New-York tribune., 1874-06-17
SC1LPEU.

Such as il ia, it is a scalp, and it hangs at
tho belt of the Essex County Modoc. The
small white fuzzy scalp of an infant. When
Mr.. Blaine turned over the Civil Service Reform
Infant of days but child of much promise
to the care of Mr.. Benjamin f. Butler, it was
doubtless with the understanding that it was
to be put out of its misery. 1t dld not much
matter to Mr.. Blaine whether the Essex states
man strangled it with BEDFORD, smothered
it with a pillow, rolled over it in his sleep, or
led it gently down through low diet and
continued exposure to gradual decline and
an early death. The infant was troublesome,
and Mr.. Butler was known as careful nurse
for that kind. We submit, however, that Mr.
Blaine could not have anticipated that MIR.
Butler after strangling the child OF promise,
should scalp it as he did in his resolution
directing discCntinuance of the practice OF
carving on examinations by boards OF COM
"missiOners or others travelling around the
"country at the public charge and the detail
"ing of clerks of the departments to sit in
"judgment on their fellow clerks, exercising
thereby the appointing power, which is by
&c the Constitution vested in the heads of the
"severa Executive departments, who ought to
"their own clerks without being tied up by
"rules and regulations imposed upon them by
"boards composed, in whole or III part, of
"those very clerks themselves"
Nor could he have supposed for one moment
that this Scar Faced Charley of the ModOcs,
after taking the infants scalp, should adOrn it
with ribbons of barbaric splendor, as he did in
the resolution requiring the heads of depart
ments to make appointments hereafter only
"from candidates who have the qualifications
"of honesty, efficiency. and fidelity, and not
cas- rewards OF mere party zeal, giving prefer
| "ence only to those who have the additional
qualification of an honorable record III the
"military or naval service of the United States,
| "or the widow. wife, daughter, sister, or mother
"of such a soldier OF sailor" Least of all
could he have dreamed that, after having
strangled and scalped the child and hung the
| trophy at his belt gay with ribbons of all
cOlors, the Massachusetts, MOdoc would have
whiskcd into the arena in all his war paint,
and struck up a war dance before the Ameri-
can people, as he certainly did when he carried
through his resolution covering the unexpended
balance in favor of the Reform into the treas
ury. and discharging the Commission from
further service.
1t occurs to us that the great Modoc has
been lust a tri1e too demOnstrative that he
| has made too much noise over this smOthered
| and scalped Reform. There was no need of
it. He has overdOne it, Mr.. Blaine did not
expect 80 much of him. The next thing we
shall see will be some sort of MOdOc celebra-
ton over the grave, or a distribution perhaps
of the small thigh bones of the thing as relics
and mementOes. Mr.. Butler is superservice-
able. He carries the thing too far. The
President thought highly of this Reform. and
| if Mr.. Butler continues these demonstrations
he is liable to give Offense to the President
and lose his grip on the Massachusetts ap-
| pointments The Massachusetts statesman
may well content himself with having led the
Republican party up to the confession that
when it adopted resolutions in favor of Civil
Service Ref orm it was practicing deception !;
that it was cheat from the beginning, and
that it now abandons it. Having forced the
party to this confession, he should rest on
his laurels; for it is just possible the Reform
may have some friends somewhere who will
be just ridiculous enough and have just little
enough regard for the party to rise up and
make fuss over the untimely taking off of
the child of promise.