New-York tribune., 1871-09-12
THE ONE-TERM PRINCIPLE
BY HORACE GREELEY
From Th TnLarx I'm nr,ch~~

are seldom sounded In the gro shops; its merits ara
| not appreciated by the lower order of ward and
crossroads politicians. Many nf these apprehend
from its triumph dlminution Of their personal con
| scGn"nc"; and not wholly without reason. Tho
packers and managers Of county and district con-
veDtions also dislike it; they do not SEQ how they
to pay for services required and rendered if that
Reform shall ever be really effected. To those. ON
the other hand, who seek first good government.
through capable. efficient and frugal public servants
the agitation Of this Reform is bow of promise,
and its achievement w0nd DO hailed with unal.Oyed
and heartfelt satisfaction e.
What dors this Reform cOn'cmplate'
Primarily. the selection for Offices Of those best
fitted therefor, and whOse intelligent and faithful
di,cAarCo Of their duties may bo confidently antic
pitcd A. press ut, are oil aware that fitness is
and must be secondary, If not rrnotcr.
sdcraton. President or Governor, who was NOM
mated bee III was talcIatcd that lie would nts
we'll havint been duly Tor wduyl elected, is at once
overwhelmed with applications for tho Offices at lis
disposal Each aspirant presents an inventory Of
his " claims" backed by qure or so of certificates
and recommendations, written or signed under
moral Gur'ss, ly men who barely know him, or who
know him too well so to write or ign with good
consciencr. Some recommend lin because he has
relatives friends who must not be aienated; Others
because they hOpe to usc Linn i'll the future. The
longest recommendations attest, not the aspranti
merits, but his assldnty and bis imputicnce IN hut
ton-holing and boring. They ale duly foi war'ed to
the Executive Chief whose choice they to infu.
ence and hc-unablc TO appoint every onc-citlc
defcTs to the longest rOll Of signatures, or to the
wish Of the Representative of the District in Con.
gress if he be of the right stripe. or of sOue Local
magnate. if he is not and makes hap-hazard sclec
in, irne ia finn
either exacted or regarded.
How much better is this than the absurdity Of
hereditary lcgislatoIs' If our Federal and local
functionarics were chosen by lot, would they aver
age worse than they now dol
That "Tho King can do wrong" If taken h,er
ally is irrational. If understood to mean only that
he is elevated above all temptation to mlSrur-tnat
his doing wrong would argue moral If not mental
insanity-tdat he cannot be presumed to have acted
within his prerogative under the sway OF any un'
worthy motive-then the maxim becomes intelligr
BILE. The justification of royalty is its alleged ten
dency to place tho chief ruler of nation above all
temptation to regard and pursue his own interest al
the expense of the public veal.
TIE BEGINNINGS OF PRESIDENTIAL PATRONAGE.
In the infancy of our country, the Presidents OF
Congress- were tiIst servants of the Republic but
with next to no patronage and very little power.
No one can give tho names of those Presidents any
mora than of the last half dozen chiefs Of the swiss
Confederation. OF each class 1t may be salj that
they
"Come like shadows, 80 depart"
Tho Federal Constitution made great change
The President elected by the People for four years
surrounded by able assistants, who became
Though not by that Instruments drectiOnl his Cab
met, and authorized to nominate most of the civil
as well as the military and naval officers of the
Union, rapidly grew in power and consequence 1t
was not however, until Jefferson had-not with.
out apologies and prOtestatiOns-cleary enunciated
the principle that every civil subordinate waA
liable to removal at the Presidents discretion.
though for no higher than parti, consid-
eratons, that the power OF that functionary
suddenly swellcd to gigantc and threatening dmen.
sions. Mr.. Jefferson made few removals for politics
sake but he asserted the principle and practced upon
it sufficiently to admonish the great body Of hn
functiOnaies that the sword over their heads hung
suspended by a hair. Jackson twenty-eight yeaM
later pushed the doctrine to its legitimate results
Under his rule every postmaster, tide-waiter, dep
uty marshal, &c, became mere tool, to be dis
carded and replaced as the ambition the caprice
Of his lord and master should dictate. The Senate,
when asked to approve a nominee, had business
to inquire into his predecessors removal or to seek
the Presidents reasons therefor: it could rghtfully
cessor and confirm or reject him thereupOn.
BY this time, the growth of the country, and the
still more rapid expansion of Federal patronage had
80 increased the power of the President that, under
the Jacksonian Interpretation. his Office one OF
more than regal power. No British sovereign of the
last half-century could strain his prerOpaive az
jackson did, without losing lis crown if not hn
head
The evil that do lives after them.
Jackson after a stormy reign of eight years. gave
place to the mild hammered, plausible Van Buren,,
who was very soon deserted by the popular tide
which had usually borne his predecessor on its top
most wave, and was badly beaten III his canvass fol
second term. But the Whgs who succeeded To
power were alike unable and unwilling to return To
the salutary rule of Washington and the Adamses
who regarded none but the immediate counselots OF
the Chief Executive as subject tOrmova from office
except for reason which commented itself to gooo
men of all parties alike. To dispace an ciclentand
worthy collector OF postmaster because of his per
verse poljtics would have seemed TO Washingtons
sheer impOssibty
TO TIE yICTORs BELONG THE SPollS.
Rut those who had for twelve years endured and
wrthcd under the scorpion whip of Jacksonsm
would not consent to be still excluded from ONCE
after they had Overthrown their Prosecutors INC
"bloody instructions" which they had Deeh taueh'
they were eager to commend in turn to their IN
structors SO general sweep of the Jacksonah IN
cumbents was decreed and, though somewhat mod
iii ed by the speedy death of President Harrison "aA
in good part executed. Thenceforward TO TINS noun
ito the yctors belong the spois OF the vanqu'Shed
has been the oft disavOwed but practically aecep'cd
rule of whichever party was upper1nost unuei nav
,.a. .,u;n;st,otion It's fruits are widespread In
conocitv ineficcncy, dishonesty, and peculation.
Lot tnna