The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-11-17
THE DECEMBER MAGAZINES
ssTuE ATI.ANTIC.v

oa1n treatment OF MS OerVanJS; Inc
Dead Level" ''The Mormon Prophets Trage-
dy" 'The Brick Moon, III; american In
dustry in the Census" ''Mr Bruce;" ''The
Increase of Human Life, ," III; ''In my Vine
yard" ''The Foe in the Household X
''Life-Saving as a Business Duty" 'John;'
''Under the Midnight Sun, and ''Reviews and
Literary Notices"
From Mr.. James Partons article entitled
''Uncle Sans Treatment of his Servants" we
make the following suggestive extracts about
the practical workings of our political
machine:-
1t is ludicrous to observe sometimes how en-
tirely the public service is lost sight of under
this insensate system, and what absolute pup
pets the lower officials are in the games of the
higher. If q member of Congress- for example,
bolts on an administration measure the Presi-
dent turns out of Office the postmasters the
lighthouse keepers, custom house clerks, and
navy yard laborers who owed their appoint
ments to him. There is something about this
so eXquistely absurd, that 1t is provocative
OF laughter rather than horror, as when we read
OF those usages of barbarous tribes which have
the peculiarly of being both deadly and silly.
We are so constituted that murder itself be-
comes laughable if a Chinaman is hung up by
his pigtail, and suicide excites mirth when we
read of japanese nobleman going aside and
quietly ripping himself up. So, when we read
OF Buchanan turning mechanic out of his shop
because n New York member voted against
Lecompton, we can hardly resist the comic in
| congruity of the transaction. / cannot read
| seriously such passage as the following from
| the Coyode Report, although know that pre-
cisely the same system prevails to-day, and that
| it is as monstrous as it is ridiculous
The division of patronage among members
| was well known in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
| Each master workman understood to whom he
| and each of his fellows owed their places. Thus
constructive enpinppr
| and the master block-maker represented Mr..
| Sickles; the master painter represented Mr..
| Learing; the master spar-maker, master black
smith, and timber-nspector represented
| Mr. Maclay. Lawrence Cohane was
| appointed master carpenter upon the
nomination of Mr. Haskin, in the gene
! raj division of patronage. He was re-
| moved on account of Mr.. Haskins course upon
the Lecompton Constitution"
Each of these representative master mechanics
selects and discharges the men of his shop, and
he is expected to do this with the most implicit
Difference to the will and political interest of the
member who caused his appointment. But to
| this, it seems other members sometimes object.
| Thus, Mr. Haskin procured the appointment of
Master Carpenter Cohane but we find the Hon.
| John Cochrane addressing the unfortunate Co.
| hane thus:-"I 2riU have my proportion of men
! under you; if you do not give them | will lodge
charges against YOU he t1nod will make @h
| The bearer will bring me an answer" The
| master painter, about the same time, took the
| very great liberty of dscharging a man for
| habitual drunkenness The mans member of
| master painter in consequence:-"You may set
| it down rs fact that will have you removed
| if / can, if you don't put that man back again.
| The drunkard was not put back again. and the
| master painter 1CdS removed. Another member
| writes to the master of one of the shops:-''As q
| general thing, Hugh Mclaughlin, master labo-
| rer, knows who my friends are and he will con-
| fer with you at all times"
/ Tn ohS urd no Of
| the Navy himself did not disdain to mingle, and
| of course we find him siding with the aggrleved
| member and adding the weight of his positive
| order to effect the members purpose. Equally
| of course, it was the refuse of the mechanics of
| New York and Brooklyn who usually came to the
| yard backed with members demand for their
employment; and thus the Brooklyn Navy Yard,
once the pride of ship-buiiders, to be employed
in which was formerly coveted honor, was
reduced to q mere political machine, where
idleness theft, INSTRUMENTATION, fraud and gross
neglect OF duty prevailed to an alarming de-
gree" OF course! An employer who treats his
workmen thus deserves to be served so, and
always will be. The wonder is, that any ship
built in the yard kept atioat long enough to
reach Sandy Hook.
| A striking case in point, which clearly illus
trates the working of the system, was furnished
| by a late collector of the New York Custom
House, who desired to represent the United
| States ut the Court of st. Petersburg. The
| Senate frustrated his ambition, and he took his
revenge by turning out of the Custom House
| thirty clerks and porters whom a New York
Senator had recommended for appointment. A
| gentleman who was present when the thirty new
! men were sworn in asked the Collec
tor whether the vacancies had beer
| created in order to retaliate upon the Sena.
tor for his adverse vote. He did not deny the
soft impeachment, though he pretended that the
| thirty dismissed were incompetent" He con
| cluded his answer to the question in these
words:-"Blood is thicker than water. If a mar
cheats me ! am going to pay him off for it.
did not want the mission to Russia particularly
1t would have cost me ten thousand dollars q
| year to go there. But then, when man makes
| up his mind to do thing he don't like to be
| cheated out of it, There have not been more
than thirty new appointments made" Thirty
men suddenly deprived of their means of living
| and thirty more lured perhaps from stable em.
| ployments in order to crafty the spite of
person whom it had been an affront to Russia tC
| send thither as a representative of the United
States How foolish it is for us to complain OF
the alleged peculations of custom-house Off
cials! Has it ever been possible, in any age
| or country, to get decent and capable
| men to serve on these terms; to be the puppets
and instruments of such person for hun
| dred and fifty dollars a month! You can get
| thieves on such terms. You can get fools
| on such terms. You can get necessitous
honest men for n short time on such terms
But Uncle Sam will never be well served so long
as he can stand by with his hands in his pockets
while his servants are thus treated.
'You don't work enough to earn your salary
said chief of bureau in this same custom house
to one of the clerks. ''Work !" exclaimed the
young man, II worked to get here; you surely
dont expect me to work any longer :.
This anecdote, which sums up the system In 9
sentence, is one of the hundreds OF good things
! | collected by the indefatigable industry OF Mr.
I | Jenckes. lie relates another story 10 snow The
5 marvellous carelessness with which men arr