The Portland daily press., 1873-04-14
The President and Mr.. Curtis.

The PRESIDENT ana MIR. Curtis.
At length we have the statements of both
President Grant and Mr.. Curtis respect;no
the cause of the resignation of the latter as
chairman of the advisory board of the civil
service. The Washington Chronicle publish
es an editorial which is supposed to repre-
sent the Presidents views of the matter. while
the New York Herald publishes those of Mr..
curtis as given to reporter. There is no
material difference except that Mr.. Curtis
taxes occasion to express that he has the full
est faith in the determination of President
Grant to carry out the main features of the
civil service reform as laid down in the rules
recommended by the board. The difference
between the President and Mr.. Curtis grew
out of the difficulty that the former expert
enced in promoting officers in the same de-
paftment, and his expressing an opinion that
1t was in accordance with the spirit of the
rules to appoint an officer who had displayed
special talent from one branch of the sevrice
to another. This Mr.. Curtis believed to be
more arbitrary change of the rules than is
HiloudptC dLuSi 0HC SlSIGul.
Here the matter rested until two apDoint-
ments were made in New York, which Mr..
Curtis considered to be an arbitrary applica-
ton or suspension of the rules. Mr.. Curtis
thought that Mr.. Benedict, deputy, should
be appointed to the surveyorship of New
York. The President made the appoint
ment and finding that it was not proper in
all respects and would not be confirmed,
withdrew it and nominated Gen. Sharpe, the
United States Marshal, who is generally ad-
mitted to be Benedict's superior in native.
ability and education, and abandantly able to
take charge Of the department to which he is
assigned. The other case was that of Mr..
james, who was appointed Postmaster of
New York from position in the Custom
House. There is no complaint made against
Er. James, who is acknowledged to be an
able officer, we'll qualified to discharge the du-
ties of the Office to which he has been ap-
pointed. -
In both of these cases the President, after
fully considering the subject, concluded that
he could best secure the efficiency of the gov
ernment service by making the appointments
as he did. Mr.. Curtis on the other hand
thinks that the prov isions of the rules should
be strictly adhered to in all cases. It is SIM
ply difference of opinion, as Mr.. Curtis
says "there is nothing in my resignation that
conveys the slightest imputation upon the
Presidents purpose orsincerity," and SHAT
any one who knows Gen. Grant would never
accuse him of shamming or falsity in this
matter"
Tie difference amounts to this; Mr.. Curtis
10 the author Of the civil service rules and be-
lieves that his theory as set forth in them is
correct. President Grant finds in practice
that there are cases where their strict appli-
cation win result in injury to the service
He finds that there are cases where an officer
makes an excellent subordinate, but is not
fit for the more responsible position of head
of his department. Mr.. Curtis would have
seniority observed in promotions. The Presi-
dent sees that this arbitrary rule would fire.
quently put unfit officials in responsible
places and this he obviates by promoting
man from another branch of the service. Pro-
motion by seniority has been more observed
in the amy than in any other department of
service, especially in times of peace. Hal the
rule been observed during the late war the re-
suit might have been very different As it
was, men were promoted from merit, and
some OF the younger graduates of West Point,
under the exigencies of the public service,
ryaro r,1o ood fJ.o;, -.
disregard of usage that had become so vener-
ated as to be regarded as law.
We think that portion Of the people that
elected Gen. Grant will say with the Hartford
Courant (Gen. Hawley's paper: eve have
no fear that Gen Grant will not adhere to-
the general system of permanent civil SER
vice regulated by body of rules. We hav
no fear either that he will rot modify the
rifles when it seems best. He is equally GER
tain to overleap them all at times. Occasion
ally he will make mistake, and occasionally
ne will seem to make one, in the judgment of
hostile and eager critics, when in fact he will
know more about the facts than they and be
able to fully justify himselfto himself''
THE Democratic papers are gladdened by
the fact that they have elected their tickets
in st. Louis, Cincinnati, Dubuque, Detroit
and othern western cities We are well
aware that the leaders of that forlorn politi-
cal hope are ecstatic upon the most trivial
glints of encouragement but just how they
can extract consolation and joy out of the
fact, that at the recent municipal elections in
the cities named the Democratic majori-
ties in every case are less than half as large
as at any time the past three years, while in
Dubuque the Democratic candidate for May
Or was elected by IS majority when the party
majority has averaged over one thousand, we
cannot conceive.
EX-SENATOR PATTERSON, it is said, is
about to publish a batch of documents to show
that he did not trade in Credit Mobilier.-
As an earnest of what is coming, the Boston
Advertiser publishes letter from Horace r
Clark, President of the Union Pacific Rail.
road, stating that Mr.. Ames gave him to un-
derstand last June that the report that Mr..
Patterson owned c. NJ. stock was false. This.
however, was before Hoax had refreshed his
memory from his little book. Mr.. Patterson
would much better leave his case to charity
dobIyion.
THE leopard can't change his spots-not to
any extent. Gov. Seymour Who was liberal
lied last fall has returned to his old fossilized
ideas, In Florida he was recently interviewed
when he affirmed "with emphasis, that when
southern statesmen were in power we had
pure and glorious government; bnt that in
heir exclusion from office, crime and corrup-
ion have come in like food" He is also
,redited with saying that ''if slavery was an
vii, it bred the best race of men and women
he world ever saw.
THE Presque Isle Sunrise is surprised at
he result Of the vote of Bangor on the ques-
ion Of loaning its credit to the Northern
Aroostook Railroad Company. 1t says that
the increasing trade of the upper Aroostook
VIM seek an outlet over the Intercolonial
..@nway' which win be completed to Tobique,
e'su'een miles from Presque Isle, the present
year T and thence to Portland and Boston via
1