Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-11-22
Gbt fireman.
MONTPELIER, VI,
WEDNESDAY, NOV. -, 1871.
lie Grant Programme for Reform

The Grant Programme for Reform.
a he New York Tunes sees no necessity
Tor any opposition to Grant in order to car
ry forward all needed reforms in the admin
istration Of public sftirs. 1t assumes that
all these desired reforms can be worked out
by the Republican Tarsy, with Grant as
President. The Times adds.
To do this, would oaly require a courageous
and sincere advance in the direction alreadf
marked cut BY the reform legislation Ol tn
party, ami approved by It's president Every
ems Iteration urges this advance. Patriotism
AMI honor demand it, and consistency and
sound policy second the demand.
The Times further indicates what it would
have done, IN the following paragraph
Let the next Congress advance carefully,
but decisively, toward revenue reform; let
the pTesident-as his attorney general adj
vIses him that it IL bis exclusive privilege to
DO -inaugurate genuine ard cXacting civil
service reform with such scope he him
SET recommended in his last message and
what would the opponents Of the Repub-
hctn party have 70 stand uron2
This reads well, and it Is well. It Is true
enough that the President has more power
than all other departments Of the govern
ment put together to reform the Republican
party or at least to reform the admiiIistra-
ton Of the government with that party ia
power The difference between the Times
AMI some other journals is not in respect TO
what Gen Grant and Congress can do, but
in respect TO what it Is likely they will do.
The acts Of men are better marks Of char
ac -er than promises or professions. Men
can only be Judged rightly by what they are
AMI not by what they pretend to be. Gen
Grant has been in office nearly three years.
and, as the Attorney General advises him,
the work OF inaugurating civil service re
form has during all that time belonged ex-
clusively to him. Yet, during all that time.
the civil service Of the government has been
ju55 as much party machine as It was IN
der a Democratic administration just as
much party machine as the New York Gus
tom house was in charge Of that friend
Of Gen. Grant and the New York Times,
ION Murphy. Right under the eye Of the
President clerks have been regu arly as
sessed to defray the expenses of party ma
clinery and the only prominent official,
Gen. Cox, Secretary Of the Interior, who
protested against such a use Of the civil ser
vice. was without ceremony driven from pr
fee The President has for his jnfdent:lI
advisers such men as Senator Cameron, who
simply laughs at all efforts at civil service
reform as only the ridiculous nonsense of
the honest folks whose votes are all well
enough, but who don't know how to
party machine. We think, therefore, even
the Times might see that those who are in
earnest in the work Of reforming the civil
service may reasonably enough distruzt the
sincerity and the ability Of Gen Grant t.
courageousIy carry forward the work Of pa
rifying the Republican party and the ad-
ministration of the government Of this nox-
ious principle Of pa rty patronage.
There is no doubt that the President has
the power to inaugurate an exciting ard
genuine civil service reform. There i great
doubt whether he can he much aided in this
work by legislation; but he can be aided by
a correct public opinion. But the President
will never inaugurats this work 0v para
graphs in his annual MESSAGES or BIZ the az
pointment of missions That Is ONLY
playing with the question to delude the pca-
pie with the idea that something Is going 10
be done, when the President has himself the
power to strike a blow at the very heart D
the evil If Gen. Grant was really in err
nest in this matter he could issue an order
as effective as those against the Ku-Kiux-
announcing that henceforth neither he nor
any subordinate of the Executive would re-
move or allow t. be removed any official who
was capable and honest and faithful, no mat
ter what his political opinions might pc.
This would be good beginning, and, if put
IN practice, would be a severe blow to poIiti-
cal rings Of all kinds Whether the Times
would think more of Grant for such an act
may be doubtful. Others certainly would
disapprove of such course. Cameron and
Chandler would probably tell Grant that he
fool and the party couldn't live six
months under that kind Of administration.
But it is very certain that honest men all
over the country would look upon such
step as amounting to something besides talk.
and would welcome it as a return to strict
honesty 10 government. But wouldn't the
man be reckoned amazingly: credulous who
should pretend to believe that Gen. Grant
would, either soon or ever, inaugurate such a
practical measure of civil service reform?