Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1872-03-06
q be fteeman.
MONTPELIER, VT,
WEDNESDAY. MARCH 6, 1872.
Civil Service Reform.

uents about what we know by the name 0
civil service reform. OF course | neithe
hope nor shall attempt to add anything what
ever to what is known upon this most mar
vel0us suhiect-marvelous | mean in what d
has endured Of Oratory and literature. Thr
subject. like almost every other one, may
well slv to us as .Ir. Carlyle did TO the
students D. his university. " The great wan
st the nineteenth century il silence" Still
! add to the wilderness of things in which
we have bewildered, and | fear lost, cvi
service reform, this my first. and trust last
contribution, aud my apology for doing :.
shall be this. that l simply aim at putting
down how earnestly | in favor Of il, ano
how vital | deem the subject. / shall striv,
30 do So in "A few sentences My first one
choose to take from paper the hest and
most revered that is preserved in our politi-
cal treasures; | mean, Of course, the Fare
well Address Of Washington. Thatsentence
IS this:
/" The necessity Of reciprocal checks in the eNer-
Use "t political power 10y dividing and distributing
into different dcpO-itories and constituting each
AMI rI,.i.rn n, ,,rasyy,e & ,e ,'''l "a
necessary as to institute them"
Mr. Speaker, could burn this one sen
teuce taken from the lips OF Washington into
the brain Of those who rule the Repub blic
and could | cut II - with point of diamond
into the tables of your laws end reem balm
it In bOIh the comprehension and admiration
Of all the people, that il shall become
again what It was during the first forty years
80 YOUR grett lie. an ever present AMI pre-
sIdint quality of the State?
Whv Mr. Speaker, it is impossible when
speaking Of the Importance of what this
sentence Iuculcates, TO exaggerate. Ii Is So
elementary ID every enlightened conception OF
.-..tt-rI.r.lI say, rDmeUt disfiDUuisbpr
from absolute ones, that we are ashamed TO
g5 bick o this mere alphabet But | would
sav. Il ] could say so, 70 this learned, proud
N mLltv people OF ours, tina: this mere alpha
BID ot your life YOU must learn over gain
right well and quickly. or perish.
Mr. Speaker, the Legislature of this
nation. and the Judges Of this nation, and
the President thereof, must 90 back again to
those hrgh and separate places to which they
we're assigned by the constitution, or else
tie constitution cannot long survive the re
iu-tl
Indeed, sir, this regulated dependence and
Independence Of these three great qualities
OF government is an element whose mpUr
lance Is 80 plain as, to adopt the words o
Story. '' 10 make 1t maxim, but maxim
ot vital Importance, that these powers should
be forever kept sep rate and distinct lC Is
a quality so thoroughly conceded as to have
made 1t enter unchal ienged into the bill ol
l1h.- IF most OF the states and into the
teachings of all the masters of the law. Ii
+. quality so fundamental IN our own gov
eminent a. that the convention which framed
voar constitution embodied and adopted by
tie flst vote cast by that illustrious con
ventlon, declaration of this division OF the
governments TOweTs-a resolution from
which. as declared by MIR. Story. the Con-
sItuton OF the Uni,ed States sprang. 50
-arfcune did the trainers of the constitution
u,cm this enforcement OF these three depart
meutS of power. as TO lead them to record IN
the Feierdlist the admonitiOn embraced IN
these memorable words
BE- The accumulation of these powers in tie same
hands IS justly pronounced the very definition "i
tyranny"
This pfecise idea. by which the regulated
dependence and independence OF tEese three
r~.at divisions of the government dele
gsfed powers shall be held and exercised 10y
sefarate dcUaltmeuts, IS as old a. the history
oh constitutional government IL was lauded
bg Tactue: it was enforced by the marvel
ous e.cqueUce OF Cicero it was defined and
a.sy exalted to the grade Ot a maxim In
Ic.itiral sc.euce by MJutesqllen 1t was
SIN pltied and enforced by Blackstone d
wa. yirdtcated for its essential and practical
values by Paiey; it was wrought up into
the forms of well defined government during
a thousand years by Engiand ~ hX .nS llIniia-
tons upon the powers of the Crown but
for us. lar more important than all the RESI-
&, vas embodied into the foundations Q! our
own Republic hy Nas Ington-
C,mutetc accuracy Of idea and ut practice I
here uuon this found ttiO0 quality 0i the I
government IL wholly Indispensable. Any
q. civil service re orm - which fails TO mas
ter the idea and enforce its law viii not only
he failure. but disaster Tins complete COM
rrel eusiOu and enforcement Of the relation
of der, nd, nee and IudeIcndcnce, OF balance
and ui check Of - nomination and - al
vice. s." oil subJrdinati1n and cOequali y 0!
tbe-e three great powers "t constitutional /
governments, Il precisely she work nov
before the civil service relOrmeTs oi the Re
pubIc-a work cOnsummatet when the gov
e1umeut stall be- brought back and held TO
lhi- great thought Of the constitution. Inc
muorttuce OF that degree OF independence
which il secured 10y the constitution to these
departments the Fuderalist eniorces IN these
wurds
The concentrating Of these IN the same hands -
pree.-rls ilc definition Of despouc government
On the other hand, some Iliustrious au-
thority declares the importance OF these
departments being made to balance ard check
and support each other in that defined degree
which Is ordained by the constitution IN
these words
.UnIe-. these departments be so far connected
am Iisp.io,i a. 10 give To each a constitutional con
.- over he Others the degree of separation which
~ maxim requires essential 10 free government
rs1 never, in practice, he duly maintained"
Now. sir. what has all this to do with
!. riv,I service reform?" Much, | assure
YOU. in every way: so much indeed that any
reform which invades this constitutional and
defined independence of the coordinate de
partments must be radically and fatally bad
On the other hand, any lack Of reform which
NAV be needed for the enforcement of this
degree Of dependence in the way OF check
and. baI tnce between these departments Is
equally mischievous, and as certainly In the
end fatal.
Now in 4 few sentences let US strive to see
how and why this is so. Take this first:
The creation Of, the qualifications for, and
the methods of induction into all the Cth ;es
of the government, and also the part to be
taken IN each Of these by each of the several
departments and each of the Houses of Con
gress belonging to one OF the departments,
l.. with the utmost exactness and evident
-1lcitude, defined by the constitution :; and
hence any reform which attempts to assign
either too much or too little of these mOmen-
tJus things pertaining u th , executive olhces
70 any one department is essentially bad !;
bad both in the light of the constitution
itself, lad in the light OF the teachings OF
its trainers, in the light of the history of all
past constitutional government
To both illustrate, enforce and impress
how true this is IN the light of our own con-
stituton, take some examples and ilustTa
tious thereof. Take, as a mere example
this one: if, without an invasion of the
spnit and design OF the constitution. a sena-
tor may nominate to the President the man
whom the President may nominate for Office
then why did the constitution declare that
the President alone shall nominate -
Again. If a Eenatnr may not nominate hnt