Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-01-19
CONGRESSIONAL.
The Crusade against Civil Rights
Ingenious Speech by Carpenter
Reform q "Cunning CatehWOrd.' 8
TrumbulI Attempts a RelOlnder.
STRAY, Blanche and Sweetheart" /"
SENATE.

I NeTSely Oh Lue WOHlan SIIIIdglSJb asking 10
be heard before the Senate, and asked that
! this committee be discharged from its con-
| sideration. He promised an carly report
upon the claim that women have a right to
vote under the Constitution as amended.
Mr.. Cole, from the Postal Committee, re-
ported favorably ON the bill subsidizing the
mail steamship service to Australia via Hon
OlulU.
Mr.. Thurman presented the credentials of
his colleague, Mr.. Sherman.
Mr.. Blair, from the Military Committee,
reported favorably on the bill extending the
provisions of the artificial limb act to al
officers above the grade of captain. An
amendment was adopted extending the pro-
visions of the bin 10 all men OF tile army
and navy regardless of rank.
A DereIict President.
Mr. Davis, of Kentucky, gave notice of
his intention to call up at an early his reso-
luton inquiry as to dereliCtiOn of duty on
the part of the President.
wOmeD's Rights In the Territories.
f! AlF. Wilson introduced a bill to allow
women to vote and hold office in the Terri
tories.
The amnesty bill came up and was laid
aside informally, Mr.. Sumner announcing
that he accepted the amendment proposed
by Mr.. FrelinghuyseD,
The Reform Farce.
Mr.. Carpenter then proceeded to speak of
the UncOnstitutionality of the Civil Service
Reform scheme. He deeply. regretted the
recent message Of the President, announc-
ing that he had adopted the rules recon-
mended by the Civil Service Commission.
! To s1,,+ I,o. I,o
great deal Of clamOr lately in support of
this scheme which had made it seem that
the people generally were in favor of it, and
he supposed that the President had yielded
to tbiss clamor upon the principle stated in
his inaugural address that the best way to
secure the repeal of an obnoxious law was
to execute it faithfully. Some persons had
| expressed surprise at the Presidents con-
! senting to give up the patronage which his
enemies said he was using for his own
advantage, but the reason probably was
| that he knew he could afford to give his
enemies many advantages and yet defeat
them. Nevertheless he thought the Presi-
dent had done wrong in yielding to the
! clamOr Of the hour. The sober second
! thought Of the people was always right,
| but their sudden impulses were often
! wrong, and ought to be resisted by their
/ public servants. He knew that sometimes
! it happened that before the sober second
! thought came a faithful public officer would
! find his head in the basket, and to public
| officer, a Senator for instance, with ambi-
! tions Of reelection, there was great temp
| tatiOn to yield to the pressure of the mo-
! ment; but as he was the only Senator who
! probably could not be reelected if he wished
/ it, there seems to be special obligation rest
/ ing Oh him to act independently.
| A. a part Of this reform scheme, the Sena-
/ tor from Massachusetts (Sumner) had pro-
| posed a constitutional amendment render
/ ING the President who has served one term
| ineligible for reelection. This would be
! treating Gen Grant more severely than
! JEFF. Davis, because although the latter is
disqualified by the fourteenth amendment,
it is still within the power Of Congress to
remove his disabilities, while President
| Grant would have no means of relief from
bis. Laughter. If the doctrine was true
that one term Of service was enough to de-
mOTaliZe a public officer, then the Senator
from Massachusetts, must be himself very
thoroughly dem0ralzed by this time, and
being a man who sets principles above all
personal considerations, he would, Of course,
take his hat and leave the Senate forever
Immediately upon the adoption Of his
amendment. [Laughter.l
In politics, said Carpenter, words are
things and Civil Service Reform is a cum
ming catch word. The conclusion is that
whoever is not in favor of reform must be
in favor OF abuses; but change is not neces-
saTily reform, and there is a sure iuterpre-
tatiou which tells us that in such a deli
cate structure as this Of ours, it is better to
Bear the ills We have than fly to others
that we know not Of"
He then discussed at some lergth the
distribution Of powers between tile legisla-
tive and executive department
Of the government and came
to the conclusion if the appointing
power were taken away from the President,
as it would be by this reform, his remaining
powers would be no greater than those of
a constable in Milwaukee.
He said if this measure, instead Of being
tackled to the appropriation bill in the last
night of the session, had depended on its
own merits, it would not have received
twenty votes.
Mr.. Carpenter here had the regulations
read, and then criticised them in detail His
first criticism was that the most important
officers in the civil service were to be Who'll
" exempt from the operation Of them. If
i copying clerk i'm the Interior Department
or a candidate for a janitOrship the United
States building must pass an examination,
he could not see why a Secretary Of the
Interior or a Secretary Of State should not
bee Examined also. BY these regulations a
copying clerk must be citizen Ofthe United
Stairs, but the head of the department need
not be. A lighthouse keeper on the shore
of Lake Michigan must be able to read and
write the English language, but the Attor-
ney General of the United States would not
be required to DO either. [Laughter.l
Continuing his criticism, he said that, &C
cOrding to the rules, the successful candi-
date for the appointment, was to be chosen
from three persons passing the best eXami-
nation, so that although neither of the can
didates should answer questions enough to
show his competency, still the President
must appoint the one who had done the
best, or else disregard the examination alto
gether and fall back on his own discretion,
in which latter case, what would be-
come Of civil service reform?
Further, candidates presenting themselves
for examination, after due public advertise
ment, will always be adyenturerS, or at
best men Of no rank or ability. Suppose a
vacancy IN LIE OOuetLOI5ulp Ol New 1OTh,
and an advertisement for candidates pub
lished by the examining board, did anybody
suppose that such men as A. T. Stewart, or
II. c. Stebbins, or George Opdyke would
present themselves for examination, and if
they did would they not probably be beaten
by candidates WhO had just left school?
This may be reform, said Mr.. Carpenter,
but it will defeat any political party that
adopts it, for it will but excite the inCigna-
ton, and contempt, and derisiOn Of the peO-
pie of this country. 1t may be reform, or
whatever else its friends choose to call it,
but it certainly is not a constitutional or
wise mode of appointing the public officers
Of the United States.
Turning from the rules to the report of
the committee, he said it was based on the
Vicious leading idea of a permanency Of
tenure for public servants, This idea had
been advocated at the formation Of the gov
ernment by those who favored a strong gov
ernment, but it had been rejected because
it was seen to be anti-RepubiiCan. It was
thought right that Judges should be made
independent Of the popular will, because |
the questions they had TO decide depended