Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1872-01-03
tUatnhman s. Journal,
WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 3, 1872.
TGRNs-s2.0o per year, strictly in advance or $3.50
Il not paid within three months
Party Spells.


Ever since jackson was President il has
been the system of American politics to re-.
ward partizau services with civil Office lie, if
We mistake not inauguraied the Infamous poll
cy that to the victor belong the spoils
From that day the civil Offices Of the coun.
try have come to be more aud more regarded
as the spols Of victory the booty Of a con.
quering army, the loot and plumber Of par.
", and since the noisiest and most uuscrupu.
lous men are the most violent and effective
/ partsans il has come 10 be the case that the
desirable offices under the government, cspeci.
ally outside Of New England, have been filled
with the most radical and dangerous men Of
their respective parties And as men ARE
very opt to take the loose notices under
which they march for settled principles Of
action and policy, it has come to pass that
the Offices Of the country are looked upon, not
as a trusts held for the benefit of the people,
but as booty to be enjoyed and used for the
benefit Of the holder. Under such q system
corruption, yenality, dishonesty uepotism,
aud every fragrant public vice have grown to
enormous dimensions. Ia the large financial
and political ccDters Of he country it has
debauched the ideas Of men, corrupted their
morals, and vitiaied their practices, until an
honest man could not be got to hold Office,
or the holding Of an office wis prcsumptive
proof against honesty.
Under this system the sense Of oilica re.
sponsibiity aud Of personal integrity has
been weakened and corrupted. A great muny
spoiIs, outside Of legitimate fees and salaries,
have become attached to Offices We rcmem.
Der well the integrity Of some Of our former
Senators aud Representatives, whose strict
ideas of official duty and privilege would
never allow them even in the pen-knyes aud
stationery which are now the least tributes
which office pays to its possessor -- the min
ina spoiiG Of politics. But their ideas per-
shed with them Very few Of the servants
of the people, invested by them with the dig.
mites Of office, shrink from these triRiag
populations. To look upon ofise as the re-
ward of party service, very soon accustoms
men to look upon office as q means Of private
emolument When they lose their idea Of
Office as a trust, to be executed as any other
trust, 10 the interest Of the trustcr, they soon
learn also to make it the means Of public
profigacy and corruption They expect that
in all poiti al canyasses and elections it will
furnish the snews of war" The means for
conducting the great political campaigns Of
the country are to be got out Of the Office
holders. The leading officers plan the cam
paign, spend the money and assess the taxes
on the subordnates. Thus the great politi.
cal cormorauts prey on the public first aud
then cat up their own offspring They use
the spoils of Office to corrupt the people who
bestow the Offices; not the mass Of the people,
but the self-constituted leaders Of the people,
who organize the caucuses and conventions.
and nominate candidates for the peoples votes.
Such has been the system Of American
politics for the last thirty years, and it has
gone from bad TO worse, until the public in-
dignn,iou has been rousod, and the blind giun,
is trying to shake of the withcs that bind
him, and introduce a new order Of thingp
Ihc people are beginning to sec that in ~
thls Government imposes, capacity and iLte9,
rity are of more Importance than party aililia.
tons In the early days Of the Republic
there were but few temptations to dishonesty
and corruption. We had race Of states
men simple in their tastes, unostentatious
and comparatively pure. The emoluments Of
office were sufficient to meet their necessities,
and they were not ambitious to become fat at
the public crib, In fact, the crib had not
been built then. The fathers Of the Republic
had holy horror of public cribs, aud just
contempt for public cribbcrs. But now the
country is rich. The little one has become "a
thousand. Thirty thousand civil officers n-
stead of three thousand, and the annual
expenses of the Government three hundred
millions instead of three millions. Tempta-
tions to corruption have kept pace with the
material Of it, and now If ever we need a race
of statesmen and oficeholdcrs capable Of
taking up the immense trusts committed to
them, and executing them with a stainless
integrity. The political spoliage, the polit-
cal prescription and the political fayoritism,
that have become the order of the day must
DO overthrow. If there is not virtue enough
in the people to destroy the system Of partisan
rewards and punishments-re for the
yictors and punishmeus for the vanquishod-
we shall find that the corruption OF a repub-
lie can surpass that Of monarchy, even
under 30 profigate a minister as Walpole.
What is needed is, that they should strike o
direct and powerful blow at the great evil Of
bestowing Government patronage on political
grounds, aud that we should have system
by which we may secure and retain in all
cases the best persons for Office without re-
spect to their party politics. 1t has become
the last necessity Of the country to break the
thraldom of political officers, and the tyranny
of party ideas and usages.
Thus far the majority in Congress have
been unwilling to inaugurate any civil service
reform. They have talked well about it, aud
that is all. They always manage to defeat
any proposed me asures looking towards it
or prevent its introduction. The system OF
dispensing public patronage has been adyan.
tageous to lhem and when anything is said
about reform they cry out from morning tin
evening "that the civil service Of this country
ispurer than that of any country in the world
They try to cheat the people into the continu.
ed support Of the present system, by decar-
ing its superior purity, aud so, by retaining
| THAR natronape retain their offices