
skill in these officials, but only lack
of honesty. While there are many
conscientious men among them, there
are dexterous rogues, generally exces-
sively loyal, who could pass any com
petitive examination you will be likely
To institute, but who are destitute of
that common honesty which it is no
credit to possess but great disgrace
to lack. Willyour competitive exami.
nation keep such fellows out of the
civil service Willyour board descend
into the hearts of the competitors and
so try the reins of men as TO decide
who can and who cannot resist the
fascination Of the whisky ringl. What
the gentleman from Rhode Island is
after is an honest man.
Sir, if | believed the geutleman's
bill would take out of the civil service
the Joseph Surfaces, the sleek hypo-
critics whose mouths are ever full of
glozing speeches and moral sentiments
and frothy professions of loyalty, and
in their stead would introduce men Of
the hardy, homely honesty of the
olden time, l would support it with
all my might. Ay, ! would 90 with
him who would 60 to the furthest to
effect such reform. For, question
less, the great want Of our time is
honest men. Merchants and bankers,
manufacturers and corporations, can
find plenty of competent clerks with
out an expensive board Of examiners
So can the government But honest
men, men who arc in the secret reces-
ses of the official closet just what they
appear to be in public, men who un.
consciously exact their manhood by
cultivating reverence and humility,
who habitually render unto Cesar the
things that are Caesars, and unto God
the thifgs that are Gods, men who
would feel stain more keenly than a
wound-men Of this stamp and type
alas, alas, how rare they are If we
had an Aristides "the JUST in our rev.
enue service, ! fear we should initiate |
the Athenians and Danish him. The |
noble Theban, Epaminondas, lived a
life of purity in the midst of tempta.
tons, and il is said never told a lie |
even in jest. All down the track Of
time such occasional instances of in.
flexible honesty are TO be seen, like |
lighthouses along barren and dreary |
coast, and our own history is resplend- |
ent with names that were not born to.
die. But in the times upon which we
have fallen virtuous examples com.
mand no respect. We are a fast poo
pie. We boast of progress. Nothing
but steam and lightning can serve us.
The almighty dollar is the god of our
idolatry, and though we set up as
many lesser deitics as were ever found
in the Pantheon, the supremest devo.
tion of too many officeholdeB is to
that woodworking deity who can
make moderate official salary issue
in few years into princoly fortune.
And as token of our extreme degra.
dation it is worth noticing that we no
longer fashion our idol out of gold and
silver, but form him out of nasty rags
and whoever heard, lately, the gentle
man from Massachusetts, Mr. Butler)
and the gentleman from Ohio, (Mr.
Cary,) will bear me witness there are
not wanting priests on TINS 10Or TO
raise the shameful cry, "These be our
gods"
Why, sir, in Democratic times, when
the Government collected and disburs.
ed only from sixty to ninety millions
Of revenue, we had no such scandalous
exhibitions Of official corruption as the
honorable gentleman has now pressed
upon our attention. Occasional delin-
quencies undoubtedly occurred and
are always to be looked for in widely
extended operations where greatnum.
bers of agents are necessarily employ
ed, but they were not 80 frequent or
gross as materially to affect the rev.
enues of our general character But
with the accession of the Republican
party came disunion and war and
debt and a redundant paper currency,
and with these call our woes"
To be more specifc-whcu the gov.
arnpnnnt feaues nrouieag Ia t,o,y ,,,,,,,,,. !