Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1872-05-01
Debate In Congress on the Civil Ser.
vice Reform Bill.-A Lively Spat
between Garfield and Butler.

DtIhEEu ahA
In the House, on Thursday last, the
Civil Service Reform Bill came up,
and the Representative from this
district. Gen. Garfield, made the clos
ing speech in favor Of the bill.
The gentleman reviewed the three
chief objections urged against 1t. that
II was Unconstitutional, that the civil
service was pure and needed no
reform. and that the interests Of the
marty required the maintenance of the
nresent system. On the first point
he referred to the golden rule of the
Government, that the three great
departments, the Legislative, Exeeu-
tive and Judiciary, be separate and
independent of each other, and that
neither shall encroaeh on the other.
The spirit and letter of that rule had
been violated again and again in the
mode i'm which the civil service was
administered. IL could not be said,
with even the shade W of truth, that
the head of the Executive Department
did now exercise his high functions
of nomination, even without the con-
slant terrible pressure of the whole
body of the legislative department.,
and for many years the Presidents of
the United States had been crying
out in their agony to be relieved from
that unconstitutional, crushing, ire
sentable pressure. The present Gus
tom was an apOstacy from the Gov
ernment in its original purity-an
apostacy of the most alarming
character. So careful had Washington
been, that even the executive depart
ments should not influence each
other, that he had scattered the public
buildings in the Capital all over the
city.
Mr.. Butler of Observation-Disclosures
will 1 find that2
Mr.. Garfield-You will find it in
the Globe tomorrow. Laughter. ]
As to the other objection to the bill,
that the civil service is pure and needs
no reform, Mr.. Garfield referred to
the first message of the President
calling attention to the need of reform.
The House had been told yesterday
by Mr.. Butler that the Paymaster's
DEPARTMENT had done well during the
war. But why? Because that was
a magnificent department of service,
where every man was held tOaccount-
ability, where an officer was not
removed every time that politician
wanted to get another in his place,
where the law of promotion prevailed.
The army and navy belonged to a
class of service separated from the
miserable civil service of which he
was speaking. There was not a really
high and noble service connected
with the Government that had not
been or less separated from the evils
in question. He instanced the coast
survey as a service in which system
of promotion by merit prevailed, and
asked who would dare 20 turn that
service into the hands of politicians.
1t was so with the Light House
Board, and with all parts of the public
service thEt were an honor and glory
to the country. The House has been
treated during the debate to a class of
insinuations which he could not pass
over in silence. They had been told
in very plain language that this
whole civil service business was q
trick on the part Of some people who
did not like the President and who
wanted to get up the Cincinnati Con-
vention, and that the President had
been caught in the trap spread for
him by Congress at the instigation of
his enemies. "Behold how plain tale
shall put that down." 1t was in the
message of the 5ih Of
December, 1870, that these words were
used call the attention of Con-
gress to an abuse OF long standing
which / desire to have reformed. ]
refer to the civil service of the coun-
trv." That first utterance had heen
made four months before the provision
had been put in the Appropriation
bill to which Mr.. Butler had referred
as the origin Of the movement, but
that provision did not compel but
merely authorized the President to
devise some means of bettering the
public service. Ten months after
ward the President had forwarded to
Congress the report of the Civil
Service Commission, and said : Il
ask for all the strength Congress can
give me to carry out the reform of the
Civil Service recommended by the
Commission, to take effect on the 1st
of January, 1872" And now, on the
10th of April, 1872, the President had
sent an executive order with the body
Of the amended rules, and called on
Congress to support him in carrying
these rules into effect. The gentle
man from Massachusetts had taken
on himsef yesterday to repeat what
he previously said about a trick by
which the President had been en-
trapped into the civil service net, and
had made remark referring to him
Mr.. Garfield that If he Mr.. Butler1
were chairman of a leading Com
mittee of the House he would endea-
vor to support the President of the
United States, and not be the Presi-
dents enemy in the matter.
Mr.. Butler-Is il true, what see in
the Tribune, that the chairman of the
Committee on Appropriation refuses
to endorse the administration
Mr.. Garfield-I do not propose to
be marched out over anybody's race
course, at anybody's behest.
Mr.. Butler-I would take q very
different horse. Laughter.
Mr.. Garfeld-The same paper says
also that the entire Massachusetts,
to Congress refuses to in
dorse the administration.
Mr.. Butler-And / am ready to
deny it. Is the gentleman ? say it
is lie. Does he say so?
Mr.. Perry ofOhio-I call the gentle
mad to order. These interruptions
are intOlerable.
Mr.. Garfield have a few more
words with the gentleman from Mas
on the matter now in hand.
The impression was made on my
mind yesterday that the gentleman
did assume To speak by authority on
this floor, and to represent that this
civil service reform. movement was
thrust on an unwilling President,
and that the men who defended 1t
were the Presidents enemies and not
his friends. / have recounted here
the steps by which the movement
reached its present stage. l have
shown YOU that it began with the
President, and that 1t has been fol-
lowed up by the President. But, to
make myself doubly sure, 1 called
last evening with q colleague on the
himself, and conYersed with
him on the matter of Civil Service
Reform, and 1 am at liberty to say,
and I will say, whether am liberty
or not
Mr.. Butler-I call the gentleman
20 order. The utterances of the Presi-
dent, except when brought Fere in
the form of a message to the House,
are not to be stated to influence
question of legislation.