New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-07-28

influence, and small men may berate 1t and Civil
| Service Rcformers may tinker at POst-offce Rules
till the grows cold and the stars old and the
leaves of the ,Tudgment-BoOk unfold; but Daniel
Webster will still have more influence i'll political
councils than John Taylor, and if President Hayes
wants in office it shall 90 hard but there Will
be place somewhere found for him made for
him.
This truth is not affected by affirmation or denial,
OF carcature, or Characterization 1t may be called
nepotism, or corruption or partsanshp, and buried
out of sight under Rules, expuuged from bylaws,
banshed from speech but it is there all the same,
always operative, always powerful, always to be
taken into the account. think il is better to have
it recognized regulated. and held responsible, than
to have it outlawed and piratcal. ! think, for
ample, that if there had been a Stllwell, who
wanted the Marshalshp of Northern Illinois, il
would have been more honorable. more dIgnIfed,
and more in the line of Civil Service Reform. for the
President to appoint him at once, on the ground
that, from long connection and acquaintance, he
was sure of his fitness for the place, than it would
have been for him to thrust him out publicly with
one hand, and then privately haul him in with the
other But so long az overpOwer Nature by 14ce,
so long will Nature avenge herself by ndirectlons
OF course this natural law may be abused: so may
every other. Daniel Webster may prostitute hrs
influence by recommending bad relatives to Office Ill
order rid himself of their support; as one OF our
most eminent Rcforners said the other day whel-
successfully-seeking office for neer-doweIl klns-
man under another eminent Reiormer: = be had
supported hin$ alfa-dOzen years, and now the Gov
ernment might spell him awhilew How much bet
ter is Civil Service Reform which never consults
Daniel Webster, but chooses men by competitive
examination Yes, but competitive examination
itself is liable to be abused. One of our Reforners
went so far in his self-abaSemoD TO hold up China
for an example to u.s. nasmuch il selected officers
by competitive examination. Mr.. llolcombe, a mis-
sionary at Pekin China. speedily his little pin
into that balloon. AS to the nature Of the exam
nations suppose President Grant should require all
candidates for the Office of Postmaster to
memories the whoIc Of Tic Old Testament II TIE oRlGI-
NAL HEBREW, without their having any such
knowledge of Hebrew as would enable them to
get at the meaning of the words and books mem
orzcd, and then should examine them upon their
p0lrcr 10 rCcie correctly these b0OkS such eXamina-
ton would pertain somewhat more closely 20 tie
practical duties of Postmaster than do the c0H-
petltve examinations in China to the practical du-
ties of official life.
To be sure we have not quite reached the high Chi
neScstandard ofpreparaton Tor the Civil Service, but
under the guidance Of our wise men, hItchIng
along in that direction. Prot. Willard FIske has
mounted his Custom House clerks OH the dynasties
Of the German Empsrors and between the conncc-
tion of an invoice OF tea with the old HOhenstauh-
ems or Hebrew cosmogony, il would be hard 10
choose. 1.-The prime object says Prof. Fiskc, lis
TO learn whether he be a man OF sufficiently
petc mental training 20 DE able 10 adapt himself 10
any ordinary position and, in pursuance OF this
laudabc object, the Chinese mandarin goes ab0lt
coming his lesson, g the of Reuel Esau's sou
Duke Nahath, Duke Zerah, Duke Shammah Duke
Micah. And these are the of AhOlibamah
Duke Jeush, Duke Jalam, Duke Koran, HeBldan,
and E~hban and Ihran and Cheran.
Judgments differ as well rs tastes; but would
rs soon trust Daniel Websers sound sense and self
interest TO help choose me Postmaster who couldfc
ward an ildireced letter. al the practical
tlity to be derived from Che knowledge that the
children of Israel departed from OJoth and pitched
in le-abarim and departed from lin and pitched
in Dibon-gad, and thcy removed from DibOn cad and
encamped in AlInon-dbathaim.
Moreover, in whom dwclls the secret and test Of
purityl
Whoarc the examnerS' Why, Mr.. Bates. Mr. Catiin
and MIR. Ilfauy. And who stands sponsor for their
iucorruptibilityg Why, MIR. Carl Schurz-who ap-
pointed them, who can any day turn them out
toward whom they occupy no attitude of indepen-
dence, but, in the language of the Reformers them
selves, are "savishy subseryent." SO then we
have simply exchanged King Log for King StorA
only we had King Log IN our own hands, and could
call him 20 account, while King Storl. is away Of az
Washington, intrenched behind the President, am
we cannot touch him. | do not that the sys-
TEN " is the slightest Improvement on the old.
You may call a man man. or You may call him
Congressman. or a Cabinet Officer or a Board,
Examining Committee. or a close corporation of
oce-holders or Mr.. Carl Schuz; but he still man,
bp his rlla lal
faith in his prcudices; and if you set him bench,
three in a row. and change him every three months,
he is still only man, subject to Ike passions with
ourselves and all the rows Of him and all the months
of him VIII not rise very far above fall far
below the general level of human nature. Whether
he he Board or Congressman, or Commission, 1t is
better 20 have him where we can watch him, and see
that his preiudces do not get the upper hand of ours
frankly admit that at present the people seem
TO hail with JOY the abnegatiOn of their own power
and authority; but suspect II is the voice of. 1.-THE
newspapers, and not Of the people; aud that when
this spasm of servility has passed Off the sane and
sober self-rcspect of American citizens will come to
the front again; aud they will not consider the
liberties or the honor of the country any safer in
the comparatively remote and irresponsible hands
of a Cabinet Officer than in the nearer and more
Immediately responsible hands of four hundred
Congressmen; and that they will consider the
Constitution a safer guide than the professional
RefOrueT.
Most of this cutlery against the interference Of
ConeIcssmen in politics-noaIly all, indeed, which
is not mere ccho-sounds To me more like clamor
for the transfer of patronage than for the triumph
OF principle. That any Administration could think
that the dignity of tins Nation required the accom-
plisbcd Mr. Rublee Toe succeeded at Bcrnc by The
not quite accomplished Mr.. Schneider, ii is difficult
I d., tlts tr,f.t ont