Litchfield enquirer., 1877-06-21
The Second Great Issue.

m010FIEY O1 IuG AIuCklCaA HCOPASs @ASAS are still embittered Republicans who hon. estly consider the misrule of negro legis- latures just what the late rebels of the late Confederacy deserve. There are sell fish partisans who care little how much Southern states are misgoverned, provided they choose Republican Congressmen and Republican electors. But the people are satisfied with Mir. Hayes. The issue was c sharp and an unavoidable one; hls de- cision once made, is irrevocable; and MT. Hayes Southern policy is no longer liv- ing question of politics, but dead mat ter of history.
 The second part of Mir. Hayes program is one of infinitely greater difficulty than the first. It involves, if thoroughly car ried out, e complete change in the meth ods of appointing the officers of our civil service; the restoration to the executive branch the power of appointment, now usurped by the legislative; and the practi- cal abolition of the spells system. To un- derstand the full difference between a system where promotion goes by merit or by length of service, and one in which politicians parcel out offices for party or individual benefit, we must compare our military with our civil service. With the former, thers is little just ground of com plaint. The officers of our army and na- " are not paid extraordinary salaries, but they are an able, honorable body of thor Oughly trained men. They never meddle with politics; they thoroughly understand their own business, and do pot interfere with affairs outside of it. The civil ser- want, on the other hand, is usually man who cannot earn living in any other bus mess. He has talent for politics; knows just where to find the men to pack pri- ~Aavv end ia an adant at the dirtiest pn- htical work. He is the protege of some Congressman. for whom he does more use- full service than he can possibly do for the government. When not at work for his patron or his party. he is apt to be at work for himself, being an ingenious discoverer of new perquisites and illicit fees. To meet the Congressman's importantly for places for his hungry under-strappers,a and to make up for the inefiiciency of officers whose chief duty is politics, there is a con- utant temptation to increase the number of offices, till those in charge of such armies of employees as swarm in the New York Custom House are compelled to admit that they have twenty per cent more off, eers than are really needed.
 It will be understood, of course. that our criticisms do not apply without con- siderable qualification to positions like those of country postmasters, with whose regular business their official duties do not interfere.
 The contrast between an excellent mlli- tary service and an abominable civil ser- vice was nowhere more clearly seen than at the South, in the days when Rascally Republicanism was rampant there. First in every species of extortion, peculation and fraud, was the government office-hold. CT: nominally appointed by President Grant, but. in reality selected by some Carpet Bagging Congressman. So heavy was the hand of the civil servant on the taxpayer that he constantly prayed to be placed once more under the power of the military servant of the Republic. Pop ular government engineered by the former was vastly more oppressive than the des potic rule of the latter. All over tn, South, to-day, the government army office is trusted and respected, while the govern ment civil officer is hated and and despis cd.
 This vast difference is readily attributa ble to two causes: 1st the tenure of militia " office is permanent, while the tenure of evil office is always insecure; 2d, tn, former is never the reward of political ser vices, as is nearly always the case with th' latter. The military service is vastly tn, harder ofthe two; it involves years of hart frontier life, and the risks of harassinl and inglorious warfare with savages; bu the faithful officer is sure of pay and pro motion as long as he is willing to serve In the civil service, on the contrary, tn, officer knows that faithful service neithe ensures promotion. nor even permansnc. of employment. It is sort of feuda system in which hls allegiance is due frs to the congressman or prominent politi cian who secures his appointment, next t the party in power, and lastly to the fed eral government. No amount of faithfu service to the government will save hir if he is not also faithful to his party. N amount of falthfulness to government an party will serve him, if he neglects hi primary allegiance to. the prominent pol tisian to whom he owes his appointment The first and most arduous duty of th civil officer IS to see that the politician whose retainer he is, holds his leading p' sition :n the party. To that end he mul be active at primaries, and efficient at COT ventions. Next to securing the positio of his immediate political chief, come his duty to his party. He must stir u the animosities and prejudicies of part sans to the fighting point; he must SC that his entire party vote is properly DO led; and he must not be too scrupulou about buying all purchasable votir commodity; or about counting in'' ca didates if he have the opportunity. No, no man does this sort of work on gre uncertainty as to its success. who can eal an honest living. In fact the Americs thesry of civit service is, just now, exact the opposite of Franklin's. It holds pra tically that the first condition of execl ting public affairs we'll is to begin by ex outing ones own badly.
 How then can this evil be remedie
 That remedy is possible, we need D
 % far to learn. England once had as b
 civil service as ours-from the same ca
 aea-and now her civil serviea ia axcelle,