The New York herald., 1877-03-21
Machine Politics.

the machine !" and some of them now assert
that he has already destroyed the party"
EsNow, there are severnl hundred Thousand
republicans in the country who probably do
not regard their party and 1.-THE machine" as
synonymous; and there are even people who
believe that party may be the stronger for
not being controlled, managed and used ns
machine" by machine politicians.
There has been good deal Of talk for sew
eral years among republicans about 'reform
within the party" Thoughtful republicans
confessed that such reform was needed, but
they did not quite know how to get it; and
good many, after waiting until Secretary
Chandler made himself chairman OF the
National Committee and Attorney General
Taft became commander in chief of the
troops in tho South without word OF pro-
test from leading republicans, serenely
abandoned their party and voted last No
vember with the democrats. In our judg-
ment they did wisely. They took the true
way to compel ''reform within the party"
by leaving it in minority in one and, per-
haps, in both houses of Congress.
Reform within the party means getting
rid of "the machine" and that is what
President Hayes has promised to do. If he
succeeds in reconstructing the civil service
according to the ideas he has developed he
will certainly have ''broken the machine"
but it may happen that he will have
strengthened and reinvigorated his party at
the same time. What is 'the machine ?"
Under the constitution the President nomi-
mates and the Senate confirms q consider
able number of the chief officers OF the
Observation-Disclosures Of revenue, mar
shals postmasters, Indian agents. district
attorneys and others. The President Sc
lects these, according to the theory of the
constitution, and the Senate has veto
power on the selection it may by refusing
to confirm, say to the President, mot this
man, give us another )" but it has no con-
stitutional power of nomination.
In point of fact, however, the practice has
been for good many years very different
Senators and Representatives have actually
selected their favorites for these positions
they have given the names to the President,
and they have come to feel themselves
offended and insulted if he did not obe-
diently appoint their men. Thus Congress
had come to be mainly an immense Office
seeking body, and the patronage of the
administration was systematically divided
between the Senators and Representatives in
each State-or rather those belonging to the
party in power-like so much plunder, the
Senators claiming right to certain appoint
ments and the Representatives taking the
rest. Supplemented people wonder why
congressman should want to perpetu-
ate system which is not only
injurious to the public service but, as they
imagine, troublesome to the Senators and
Representatives. To q man OF real ability,
who is worthy Of serving in Congress, this
business is no doubt an unmitigated nui-
sance, and such men scorn to trouble them
selves about it. But this political machinery
is absolutely indispensable to the machine
politicians. They make their political
careers by it's help. Their sole anxiety
when they get into Congress is to secure
Offices for their allies and supporters, and
when machine Congressman has stuffed all
the federal places in his district with his
own adherents then he feels sure of a re-
nomination. 1t would ruin him if he could
not do SO. Thus, Western Senator COM
planned the other day that President Hayes
had not appointed single friend of his to
office-had not even consultedhim about the
appointments in his State +; "And how am
to be reelected, I'd like to know" he ex-
claimed.
Congress is supposed to be representa-
tive body-members of the lower House rep
resenting the people by districts, Senators
the people by States. But when the party
in power has once fallen into possession Of
the machine politicians the case is altered.
Congress is still representative body, but
it represents no longer the people, but the
members of the machine. 1t is to the in
terest of these to crush out every inde-
pendent member-every one having natural
ability and genius for public life enough to
stand alone and to win votes by the value of
his public services. Such men are of no use
to the machine. In their places and in all
the places, so far as possible, the machine
puts men of small ability, who will bo
sure to vote right and will pertinaciously
secure their share Of tho patronage
to the 'workers" of the party ut home,
and "push the claims of the machine's S
men. Hence, when the machine gets con-
troll the party ceases to be useful to the
people. It's object is not to serve the coun-
try, not to bring able men into public life,
but to maintain the ascendancy of a limited
number of men who form ''Ring." There
fore public questions are triiied with or
evaded; there is promise of reform, but no
performance, because to do anything would
be to disturb the harmony of the party
and if the machine can elect to the Presi-
| dnncy q man who is too ignorant or timid to