New-York tribune., 1878-03-02
GAIL HAMILTON ONCE MORE.
MIR. DORMAN B. EATONS PATH OF GLORY
IN The FEBRUARY ATLANTIC.

present, III Is the cant OF ClVll OerNiCe htloIn ycV
when Mr.. Dorman b. Eaton lifts up his innocent
head in the February Atlantic, indues himself with
the disjointed logic the loose statement, the empty
words, the sounding pretensons and the stale sar-
caems of past battles and trips upon the field with
% chd-llko confidence that ho has cased himself in
shining new. Impregnablo arm0r, it is simply i'm
possible not TO give the old ratte-trap another shake
Mr. Dorman b. Eaton omulatcs st. Paul in one
respect at least-he magnities his Office. He roans
half the world over trying to lift his Civil Service
Reform into the compaDiOnship of Great Causes
which. by legitimate inference will bring Saul also
among the prophets. 1t is needless to say that the
engine labOrs. The American heart Is too iGsensate
10 thrill readily even over the magnificent, if in
practicable dream Of great Nation moving steadily
Onward against all Obstacles, and sternly settling
it, custom-honse clerks their threc-legged stools
and bidding them mind their busness! For that
is all that Civil Service Reform amounts to. MI
Dormau h. Eaton may put on red shirt, and pose
before the American people as the Garbaldi oi an
oppressed but deathlcss Nationality: vet all the
Nationality there Is about il, and all the vitality
there in it, are what is necessary to make the fifty
thousand Federal oiice-holders of forty millions OF
people do the work they are hired to do, and not
NEEDLE with what does not belong to them!
Having ranged himself alongside Cavour and
Victor Emanuel in Italy, Mr. Dorman Il. Eaton
takes a short cut 10 England and clasps hands with
Pitt and Burkc in trinity of disnterestcd states
manship." reminding one Of the little "supe's" la
mcnt over Macicsd, : death, "Anothcr of us gone"
But when Mr.. Eaton bestrdcs this narrow Atlantic
like n colossus and hits nearer home, he grows eau
uous. Burke and Pitt and Cavour have long been
still in death but Mr.. Eaton would have to run
down long line of the living before he could stand
in statue.quc rcpo-e by the side If L0vejov accord
ngy Lc leaves of that contention before II bc med
died with by saving that " between the higher and
lower forces Of politics, which are now arraycd
against each other the question of Civil Service
Reform. there was never 80 mighty contest ~ that
about ,lavcry.' Fic! lie! Mr. Eaton how can You
bo 80 rash Why should noble stand be so lowered
in the house of IT, frcndsi D. you mean to say
that system which held in ab.olutc slavery three
million, If human beings. and polluted the morals
of niue mioa- and poisoned the laws OF nineteen
millions more and set tour millions oi men IN battle
arrdy against each other through four years OF blood
and iiIc could be a source of protoundcr passion,
could take stronger hold of the imagination
and the conscience Of any people than a sys-
ten which insists upon the appointment OF
10000 otiicc-holdcrs by competitive examination?
Perish the Thought Mr. Dornsn u. Eatons mod
.tv will yet bc the death of him-thc death at least
zaiion Has MIR. Eatonn been torn from wifc and
children at dead of night AMI hustled to the hIst
la-tp-pp,t by "A mob OF iuluratrd ollicc-hoidcrs
whose craft was danger, that hc thus dePrcciater
hi. own value. waters his own stock as II wcrcf
Has M Eaton never II u from au cnragcd custom
house OF been dragged through the street, with
rope around h. neck by q yelling crowd of special
agents. OF thrust into a dungeon by the mInions of
an iular,d Secretary Of the Interior. and his feet
made fast IN the stocks by q frenlied battalion OF
Letter Pos, Occ clerks OF bis house assaulted
ami hi, lite as,. led by the brckbats and shotRuns
of a roaring aud sccthng mass OF cnragcd Auditors
and Cumptrocrrl Did he not fare iortl from the
Fnh Avenue Conference hand IN hand with Dr.
Wool,ey. breathing out threatcnings and slaugh-
ter against mcrccnary pariisans and politics,
and did he not buckle on his sword and uulImbcr
his guns aud sand his decks and sink his MeTumacs
and dclugc the whole land with blood rather than
allow General Butrr to recommend one-rgged
sold,.r for the Mcthucn post-oilicef ii Mr. Eaton
has indeed escaped all these pcrs by fire and flood.
If his battles have all been waged with his gray
Vop-e-duill. while hi, sword has hung mnocuous at
his peaceful side: II lac has only brcn en-
gagged in Loodlcss war of word. over the slug
gish tcrIlpn aud the timorous chickcn-salaf. ana
no hand ha, bccn stretched from the hcl!iscrent
departments or the endangered Houses of Congress
AGAINST child or wife or limb 1r lifr-thrn, indeed.
Mr Dorman B Eaton Is right in saying that the con-
ted over CIVIL Service was never mighty con-
test a. that about slavery. But what estimate
does he put upon the intelligence of his countfymcn
To suppose th:t thcy need 40 b. informed of such II
flcti Or has Mr. Eaton ever reelected as 10 what
estimate they must put upon hi. intelligence see
ing HIM di,port himself among such compIri<on,
Mr. D,rnan u. Eaton attempt, to turn aside the
from Lts Civil Service Reform
bantling-whch seem. fat following in the foot
stem, of the precoclous baby Of the Bah Ballads,
.sWho,e health didn'i thrive; NJ longer alive, lie
died All enfeeblcd old dotard at five by showing
that Italian nationality and English reform and
American freedom had also their eras of doubt and
DESPAIR. of weakness and ridculc. Most true but
because great cause is ridicucd In its early stages
il does not follow that every ridiculous PROJECT Is
great cause. Tall oaks from little acOrns grow, but
not lrOe little tOad--t0pls II Mr.. Dounan Is. Eaton
finds III ancient history any comfort for the present
Imp condition of his poor, DID, battered, betrayed.
bulldozei Civil Service Reform ii would be cruel
10 deny him that solace. For his own personal
consolation, we are quite willing he should range
himself with the simple great ones who have led u
forlorn hope to an assured victory but we cannot
let him pop up behind his b1rrcadc Of dead states
men to fra his mischievOus little fusilades into
every passing group of unsuspcctng women and
children.
In Mr. Dorman b. EatOn's mind, the United States
divides itself naturally into sheep and goats, not
one of which strays into the pastures OF the
other. Among the goats only he finds /" low poll
tie. "palronagc" Low official morality" mcrce-
nary partIsans," demagogues," party managcrs,'
"schelning politicians" "hirclihgs." great job
bers." "low manipulators" ounces" "common
politicians" "spoisncn," "parisanship." "arro-
pant leaders" "OrganIzcd sellishness," "unim-
peached offenders" "salarygrabbers," "whislcy-
ring pccuaton," "Custon House corrnpilon'"
Fearful abuses" "mcrc politicians, partisan