Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1876-09-28
THE RUTLAND HER ALD
THURSDAY, SEPT. %, 1875.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM

The Nation says that those who believe
radical reform of our civil service sys-
TEN is the most pressing need of the ma
ton, ought to prepare themselves for a
long campaign. The first thing to be
done, and the thing without which ev-
erything else will be of no avail, is to
take away from Congressman the con-
troll of the Federal offices in his district
by which he expects to get and keep his
seat in Congress. To propose, says the
Nation, that Congressman shall have no
control over these offices, is by no
means, as Governor Hayes in his letter
OF acceptance seems to consider tito Of
fer them favor that they will eagerly
welcome ; it is to propose a ''self deny
ing ordinance" waich they will receive
about as most of us would receive an in
Vitation to sell all that we have and give
to the poor. But the Nation NAV take
encouragement from the bold, manly
speech of Mr. Walbridge A. Field, of
Boston, in accepting a nomination to
Congress from the third Massachusetts
district. We have seen nothing in any
speech or letter by any Congressn an,
which has the appearance of such genu-
ine sincerity as this extract from Mr..
Fields speech: eff anything is to be
accomplished in the direction of civil
service reform, he said, the first thing
to be done is to take the appointing pow
er from the member of Congress. You
cannot get on at all, in my Judgement,
unless you DO that do not mean to
take all power of giving information or
of transmitting information or of CIV
ing advice, if asked for, to the proper |
appointing officers Your members of
Congress as a rule, will not give up that
power unless their constituents compel
love power, whether for their own sake
or not. All men love the reputation of
power, however they use it. Besides,
too, it has got to be popular notion
that the ability and efficiency of a Rep
Tesentative depends not upon his fidelity
and ability in promoting wise legislation,
but on his ability to secure in his favor
as mary appointments as possible, and
any member Of Congress who goes there
and abstains from what l deem to be i'm
proper interferences with appointments,
will be pretty sure to be thought by
good many persons in his district, no
matter how faithful and able he may
have been in legislation, a somew hat in
capable ard Inefficient Representative.
If | should happen to be elected, and if
l should happen to conform TO this the
DRY that l was to represent your opinion
and my own upon the fitness of any per
son here for office, and leave the respon-
sibility with the person charged by law
with the appointment to office and go no
further, hope, gentlemen, you will be-
lieve that l am in favor of civil service !
reform" j
This we say is bold and manly utter /
ance. 1t means that Mr.. Field, if elect !
ed to Congress, as we sincerely hope, he |
will act with reference TO the most pres 4
sing need Of thenation, as he has spoken |
with some definiteness. 1t means that 1
he will attend to the appropriate duties /
of his department and leave to the Ex- I
ecutive department of the government /
its appropriate duty of making appoint I
ments to the civil service. 1t is mat
ter Of still further encouragement that |
this speech was received with applause.
We trust that the applause meant that
Mr.. FIELDS constituents desire him to
act with the same defniteness with which
he has spoken. Mr. Field is native of
Springfield, VT, brother of Mr.. Fred
G. Field, who has represented that town
in the Legislature. He is graduate of
Dartmouth College where he was distin-
guished as a scholar. He is lawyer of 1
marked ability, ga Republican. of the
Republicans" as ne styles himself, and
a man of the nerveSto carry out the
views in regard to civil service reform to
which he has SO distinctly committed
himself.