The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1872-10-03
HOW TO REFORM THE CIVIL SERVICE

proposal can DC Carried Oulv ny GH6 !lup0Aa'
tive will of The people over-.uling the polit:-
clans. Perhaps there has been mere of out
spoken opposition to it by Republican m en-
bers of Congress than by Democratic. Yet
cannot forget that the first proposal of meas
ureS for reformation in the matter of ap-
pointmepts aYd removals came from the
Republican SIDE IL Congress; nor can I re-
member that, thus far, any proposal of the
kind, or any word OF encouragement, has
come from the other side. Only very unin-
formed and very credulOus person can be-
lleve that a restoration of the Democratic
party to power at Washington will bring
with it reformation Of the civil service or a
lEenuncialioE OF the principle that ''the spoils"
belong to the victorious party.
Mr.. Horace Greeley has long been known
in the character of a reformer. It has been
widely understood that ne is not TO be looked
for On the Conse vative side when anything
is to be reformed. He wants to reform the
mileage allowed to members ofCongress, and
should he become President, he must, .or
consistency's sake, insist on the cor ection o.
that "swindle." He has a reformef's anti
pathy to the ranking privilege. He is tenn
perance refoTmer of the most advanced
school, believing that every fe:mented liquor
is poisonous in p-opo:tion,t TO the amount of
alcohol that ca1 be distilled from it , and
maintaining therefore, that the sale of every
such liquor should be prohibited Oy law on
that subject his record, down to the latest
advices, is unequivocal, aud such as no ex-
tremist can find fault With. He is conspic u
Gus among the reformers who demand the ab-
clifton ofcapital punishment. Ofcourse, be-
ing a great and general reformer, he must be
in ea.0est to get rid of tina great abuse
which has created all employmeuts in the
civil service of the government into "spoils'
which the victorious party is TO distrib ute
among it's own adherents in the way most
likely to secure it's own interest as a party.
Accordingly we are invited 20 understand
that Mr.. Greeley is in favor of reforming the
civil service.
But he has bis own way of doing it; his is
very different way from the plan which
President Grant prefers, and which includes
system of competitive examinations for sp-
pointments, and Of regular promotions with
out considerations OF services that have been
o. may be rendered to the dominant party. |
"The one-term principle" is his remedy for
all abuses in the matter of appointments and |
removals. His theory of reforming the civil
service is, for substance of doctrine, Let it be
settled that no man who has once been Pres
ident can be reelected to that Office ,-ap-
pointments to Office will certainly be made
without any considerations of party Or per-
sonal interests, and without any motive 9TH
er than the public good.
Is this what Mr.. Greeley knows about hu-
man nature Is this ali that he has learned
from his long familiarity with the opera
tions and the genius Of political parties in |
our country? This-let US remember-is in
tended to make us believe that to elect Mr.. |
Greeley for first term will be better for the
civil service taa1 to elect Gen. Grant for a
second term. Already it is well understood
that neither Gen. Grant nor anybody else can
ever be O candidate for election to q third
term in the Presidency. The great example
of Washington, followed by Jefferson, Madi-
son, Munroe and Jackson, has settled that as
firmly as if it had been incorporated into the
Constitution. Suppose then, that in the cleo
tion now at hand, the choice Of the States
voting through their electoral colleagues
falls upon Gen, Grant. He will know per-
fectly well-and The people will know-that
there is no possibility OIL his ever being again
a candidate for the Presidency; and all the
beautiful results in regard to civil service,
which can come from the lone term princi-
ple," will of course be realized for the next
four years. But if Mr.. Greeley should be
elected-what will follow? In the first
place, he has already given out the comfort
ing assurance that those who befriend him in
this campaign are to have the spoils if his
party is victorious; and that he will regard
with equal favor his Democratic adherents
and those who with him have deserted the
Republican party. What does this mean but
that his administration, should he become
President, will reform the civil service just as
Gen Jackson reformed it, when every Office
holder who had not voted for him and whose
Office was worth having was displaced to
make room for q Jackson man? Such, at he
best, is the reformation which we are to e.
pect from the election Of Mr.. Greeley-a gen
eral displacement of postmasters, collectors,
assessors, marsbals, deputy -marshals, tide
walters and letter-cariiers, who have gained
some acquaintance with their duties, and the
appointment of new men entirely inexperi-
enced, whose recommendation is that they
have q right to compensation for services
rendered to the incoming President. But, in
the second place, what certainty is there
that Mr.. Greeley, being President. will abide