New-York tribune., 1879-03-26

movement, considered merely from o partisan
point of view, is of vastly more benefit to
the Republican party than tho retention
of all the patronage In question. Inc
Democratic majority in the Senate can DO
their Republican opponents no greater favor
than by making candid disclosure OF their
real motives.
In this matter it was only intended to draw
out the Democratic Senators for the purpose
of illuminating their own and their party s
position upon a subject on which they have had
much to say for the past few years, to-wit
Reform in the Civil Service. The action OF
the majority in making the changes was IN
itself sufficient to throw a food of hight
upon the professions with which their
platforms and their speeches have so long
abounded; the remarks of Messrs. Eaton,
Beck and Voorhees, were still more lu-
minous. These gentlemen expressed sur
prise that so natural proceeding rs the
turning out of the old set of Senate officials
and putting in new upon purely partisan
grounds should occasion comment. They say
very frankly that the Offices belong to the
Democratic majority, and that because they
belong to them they propose to take
them. Their av0wal of belief in the spOils
doctrine seems to be unhesitating and un-
qualified "To the victors belong the
"spoilsr they say, and proceed to SCOOP them
in. Now no one claims that the Democrats
in the Senate were expected by any great num-
Der of people to do anything different from
this Al Democrats expected it to be done
though they have been for years asSeverating
that the party was opposed to it, and denounc-
ing their opponents for it. And all Republl-
cans knew they would do it rs soon as they
got the chance, whatever their professions
were.
And yet, though they did precisely what
everybody expected them to do, and
what all their instincts. their associations,
their training and their traditions drove
them to irresistIbly, we beieye 1t
was wise in the Republican Senators
to push them into emphasizing the
performance somewhat for the enlsht-
enment of the country. The Democratic
party is in majority in the Senate and
House to-day upon the strength of false
promises and lying professions. The coun-
try is already pretty thoroughly convinced
of that fact. But in order that there
may be no mistake about it, and that the
record may be made so plain and unmistak-
able that they will not undertake hereafter
to deny it or repeat the deception, IT Is well
that whenever Trey do repudiatc their pro-
fessOns they should be confronted with the
record and compelled to face the Tact
of their tIeachery. The fact brought out
in this transaction Ivy the utterances OF DEM
ocratic Senators, and the treatment OF the
subject by Democratic newspapers, is that all
the time these people have been talking about
Civil Service Reform and the evils OF
partisan use of official patronage, they
had their tongues in their cheeks ami
were trying to deceive the public. No
doubt every one of these Senators who voted
to grab the Offices for their party at the first
chance has declaImed loudly against the
dangers and the evils of using Government
offices as rewards for party service. Upon
the strength partly of such professions they
have been placed in position where they can
use them for that purpose themselves. and.
they do it as though it had never occurred to
them to do anything else.
1t Is barely possible that there is some
where i'll the country an old-tme Republlcan
who, having become for good reasons dis
satisfied with the administration OF the pub
lie service under President Grant, began
to vote tho Democratic ticket under the
delusi0n that the Democrats were hon
est in promising reform In that
particular, and still continues the prac-
tIce. II there Is such an one, we hope he
will search the record of the Democratic
party for the past three or four years, or
since it began to reap the fruit OF such pro-
fessions If he can find q single instance
where that party has come within grabbing
distance Of any sort of an Office and
has not pounced upon it-no matter
how mcritoriOus the incumbent or how
sraceless the applicant--then we have not
word to say against his keeping right on.
But if he cannot, We simply suggest that he
find some other pretext for Lis politics than
the Democratic position on the Civil Service.