The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-11-04

I
Another crying evil and fruitful sourc'
of corrupt legislation and mAladministra
, ton of the public service, is the election L
Congress and appointment 10 heads OF De
partments, where they are connected with
the legislation j lvIsory capacity, mer
who are directly .. pecuniarily interested
in national banks and other corporations, II
not IN many of the corrupt jobs lobbled
through Congress This is one of the main
causes of most of the corruption IN the
making and administration Of the laws 1t
is, indeed, the only rational grounds upon
which the delegation Of the money power
Of the nation to privileged class OF bank
ing corporations, the squandering of the
public domain on railroad companies. and
other equally vicious legislation, can be
accounted for. 1t is not reasonable to
suppose that any intelligent, disinterested
set Of men woufd have advised and sslscssa
the monetary laws, and other special class
\ legislation affecting so une4ually and un-
| Justly the interests of those who produce
the wealth and pay the taxes Of the ma
/ tion, as those now in force. To secure the
success Of this character OF legislation 1t Is
not necessary that majority Of Congress
shall be pecuniarily Interested, for most OF
the bills are prepared by committees, and
the members so interested are sure to be
found on the committees having charge Of
this class Of legislation, and when reported
! from the committees, bills Cf this charac-
ter are frequently smuggled through Con-
gress, under the operation of the previous
question, without atfording opportunity
for examination OF discussion.
Now, | think it will be admitted that
the adoption Of the competitive system, in
the selection of clerks and other suhordi-
nate officers, offers no practical or sufficient
remedy for these abuses The board Of
examiners would, of course, be Of the same
political faith as the party in power, and
Senators and members Of Congress would,
as now, be consulted and control the ap-
pointments, and we would have the old
rule re-enacted in a worse form than un-
der the present system.
The application Of the one-term prlncl-
pie to the office Of President would prove
equally barren Of good results, for the rea-
son that the abuses in the administration
Of the laws are caused mainly by the in
reference Of Senators and Congressman
in the appointments, and other business
connected with the other departments.
To eliminate these abuses. and restore
the Government to is original simplicity
and purity, We must lay the axe Of reform
at the root Of the evils that have perverted
it from the design Of It's founders, and con
yerted it into a mere partizan machine, for
the benefit Of the retainegs Qf the party
that happen to have control Of it.
But it will be asked, what is the remedy
| reply that, as the existing evils result
mainly from unwise and corrupt legisla-
ton, and incompetency and dishonesty in
the administration of the public service,
to correct Or remove them we must pro
ceed in the same manner that a prudent
business man, Or board of directors Of a
private corportion would, to correct or re-
move similar wrongs and abuses in their
business.
The intelligent business man or board OF
directors will, in the first place, s. arrange
and systemze their business that inconI-
potency or dishonesty on the part Of any
Of their employees, officers or agents can be
readily detected and when the discovery
is made, instead of promoting the offend
ing party to higher position, they will at
once remove him. They will also, before
employing a superintendent, agent or
clerk, be careful to obtain knowledge If
his character for honesty and industry, as
well as Of his qualification for the dis
charge Of the duties for which he is EN-
ployed. No prudent business man would
think Of employing, in place of RESPONSE
bic trust, man whose personal interest
he knew to be in conflict with the dis
charge of the duties for which he was EN-
ployed. Again, good business men are
careful not to overtax the physical powers
or mental energies Of their employees, for it
is sure to result in injury to Doth parties.
Now, in the administration Of the pub
lie service, We have ignored these, and all
other prudential business maxims. We
have selected men for all places under the
Government more on account Of political
availability and partzan influence than
with reference to their fitness for the dis
charge of the duties of the offices, and in
many instances have retained them in Of
flee after their incompetency, if not want
of integrity, were clearly known. 1t is
impossible to have a wise and economical
administration Of the public service while
we persist in this course. To secure this,
we must first clearly define and limit with
in their proper spheres the duties of the
respective departments Of the Government,
and so arrange and systemic the business
of each that incompetency or dishonesty
can be readily detected, and select men for
all places of public trust on account of their
integrity, capability, and general fitness
for the discharge Of the duties of the office.
Second, we must not elect or appoint to
any place of public trust men whose pri-
vate interests are in conflict with the faith
full discharge Of the duties of the position
II is contrary to public policy to place a
man in this position, and the acceptance Of
the position ought to be accepted as con-
elusive evidence of the want of private vir.
tue on his part As well expect an impair
tial verdict from a venal jury, or right.