The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1876-07-05
R EF0 R NJ.

scandal mOngerS' on TN g Dralu,
whenever he sees or hears anything
about the investigation of his party, {
who have been in sole power in the
Union and especially in this State
since reconstruction, and feels sore
that all their sins political and Grim
inal should be so often discovered
and expo ed by our men in the lower
House of Congress-. And he writes
glibly about his party being the
"most respectful" and fumes that it,
in this State, should be called Me-
nagerie. We fear that the young
man is rather green one in the real
situation and as yet has not had the
advantages to become posted, but he
is now in good employ and will soon
learn, and to his surprise and regret,
that Menagerie is decent name for
such layout as he has for the pres
ent allied himself to. A few more
weeks in the traces of the Returning
Board and in the advocacy of Lou
isiana Radicalism, will at most suf-
fee to sharpen his wits and force
himself out Of the grip and groans of
the Menagerie bipeds, and lead him
if he has decent instincts to pray
himself out of the whole concern
He is young man to all appearan-
ces decent and we'll meaning, and we
regretfully advise him to read the
following from the Democratic Plat
form, on which Tilden and Hendricks
stand, and ponder we'll if such a
truthful picture as there is drawn of
his party, the grand Menagerie of
the Nation, the foster father of the
Side Show in Louisiana, should find
encouragement in the powerful
minds of the rising youth Of the
land:
"Reform is necessary in the civil
service. Experience proves that eff.
ficient, economical conduct of the
governmental business is not posi-
BILE if it's civil service be subjected to
change at every election, and be a
purse offered at the ballot-box as a
brief reward of party zeal, instead of
posts of honor assigned for proved
competency and held for fidelity in
the public employ. That the dispen-
sing of patronage should neither be
tax upon the time of all our public
men, nor the instrument Of their
ambition. Here again professions,
falsiied in the performance, attest
that the party in power can work
out no practical or salutary reform.
Reform is necessary even more in
the higher grades of public service.
President, vice-President, Judges,
Senators, Representatives, Cabinet
officers-these and all others in au-
thority are the peoples servants
Their offices are not private perqui-
site; they are a public trust. When
the annals of this Republic proclaim
the disgrace and censure of q Vice.
President; a late Speaker of the
House of Representatives marketing
his ruling as a presiding officer;
three Senators protiting secretly by
their votes as lawmakers; five chair
men of the leading committees Of the
late House of Representatives ex-
posed in jobbery; late Secretary of
the Treasury forcing balances in the
public accounts; a late Attorney
General Incorporating public
funds; Secretary of the Navy en-
riches or enriching friends by per
centages levied off the profits of con-
tractors with his department; an
Ambassador to England concerned in
a dishonorable speculation; the Pres
ideut's private Secretary barely es-
Gaping conviction, upon trial, for
guilty completely in frauds upon the
revenue; Secretary of War i'm
peached for high crimes and confess
ed misdemeanors; the demonstration
is complete that the first step must
be the public choice of honest men
from another party lest the disease
of one political organization upset
the whole body polite, aud thereby
making no change of men or party,
we can get no change Of measures
and no reform. ...--..
All these abuses, wrongs and
crimes, the product of sixteen years
of ascendancy of the Republican par
ty, create necessity for reform con-
fessed by the Republicans them
selves. But their reformers are vo-
ted down in convention and displaced
from the Cabinet. The party's mass
of honest votes is powerless to resist
the eighty thousand office holders, its