The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-03-21
THE LoAHES AND tFEsHBs.
How to Bolster up the Party.

In the United States Senate on Thursday,
upon the question to distribute the official pat
ronage of the government among the States
according to their representation, Senator
Sawyer, ofthis State, said:
There are single States In the Union that
have more patronage in the Executive Departr
mentS ofthe government than all the southern
States that have been reconstructed put 10,
gether; nay, there arc single Congressionai
districts in some Of the States that have larger
amount OF patronage at the hands OF the Exec
utiye than any one of the INSTRUCTED states,
taking it as q whole.
One single representative in the other hoase
has been instrumental In putting into one OF
the Executive departments mol less than seven
teen clerks, and went 10 complain tnat ne
could not get another ,ene; and yet when
REPRESENTATIVES from States that are more
remote from the capital try,to get men ap-
pointed to places there they are told there are
no vacancies, all the places are filled, and
these men cannot be turned out because, for.
sooth. they have been put in there, and 1t will
bring a storm about their ears from the repre-
sentatives Of those States:
Mr.. Conkling. From what Ssate! =.
Mr.. Sawyer. / decline TO answer from what
StateA but make the statement that there Is
from one State representative who has in one
department seventeen men, placed there oy
his own influence.
Now, Mr.. President, do not expect the
patronage of this government 90 be distributed
automatically. do not expect the States
that have been recently admitted to representa-
zion here to have their arithmetical proportion
of EMPLOYEES OF the government. 1t would not
be reasonable To expect it; because, in the first
place, the character of the population there Is
such that it is almost impossible to select
enough men to fill their respective quotas OF
executive employment here. But when these
States come here, and offer men capable, VINO
are entirely qualified IN every respecL 10 MI
these positions-as well quailned as tne men
from Ohio, or Massachusetts,, or New York
and then are told that all tue places arc nlleu
from those States, and that no vacancies can
he made for them. I submit that that is prac-
tical injustice and the worst possible policy for
the Republican party.
The Republican party in the South, If in any
mart of the country, needs bolstering by this
official patronage 1t is the vice OF politics
that public patronage should be necessary for
the propapation of correct political principle:
hnt the fact exists that official patronage is
mower. and it belongs te the party that exer-
cises the powers of government to distribute
that patronage in the way OF Strengthening
That political party which is represented 6y the
Administration: and vher single section Oh
the country takes to itself all that there is to
rive In this way and says, after 1t is all taken,
there are no vacancies, nothing can be given
to another section of the country, because.
forsooth, its representatives. were not as per
sistent when the appointments were made, not
as pushing and pertinacious all those from lnat
section. submit that it is q practical injustice,
and it It is the worst possible policy.