The Portland daily press., 1877-08-29
WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 20.


niZs. employ and limit patronage; they use
influence; they demand merit; they are re-
form.
Says Mr.. White, who has made a special
study OF these matters: "There is one way IN
which any member of the Cabinet may learn
with substantial accuracy just how the imam
clal transactions of any bureau IN MS depart
ment are conducted, and that is'-by having
cabinet meetings. OF course, and issuing rules
and flooding the world with the unfiipching
virtue of 'no politics in the departments, and
s'no promotion except for fitness,' and s'no in
reference OF Congressman allowed" and $40
bad element from politics admittedr' Not bit
of it. Hear thus stupid Mr.. White-'by going
to the accounting officers of the Treasury, and
especially to the auditors" Good heavensl
are not ALBANIA and Pharpar better than all the
waters OF Israel? How can the Department
1e cleansed OF Its leprosy if the Prophet of Re-
form 90 not come out in state before the public
and call on the name of his God, and strike his
hand majestically over the place3 Wash, and
be clean? What absurdtyl But IMr. White
persists doggedly and without regard to stage
effects:
It is impossible to conceal from the Second Auditor
looseness crookedness in the manner of transact
ing the business of the Indian Office or from the
Third Auditor irregularities in The Internal Revenue
the weak spots are, and where reforms are most
needed. Some OF the most effective refol ms have
ever known in departmental management have been
quietly instituted by The head of a bureau who
secretly took the auditor who passed his accounts
into his confidence and secured his aid.
But is not this one of those very fallaces
which Prof. Fiske condemns one of those
patchwork attempts to reform this or that
department which can never "be of any avail?'
Unless the new broom can sweep out from all
the departments all Congressional influence, all
efforts to make the best of things as they are
all gratitude to the soldiers, all geographical
preferences, all partisan bias all selfshness
from the human heart, and all defects from
human nature, we cannot have reform and
there is no use in attempting 1t. There is only
one name given under heaven among men
whereby we can be reformed, and that is COM
petitive examination! Competitive examina-
and selfishness, of gratitude ard greed, and
make wall on either side SO that the children
of reform shall pass through the departments
dry shod. All else is patchwork, fallacy, cru
dity.
''Will you have pie or ice-cream?" asked the
Saratoga waiter of guest the other day.
II will have pie while the ice-cream is COM
ing" was the greedy reply.
So, while the millenium of competitive ex.
animation is coming let us have little patch.
work Pentecost. The President shall not lord
it over Gods heritage, but he shall demand of
the husbandmen strict account. He cannot
forbid Congressional !consultation, but he can
hold 1t to strenuous res possibility. Standing
on the Constitution of the country and of hu-
man nature, he can say to political influence
and patronage, publicly and fearlessly, 'thus
far shalt thou 60" and with equal frankness
and fearlessness, "and no farther" and all the
people shall say Amen He cannot make laws,
but he can insist upon the observance of the
laws already made. He can demand of the
Heads of Departments, and the Heads of De-
partments can demand of the Heads of Bureaus
and every officer of his own subordinates, from
the President himself down to the woman who
washes the Department towels and the man
who scrubs the Treasury steps, prompt, thor
ough and honorable service Drunkenness,
dishonesty and incompetency wait for NO COM
petitive examination to reveal themselves If
President Hayes will but hold himself and
every officer under his control. and every Con-
gresham who is his partner in the government
to strict accountability for his duty, so that q
bad appointment shall be instantly traced home
to its sponsor; SO that supernumerary shall
instantly be forced to yield up his raison d etre
SO that false entry shall be instantly detected
and punished; SO that bad officer, clerk or
consul shall be for shame to the Board that
passed him, to the politician that recommended
him, to the bureau that employed hm-we
may rot indeed have the air so thick with reso.
nant moral platitudes, but onlthe other hand we
shall not have Bureau of Reform swarming
with wOrkmen whose only duty is to build up
the Reformer; we shall not have our Custom
House officers hampered by hidden political
importuDacy; we shall not have Reform totte r
ing in debility of vacillaton aud ir resolution,
button -holing all comers, battling friend and
foe alike with vexatioas delay and shilly -shally
and we shall have government not perfect
not without mistakes and failures and faults
but government free from the suspicion of
hypocrisy, strong, sound, direct and manly,
around which will gather all that is strong and
sound, direct aud manly in the Republic, work
ing together to the grand and simple intent
that government of the people, by the people,
and for the people shall not perish from the
earth. GAIL HAMILTON,