The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-12-14

wreng, we must take away from them the
power of doing it. 1t is now generally re-
cognized that the only way to cure the cor
ruption arising out of special legislation is to
take away from Legislatures the power of pass
ing special laws "with money in them
There is no use in forbidding bribery as long
as we leave it worth anybody's while to bribe.
The way to prevent the sale or abuse OF the
power of nominating cadets at West Point, is
to take it away from Congressman altogether:
everybody.is now of that opinion. We can
not frighten the Whittemores and Buffers by
the threat of expulsion; they will always be
ready to take the risk for the sake of the
money.
So, also, with regard to assessments on
ofice-holders, and all the other abuses and
corruptions attendant on the present system
of office-seeking. The remedy for them is
to relieve the office-holder from his obliga-
tions to the party for his Office. If he gets
his place not by influence but by merit and
is sure of retaining it as long as he behaves
himself well, there will be no inducement for
him to pay anybody for getting it for him, or
for the privilege of retaining it, and he will
laugh at anybody who attempts to 'assess'
him for political purposes OF course,
if he is an ardent politician, he
can subscribe to campaign ex-
pcnses, if he pleases but if he does
not care for these things, and has other uses
for his money, he will decline, and thus all
necessity for prosecuting anybody, and hning
or imprisoning anybody on account of assess
ments, will be avoided. Very few Govern
ment clerks would give any money for politi-
cal purposes if they could help it. Their
salaries are very small, generally too small; in
the case of men with families dependent on
them, wretchedly small. The reason why they
pay assessments is either that they regard
them as part of the price for which they OBJ
tanned their offices, or fear that if they re-
fused to pay assessments they would lose their
offices.
Change the mode of getting and keeping
places in the public service, and we reach the
root of the difficulty, but it cannot be reached
in any other way. The best members of
Congress are almost as much disgusted with
the present state of things as the Office
holders and the public. To the men who are
really occupied with the work of legislation,
the whole business of finding places for party
adherents is dreadful bore and nuisance.
The pathetic appeal for deliverance from it
which Mr.. Kelley, of Philadelphia, put forth
last winter, expressed the feeling OF nearly
every man in both houses whom the country
is really inerested in keeping there. A mem.
Der who has his mind occupied-as every mem.
Der ought to have his mind occupied-with the
tariff and the currency, and the internal
| revenue and the land grants, and the banks,
! and the Indian question, has neither time mol
attention to spare for the work of getting the
| Browns into the Treasury or the Smiths into
the Custom House. If this class of legisla
tors could be allowed to settle the matter
there would be speedy end to the whole
nuisance. But the difficulty is that the mum.
Der of those who owe their seats in Congress
to persons whom they have undertaken tc
reward, and whose minds are constantly occu
pied with the readlest means of retaining
them, is very great and they are suff
ciently opposed to any change to make
change impossible, till it is demanded by
stronger pressure of public opinion than nov
exists. There is, however, hardly Congress
sional district in which evidences of deeI
feeling on this subject do not begin to ap
pear, and every year is sure to make it deeper
The great body of the voters do not want
! offices, either for themselves their friends
and do not care who gets them, provided the
work of the Government is properly done
But they do want the time of their members
| of Congress to be devoted to the public bust
ness and they are beginning to understand
very rapidly that until some change is made
not over half of it, and in too many cases
none of it, will be available for this purpose