National Republican., 1877-10-22

methods and morals OF the public Offices were
worse than were found In the private business Of
the country lie did not believe in this Like
priest, like people; like business like government;
like commercial service. like ciyil service. The
speaker alluded To the recent experience with cor
porations, with saving banks with railroad com.
plncs. Business of all kinds had here more enter.
prise, snap and dash than prudence exact method
and rigid accountability The speaker said that
here was touched the real aud obstinate objection
" civil service reform. The country could not
afford TO diminish the interest In politics. and poll.
ties depended on party organization. lie con.
tinucd:
! freely admit the necessity of parties, and re.
gard those civil service rcfDrncrs who deprecate
them, or purpose to diminish their influence, or to
diSorganizc them, as Utopian and impracticabc.
What Is party, In It's legitimate sense aud play, In
our democracy 1t is really the organization Of
the people about two poles involved in the Constl-
tuition OF the country, each Of which has legiti-
mate right and necessity and neither of which can
safely be left unchecked by the power Of the other.
An opposition Is necessary 10 the safety Of every
great policy There are historical, tcmpcramcntal,
local, hereditary influences why should we join
one rather than the other Of these parties. man
may not only be equally honest and equally re.
spectacle in either but II does not follow that he
Is TO desert his party because he sccs that for the
time the opposite one has better reasons for being
In the ascendancy. let the light weights the peo-
pie on the fence, the Jack RobinsUns of the
country, of which there are always enough. shin
with the rolling Of the ship and take the side that
Is uppermost. But the solid men must stay where
they have been early led to think the hicfdanger
of the country lies, and watch against the incur.
sion Of Federal power or the pcrils Of local indie.
pcndcnce, rs they have Leen providcntially made
to think one the other most in need of watching
1t would he urged, DR. Bellows said, that either
party which adopted the doctrine of civil service
reform would be unsuccessful.
The Hon. ZACH CHANDLER, late Secre-
tary of the Interior, has been addressing
his Granger friends at his great farm near
lansing, Michigan, at what is termed a
harvest home reception" After disc0urs-
ing upon stock raising and drainage he
driitcd into political waters and ventilated
in his peculiar way the subject of civil SER
vice reform, as follows:
There were no patent, strictly. defined rules for
civil service; there were no patent rules In any
kind of business. What his hearers wanted, what
thc.country wanted, what the citizens Of all gov.
ernmcnts wanted was common sense and plenty Of
II. What did men do IN the management of their
own business? II they found an incompetent man
they discharged him and put competent man in
his place II they fund lazy man they dis
changed him and put All industrious man IN his
place; II they found dishonest man they dis
charged him and put an horest man in his place,
aud when they found good man. when they had
a competent man, in their employ, they promoted
him. whether he was IN u Government office or on
Il f,rm What was wanted was business capacity.
Take that great apostle Of civil service reform
GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, Esq, aud although he
could write good editorials. put him In charge of
HARPEH's publishing house and he would bank.
rupt II in year. lie could not manage an irnpur.
tut business with his innracticHble ideas. but he
did not know It, This was the great trouble with
all civil service admirers. They were full of thco.
rics that were impracticablc. 1t was not true as
was being constantly said, that the world was
worse now than it was a hundred years ago. II
was not worse than it was iny years ago, nor
wor>c THAI II was ten years ago. 1t was growing
better each year