Litchfield enquirer., 1872-02-22
pmsrana~e. RgnoTancs and Civil Ser
 wtce Reform.

wv &&S4%&3Hts
 rexuaikssd tc print the following su-~Rn3snT exEracks from private letter, wrStt~n br g gentleman now Tn the govern uzemA seRxsees
 s1T e-~r thst sezy1 service reform has al- r~..7~ knpm esm1emned to death, and Pat - ~md Truurxnce will be its execu- s;~mSrx Rnfru1zge will not give up it's -. nF muuuinking Ignorance, and Ig- ss1-r-es wfI1 n0t foreg0 the night of being
 ssST-~wn urepoSsezziOns were against
 .--s--sS---s ss the the test of merit or sIe---~ in uzbkc o&cers, and even wrote ~- ar4s-Ie arzinSt them some months ago, F1sS s1Rs1 ~bea I I had conducted some twen- r~ ,~~~mfnstioas myself, as I have S--e dane. saI found how exactly tAp rnsmlks of the examinations tallied m the clerks capacity and practical ~Rrsen<r. I becAme a jealous convert. Bpzs3es- the new rules give q choice of Ire nsnes reported by the examiners m unaking the appointment, require proba- ssouaxr te<t of slx months m addiacn to sAe exzninasiOa, and provide that officers who have the custody of money Tor wnicn ,x.ukhex Ssrv<Doasible shall not beappolnt- WWEEx1%TE EN1MK O&4&E4 L~A4AD~~@~9 ,s.awk of zy objections have been met.
 @T sm nr& SO Sanguine about perfecting SAe esxd sexvice as some are, because l .n.. tfzs tae same incentives to faithfulness do nuAexis4 in public business, as in pri- xwse s9zirx. In the latter, If one wishes so wnrrepd amid the competition of husi- .exs ke must be continually on the alert ,xwwfrse newiiwe1ce and incompetency. In sk~ fuxEer. quite opposite incentives are slwsvx al wuTk- Therefore, I do not ex- u~.ss tlras uuhlic affairs will ever under suv svzsea be so well managed as private xasSrS But that the proposed system, If honessfv carried on, would be vast lm- uruxexnrnf on that nOw in vogue I have no d0abk. Even il, as its enemies claim, a wuwld fIl the public offices with men xho kn1w nothfng but what they have hemxnsd fru1 books, 1t would be better sAMn t0 have. as now, men who know askhfng at all Indeed, think it would be wise measure which would fill the public oGsces with well-educated young aen, and encourage them to make public employment lifelong pursuit There is 10 reason, n the nature of things, why employment under the government should Rgt be esteemed as honorable as any other pursuit, but it Is nOtOriOusly not so now, 2zd newer wIn he under the present sys- tem-
 Bat it Is said the new system excludes practical men, familiar with business but unleAraed m books. do not think that wo1ld be very deploraBle result. So fzr as have observed, such men do not xueeeed in palhlic Ofices, for the reason that they do nos seem able to grasp the mzguitade and importance of government E sk- En f1ElalTty with which it should be con- dzetsd The vegy best men ih the depart mNzk4 gre those weIl-educated young men who have received their business training n the depaxtne1ks. They distance the 0d fngies who have been imported from other parxuits Tn every encounter.
 ssBak there IS smother side to the reform uhSeh is of the greatest importance, and ss aK cncs its strength and weakness-its strength with earnest, thoughtful men, who are few, and its weakness with the politicians and their hangers on, who are aany. Thzt Is. its effect on the system 0ep1frQaage, that odious vulture which is tearing the vItzlS out of our political sys- ten Now, as we all know, men are too ogten sAscfed to Congress. not with ref sEense tO their fitness or their views on FuhRse questions. but with regard to the pe0Ulzed distribution of the offices under sAeIr eoukrOl He who promises these in the manner most satisfactory to the larg- es< number of local politicians, is surest 0f snecszs. whether the people desire him zs their representative or not Under the Eew system, this prolific source of cor rzptloa woaA be swept away at one blow, and hence ii is that the politicians, both a and out of Congress, are almost unani- @oas against the reform. Ana, unfcrtu- z@eSly, many who profess to be forit have Oaly discovered how bad thing patron sge is since they have been deprived of 8 =kAxe Sn 1t -.-
 And %. to conclude as began, it is clear to me that civil service reform is doomed N F. Erc. Post.