New-York tribune., 1873-03-13
ON P1TRON1GE.p

That was the name and style and definition
of Committee appointed by the Republicans
of the XXth Assembly District of this city
on Tuesday night" The Committee on Pa
tronage" 1t is pleasing title. 1t savors
of benefcence. Likewise of prudence and
worldly wisdom. 1t thrills the reader with
grateful emotion. For it suggests the dis
tribution of large benefactions, OF largess, OF
munifcence that runneth not in the narrow
rut Of cold victuals and old clothes. but offers
actual pecuniary bounty in the wrinkled
currency of the realm-the patronage"
in short, of the Association. And
the appointment of committee to see to it,
to hunt out the deserving poor and see that
the patronage goes not to the unworthy ana
vicious, gives it the character of prudence and
discretion This is what the title suggests be-
fore the reader thinks to inquire more defi-
nitely what is meant by patronage, or to learn
fIom what follows the object of the Commit
tee 1t was stated, it seems, by the mover OF
the resolution. We read it over calmly and
carefully. Then we read it again. We look
back to see if this was meeting of Repub-
lican Association. That is what it was;
there 3 no mistake about that. And we re-
those who in the late Presidential campaign
devoted time, wind, bunting and kerosene.
without stint or limit to the support of the
great proposition embodied ia the following
declaration adopted at Philadelphia, III June
of last year, with tremendous applause:
Finh: Any system Of the Civil Service under which
the subordinate positions OF the Government are con-
sdered rewards fer party Zeal is fatally demora
izng and we therefore, favor reform OF the system
by laws which shall abolish the evils Of patronage and
make honesty, efficiency and fidelity the essential quail
fcatons for public position, without practically creating
a llie-tenure OF office.
Then we recur to the XXth Assembly Dis
trict Republicans, and read slowly and deliber
ately that the duty of "the Committee on
" Patronage" as defined by the mover of the
resolution, Is "tO obtain from the Government
officers patronage to be distributed among
" the members of the Association" We try to
make this proposition of the XXth District
Republicans, made after the election, dovetail
with their enthusiastic demand for the abolition
of the evils of patronage before election, and
well, it puzzles US. We know they were very
much in earnest in their denunciation of the
fatally demoralizing" influence of system
which considers the subordinate positions of
the UOfeIUUtuJ ICMdIuo lOl lbClC puiJJ
"zeal," for they were very profane when the
contrary was intimated. And yet there 3
the resolution and the committee and the
object stated. 1t is barely possible that this
is one of the ways by which they propose to
"abolish the evils of the patronage" by dis
"tributing it among the members of the
Association" one or tive "evils" to each I;
and yet it seems as though if this had been
the object, it would have been mentioned by
the mover.
On the whole, if it were not that so many
prominent men and one or two ce-Presidents
had lately been caught in what except for
their own denials, would be called falsehoods,
we should strongly suspect these Republicans,
who wanted to "abolish the evils of patron
cage" before election and to divide up the
patronage afterward, of lying. But then they
would MT do that. There's some mystery
about il.