, 1873-07-20
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON,
How He Exercised the .Ap-,
pointing Power. ID
Bis Scrupnlousness with Regard to Deriving
Personal Advantage from
dis Office.

AuleVAAa h"fHu""6" A'e"
Ilis Office.
~-
,.u,.., p, ~. 6,,o,,;o .tontsf,, ,op A,,o..,
amts t,so ~ ~ -. .nsr ~, ntnas ~ ra1s as
he Wouio no' appo'.s iuon w o,aoo inoAois po'
Tho notorious Oallendor WIS case In point
He was eourri1ous, fortile, forclblo writer o1
sts Iov ,rlo Ind i,ean ,,roa.cnt.4 ,,n7or +,,a
1.,,uay' n9 uay' ~" .,a ~ I ',:.... .~ 1ae. Wv
Republicans had been compelled to give him aid
md comfort In his diBtrasB because ho wna the
xicsim of n Inv they abhorrod, 11uon tho tri.
.nnnh ~. Aha. nsnrbl;on,, nnrlv In can,a to rcf.
snrann ,. us 'anu ~ w.,
tofson, asal'g as q reward Tor purity eefVlcce TIC
Richmond post-oflce, worth 81, 800 yoar. Jof-
.erson relieved his neceesit.os with money, but
refused him tho place. gituplv because ho vpa
-nrat r., "A ~ ill., ,a1,a5 ~ - .ta .,o.t
ns a1t ~ usu snus Ea'nno ono u 'n' ,s %yas
'lmplacable md indecent vttuperasora public
servant ever had. George Rogers Clarke, too, a
hero whom he rcverod ho often 1ouged to en-
plov. aa the nost ahillfn,. mnnapor of nll 1ndian
~:,' -, - ~ ~
nnana ~, tno country possesaeo' hat ne olo no, no.
Inc reason was, Whisky 10 gaVe don.
.Clarko's brother u commission aud m
appointment but not the man. who
hsa o,do3 IN. o;va bfa ronntrv 1,h,
.Ihomas Paine roalige his joke, OF shocking the
r Bishops and old ladsos Of tho English Court by
going % Secretary ol Legation TO London oo1
ef,wsr, Ieeeived hin WITH honor et the White
chsngsd PEI pSosophie sess s With hin butdd I not
send him to do what he could not do.-represen&
clean. sober, orderly people IN foreign land.
and When It beeamo espparont that ohsncollor
Iivingston'a growing deafness rendered him al
inefficient Minister at the Court Of Napoleon,
Jefferson riskedlohing the support Of the stato
Of New York, first, by sending Monroe to help
The most remarkable case was that 81 John Ran
aolph, tho shMsrp-t9ngued 1T 1eaaor OF tho hepqp- y.
Acan party IN the House Of Representatives.. 10
Hna suggested by friend Tor tho English
miesion. hlr. Jefferson was silent. lr. hiadi.
pressed his claims, aud othor mombers OF the
House added solicitations. The President with
held the appointment. John Randolph won't
INTO oppoeinon, n which his single sman talent d
ehone Like thin, koon rapier III tho sun: Inc
only ob1eotion to his appointment Was, that no
was ludicrously unit for a post requiring pa
tienco, prudence, self-consro1, industry, and ad-
dress.
Tor tho right place..
In faot, ruler Of mon, Wheshor ho Is public
or private person, has but two dutios to per-
1orm-to select the right assistantB, and to treat
80 Is 70 gss % ol p 9 ae nr e
governing, and Jefferson knew II: There ts
nothing, be wrote to friend In May. 1901, ~
am 30 anxious about aa MAILING the best posi-
ble, appointments" But how difficult tho
task III : country so extensive, as tho
United states, where personal knoW!-
edge Is impossiblel His Chief roli-
auco hccms to have been upon the unsolicited
accommodation OF men IN Whom he had con.
North Carolina, very carly in his first yea1: "1n
Stats, shall be much obliged to you to recom-
no9a tho best : 5ssssop 4 M vas ea5, a5
%a. Sns a ps @ sgRhsed b sSsf a d
was, from the first, On his guard against tho
recommendations Of thoughtloss, unpEincipled
good"nature. H would hare made moro ~,
SUCCESSES Of tha kind even than ho did,
tho most Important posts; which limits . Presi-
dents choice to = few indiyiduala exceptionally
circnmstanced. Many OF MS letters onenng ap-
rointmentH show how much he lamentod his ILL.,
!, Hewould not give IN appointment to a fola-
tive.
At tho frat view, this gsems nn1ust TO the
honorable and capable families who were related
TO the President. It has tho air OF counting
cheap aud easy popularity, and IT is & oPon to tho
objection OF pitching tho note too high Tor the
limited rnngo OF human nature. But his convlc-
tions on tho point woro cloar and strong; and
Prof. TUCKER records that ho acted on thls
trusts: Thus, as Roetor. OF the University Of
Virginia, he opposed tho appointment OF .
nephew to rrofessorship, though ho Was well
quaiifled for the place. dreading lost it should
veraitiea md church endowmenta in other lands
mere appendagoB to the estates OF governing
families He wa1 nobly seconded u M his Toso.
luton by his own kindred; imagine @ LIS do1ght 4
on receiving from one OF them, George Jeler-
son. fow days utter his Inauguration,
lottor spontaneously declining to DO
T. candidate for Fodorn otilce to