River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-08-05

heavy democratic majorities, furnishing
democratic electoral votes and congress
men. Who will tell me that it is certain
they will be more conscientious with re-
gard to the national debt than they
showed themselves with regard to their
own? Have we right TO expect a sound
financial policy? While there are many
good, sound money men in the democratic
party, it is equally well known that the
democratic party has irresistibly attracted
to its fold very large majority of the
greenbackers, infationists and fat-money
men. 1t has, indeed, in its national plat
forms of late declared for sound money;
but in 1876, while it pronounced for re-
sumption il demanded at the same time
the repeal of the resumption law. | ask
what would have become of resumption
had the resumption law been repealed?
But while thus speaking of sound money
in their national platforms, is it not equal
ly true in large number of the states the
most prominent inhationists are put for
ward for the highest honors followed by
the masses of their party? So General
Ewing, in Ohio, so General Butler, in
Massachusetts, SO Mr. Landers, in Indiana
while in Maine democrats and green
hackers fuse, in cordial embrace, and while
in many Of the western and most of the
southern states the democrats almost en-
masse represent unsound financial ideas.
Is it not true that, to the very last, re-
sumption was opposed in congress by
democratic congresmen? Why, when
General Hancock was nominated the at
traction for the greenbac. ers seemed TO be
co gt rfn hot 10 orr
and Generel Sam Cary, of Ohio, were
among the first to pay their devotion and
wish him success.
Now, can anybody foretell what will hap
pen in these respects
IN CASE OF A DEMOCRATIC VICTORY?
In fact we do not know whether the advo-
Gates of the public faith or the repudi-
ationists, whether the hard money men or
the inilationists, are the strongest element
in the democratic party throughout the
country, and which of these elements will
control its policy. | appeal to you as BUSH
ness men, am ! going TOO far in saying
that all this is dark, and that in voting the
democratic ticket you will take gambling
chance, and that chance being rather
against you? Are you prepared, tax-pay
ers Of the country, to take that gambling
chance under such circumstances?
cratic party, in its fashion, will reform the
civil service. That il will certainly do; it
will do it according to an old democratic
principle, ito the victors belong the
spoils" That principle is of democratic
origin, and the democratic party has adj
hered to it with fidelity worthy of the
best cause Other parties were infected
by it, but the democratic party may claim
the glory of its paternity and its most un-
swerving advocacy IL may abandon any
other principle, but not that. If there
ever was a democrat. either at the head of
the organization or in the ranks, who has
proved recreant to that great doctrine, and
made proclamation of his opposition to it,
| do not know his name. 1t is so closely
interviewer with the traditions of that par
ty that | doubt very much whether II
could be abandoned without destroying the
party's existence. That great word, the
cohesive power of public plumber" had its
first and most pointed application tothe
democracy. And, indeed, when we look at
the heterogeneous elements to-day, it is
not easy to imagine any other cohesive
power which could hold them together.
If General Hancock, or any other leader,
should signify his intention to abandon 1t,
every democrat in the land would receive
the news with an ironical smile, and sim
ply say that that leader knew a trick or
two. If such an intention were debated,
and the declaration believed, it is not I'M
likely that their hosts would disband at
once. When the democracy, therefore.
speaks of
A REFORM OF THE CIVIL SERVICE,
the meaning of that term, in the light of
history and of the tendencies at present
prevailing, can be nothing else than that
The reform shall consist in putting out all
the republicans and putting in all demo
Gratis in their places. What a reform that
would be. How the north and south would
shake over the bloody chasm filled with
such good things. What host of men
would be marching upon the capital from
all parts of the compass, each one feeling
that he was born to serve the public, and
that the government cannot get on without
him. 1t is said that at the present mo-
ment, when the democracy feels sanguine
of success, as it always does the most pop
ular work of literature with democrats,
even with those who never read book be-
fore, is the blue Book" being the regis
ter of offices under the government, with
saiaIies attached, each active democrat Sc
| lecting his, and many the same.
| Now let us see what that sort of demo
cratic reform in the civil service really
means and what its effect would be. Look
at the present condition of the service.
! have already admitted that the reform oil
it was not gone so far as was intended and
! was desirable, but | may say also that
more has been accomplished than has
been generally known and believed. | re-
peat, it is an almost universally acknowl-
edged fact that at present the business is,
on the whole, well and honestly conducted
/
are collected with remarkable fidelity, and
never in the history of the country has the
loss in their collection been as small as
now. In some of its branches it has al
| most entirely disappeared. The postal
service is acknowledged to be more than
ever ably, honestly and efficiently done.
Even in those branches of the public serv-
ice which more than others have almost
from the beginning of the government
borne the reputation of being inefficient
and corrupt. such as the land and cspec-
tally the Indian service, cases of pecula-
ton and roguery have become compare
lively rare, and the general inefficiency of
officers is very much improved; and /
speak of this with assurance for the rea-
son that | am conversant with the details.
How has this been brought about?
III the first place, officers of all grades
were made 10 understand tnat dlSnOneStly
of whatever kind or degree would under no
circumstances be tolerated Officers guilty
of corrupt practices, whenever their gnilt
was shown with sufficient clearness,
HAVE BEEN EXPOSED AND ELECTED
from their places without hesitation. Every
man in the service understanding this, it
may be saidthat if persons with thieving
propensitics were left or put in place, they
did in most cases not dare to steal. Sec
0ndly, the number of removals made by
this administration has been comparative
ly small Not only clerks in the depart
ments, but officers, appointed for a term
of years, were generally left in their places
as long as they showed the necessary degree
of ability and efficiency in the discharge of
their duties. In this way the service re-
tanned very valuable stock of official eX-
perienceswhich could not but tell in It's
general efficiency, while at the same time
public servants were imbued with feeling
that the best way TO secure themselves in
place was to perform their duties according
to the best standard. Thirdly, in appoint
ing new men care was taken to select such
as would presumably be capable 10 perform
the tasks assigned TO them. In some de-
partments, and in a number of the larger
government institutions in the country