New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-12-05


the measure dubbed "ciyil service reform,
since Trumbull, who thrust it upon the SEN
ate, left it to its fate, and the zeal with when
it enforces its importance to the country.
But we differ from it entirely, as we'll Its
premises as its conclusion.
In the first place, we do not believe there
is anv such terrible generalization, corrup-
ton, and incapacity in the public service as
the Times, adopting as true, the wholesale
charges Of Trumbull, Schurz, the two Ire
Dunes, and the sorehead Republicans gener-
ally alleges to exist. And in The next place,
we don't believe the enforcement of the civil
service rules will remedy whatever evils do
exist in the civil service.
That there are some abuses in the civil
service of the Government there is no dispo-
sition 10 deny, and we are most earnestly IN
favor Of searching reform OF whatever
abuses do exist. These abuses, SO far as we
have been able to discern, consist in mis-
appropriation of or stealing the public funds
by Government officials. Dishonesty, and not
mcompeency, is the evil against which the
"Reformers" have been waging so relentless
a war against Gen. Grant and his admins
tration, from the hour they decided to desert
the Republican party.
The Hodge defalcation, the embezzlement
Of two clerks in the Treasurer's Office, of two
or three postmasters, as many collectors,
and now and then some other official, the
aggregate amount of whose thefts would not
make more than one tiftieth of one per cent.
on the amount collected under the present
Administration, form the basis of these at
tacks upon the civil service. Neither igno-
rance, nor ''illitcracy." nor incompetency,
was the cause Of their dishonesty. Every
defalcation during the present Administra-
ton has been by man of fair education,
who had up to the time Of his default sus
tanned n good reputation, who occupied a
respectable social position, and who would
have passed successfully the competitive"
examination of the civil service board.
Now, to remedy this evil in the civil SER
vice, something more is needed than to
ascertain what are the literary acquire
ments of an applicant for Office, and what
his reputation for morality and honesty has
been. A plan must be devised to ascertain
whether he will remain an honest man if APP
pointed, whether he have sufficient moral
stamina to resist the temptation into which
he may be led. Is there any such virtue in
the civil service rules: If the civil service
board possess the attribute of conscience they
may see sufficiently far into the future to de-
eide this question, and not otherwise. Elk.
perience has shown that neither education,
nor reputed morality, nor social position is
life, because the history of Government de-
falcations prove that they have been commit
ted almost uniformly by this very class.
We are not disposed to deny that many
incompetent men in the aggregate, though
veryfew relatively, have been appointed
since General Grant came into power,
under the old system of party favoritism.
And we most decidedly are in favor of any
measure that offers reasonable prospect OF
correcting this evil also. But we are as
firmly convinced that the civil service rule of
competitive examination will no more test
the clerical capacity of an applicant for any
official position than it will his moral attri-
butes. Experience under the civil service re-
form system teaches that those who pass the
most successful examinations do not make the
best clerks, but the verypoorest. Those whose
heads are stored with technical knowledge
are not practical working men, as rule, and
we know of several cases Of the promotion Of
such men over competent, Woodworking,
efficient, long-tried, and very faithful clerks.
We doubt not that every head Of bureau
under the Government will bear testimony,
if Intercepted by Congress, TO this fact.
After all very vague pre- JUDGE against
politics, and general impression that politi-
clans, as a class, are set Of practical adven.
turers, having no interest in common with
the people, no love of country, no respect for
the Government, and no principle beyond the
spols of office, is at the bottom Of the de-
mand for taking the appointing power from
the President where the Constitution places
it. In this country every sensible, patriotic,
intelligent man is and ought to be a pOliti-
clan. Every man who possesses the right
to vote, who has enough sense to know
how to vote, and who has sufficient
spirit to vote, is a politician. And these are
the men who control the politics Of the ma
ton. They are the men who elect our rulers,
and recommend the appointments to office.
Some of them become Governors and menu
bers of Congress. But they are then no
more politicians, in any offensive sense, than
before. They are only part of the people,
having interest in common with the people,
and alike interested in good government.
The attempt to make politics odious only
has the effect to deter over-sensative, or
over-fastdious men from voting. The clamor
against politics and politicians, therefore, IS
unwse, npatriotc, and injurious. Profes.
sional politicians-men, we mean, who make
office-holding the end and aim of their lives,
constitute class so insignificantly small as
to exercise no influence Upon the affairs of
Government. Even members of Congress
don't belong to that class. The most of
them hold their places but for a single term,
or two at most, and then go back into pri-
vate life from whence they emerged.