Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1872-03-20


a prosperous and successful one. The
acknowledge no man to be their master, the
seek for favor from 10 man, and 1t is thei
money and their business that we expen
and carry on. They have a right, as som
OF them suppose, u say tbaJ tins Jvern
ment shall be administered by those who ar
/ best fitted 10 perform the duties that thu
Government requires to be performed. The,
/ believe that z vcrnment Is not the end D
the institutions Of sJciety, but that it is onl,
the means to protect tho rights aud promote
the prosperity Of the people, and therefor
that public servants, be they high or low, d.
not come in by divine right or by favor, AM
are not serving them as the end Of Il man,
ambition or the end Of his duties, but onlJ
as the means and services by which tie gOoc
! Of the people is to be attained. If 50, Ger
tainIy IN selecting the persons who are tC
carry on the public business the same princi-
| pies must apply that apply to all othel
similar cases, and therefore that citizen who
can best perform given duty, (f ir be o
policy and administration, ii II be Of Oreigr
or domestic government aud policy,) anc
whose policy agrees with theirs, and whose
capacity Is equal tJ carrying out that policy
must be selected; but If lt be d matter of
detail, Of clerksaIp, Of work, Of mere ex-
ecutive administration in the narrow sense,
ter and the greatest capacity, Whatever h,s
opinions may be about religion or politics
Is best fitted 10 30 that work
And, Mr.. President. that implies, as we
know in society in all the prosperous and
settled parts OF the country, IN ali the rela-
tions of private Life If man comes into
my counting house. and wishes to be a cleI X
do not ask him if he is a democrat or a
republican | do not ask him whom he is
gong 10 vote for the next Urinary or the
next election, but | endeayOr 70 find out
whether he can Keep accounts, whe her be
can be trusted with money, whether he can
carry On the business th tJ have to perform
tue best and most advantageous way for
the promotion OF my interests; and when
ne comes 70 = to the polls with M at the
next election, | respect him Iust as highly
and love him just a. warmly II he exercises
the right OF q cItzel 10 vote d,fsFently
from me, OF LaiusJ me, even il ] an a can
didate, as | would, even more highly than |
would, If he IN mean and subseryIent NAV
had voted for me or for my friends.
Mr. CARPENTER II some Iud .vidual should
apply 70 my honorable trient 70 be employed
Is n clerk Or bJOk-keepsr IN his mere tnJIle
establishment, | want 10 know how he would
test his capacity To perform the duties, by
putting him To the desk and seeing how he
would do the work, or by sending him up to
schooihaS'eF 10 DC exam .heu I'D Seo5Fa phy
and grammar
Mr. EDMUNDs. Will tell my honorable
trien9; L should not test MS cipacIty oy put
ting him 10 the desk ana seeing no" he
would dD "oIk' because ~ mAHIhS tAat very
est ne might rum my fortune anu destroy
my credit ana usois5 my hOAor. "oiid
endeavOr tO ascertain lis capacity by care
iul examination into what nc mad done, what
his history WIS, w1aJ ms reputation was,
not for p 5litiedl opinion, Dat lor personal
prO5Ity, because my lricnd must hr,lsvc that
10 pJlV'ch opintJn every ma is Tree, AMI
he may be just as honest, Jls5 a7 hJa)rlble
At he believes even IN reDeIIon ara secession,
IS II re pelleFed on our slUe- therefore,
should not test MN ny putting him IN char2c
Ji my money, by any mcAns- sAolId TEST
nun by ascertain'"S "hat MS character "as I.
l ehodid test nun y "70-' 'iI .HS "la' Hl7
chPtcitJ was "'G'ut' nc "ii e'ct oo5o -
-chool : "uetueI ne Cum "'itc MS o"H
name whether ie c'uId 7Pe'l, II ne was 70
conduct my - re72'hie ~ unl 50 per iaps'
wished TO be very popular in some demo-
cratic or OJher District ny sio"Ih1 tlat
WIS not an aristocrat ami always spelled my
letters wrong IDtJ' perltPs, might be an
advantage "a some sections Ot the country
Mr.. HANLtN. Alter the individual should
have pass the ordeal Whitu the senator
would prescribe Tor ms ainissIpl Into ms
service. ami alter ne shpi.d nave hId u"
benefit OF years OF Tn 70 man LABOR uh Ter ms
own Irspecu2h' W'uld ne can IN o'aud ana
put thar man under q competitive * ANNA
uon Tor the purpose Oh seeing WhetheF ne
should be promoted "hen there was Yacan-
cy IN his c'rps OF clerks
Mr.. kDNU;'DS- No, SIR, 40 not th'nH
would by any me"ns- ne HoiioI ne eeld
TOR j. unmetsuraOly mistaken, as never
Kne" MN 70 De DT,oI0 -,,.-,-,
Mr.. HANLtN. The rules established by
this board provide Tor that very thi x
Mr.. kDMUNDs. Inc ruie5 a. noC Pro'ld'
any such tning- understind TINS que7tl N
perfectly but the senattr from Maine under
takes, as an adrOt didlectlclan, as he Is, TO
LnIsead us-nOt that he mans lt-by sup
posing that head OF department can know
IS to the fitness ol eacl lnd'vIIual OF two
thousand or three thousand men IN has d.
partmeut for prom DtiJn A. Wei as he or
could in our c)untinS-h)use with halI
iOzen clerks, where they sat at our own
desk, and where we personally supervised
them and knew their ctptcitIes from day to
day. Now, I adnIt-and II that Is to de-
,tfov civil service reform, as far as | am con-
cerned, tie admission nevertheless must be
riven-that if the Government OF the Uoi
Ted States could be carried on BY six persons
or by twenty persons, all of whom in the
Treasury Department should sit under the
ner,onai supervision OF the Secretary Of the
treasury, and then the question of selection
,r rromnt,on in that branch were to BE- de-
termined. the best Judge of how that pro-
motion should be made you'd De the secre-
rary himself, becanse he wouli have the best
means of knowing. But the honorable seAa-
Tor from Maine knows Just as well as do
tnat Il is not IN the ran-e Of human P)ssi-
biIity, as we are at present constituted for
.,nv boad Of anv one af the departments-l
peak Of the Treasury for illustration-to
xnow personally whether any one Of the
roo thousand persons IN hls employment is