Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-21

rounded by a feW able cOunSellOrS Tn peaceful consultation, but quickly, under the bewilder- ing pressure of not hundred but thousands of eager politicians, who fill the ear with a
 babel of sound and with pandemonium of conflicting ambitions. This is task that would tax man of phenomenal genius to the utmost of his capacity but what will be- come of one who is unaided even by the least experience of political life, and has nothing but his inner consciousness to measure the value of the arguments and pretenses which are dinned into his ears and the character of the interests that besiege him with their ur- gency for immediate action?
 Let us see now what, in view of all this, we have right to expect from Democratic victory. Is it the maintenance of our public faith? While there are prominent opponents of repudiation in the Democratic party, it is a notorious fact that all the elements hostile
 to the constitutional discharge of our na- tional obligations have also gathered under the same banner. Nearly all, if not all the
 States that have repudiated or speak of re- pudiating their own debts, are Democratic
 States, with heavy Democratic majorities,
 furnishing Democratic electoral votes and
 Congressmen. Who will tell me that 1t is certain they will be more conscientious with regard to the national debt than they showed themselves with regard to their own? Have we right to expect sound financial policy?
 While there are many good sound money men in the Democratic party, 1t is equally well known that the Democratic party has irresistibly attracted to it's fold very large majority of the Greenbackers, infationists and fat-money men. It has, indeed, in its national platforms of late declared for sound money; but in 1876, while 1t pronounced for resumption, 1t 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 ask what would have become of resumption had the resumption law been repealed?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 ln their national platforms, is it not equally true in a large number of the States the most promi- nent inhationists are put forward for the highest honors followed by the masses of their party? So General Ewing, in Ohio, so General Butler, in Massachusetts, so MT. Landers, in Indiana; while in Maine Demo- crats and Greenbackers fuse in cordial en- brace, and while in many of the Western and most of the Southern States the Demo- crats almost en masse represent unsound financial ideas. Is 1t not true that to the very last resumption was opposed in Con- gross by Democratic Congressmen? Why, when General Hancock was nominated the attraction for the Greenbackers seemed to be
 so strong that the venerable Peter Cooper and General Sam. Carey, of Ohio, were among the first to pay to him 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 advocates of the public faith or the repu- diationists whether the hard-money men or the infationists, are the strongest element in the Democratic party throughout the coun- try, and which of those clements will control it's policy. I appeal to you, business men, am going too far in saying that all this is dark, and that in voting the Democratic ticket you will take a gambling chance, and that chance being rather against you? Are you prepared, tax payers of the country, to take that gambling chance under such cir cumstances?
 But one thing is certain, that the Demo- cratic party, in it's fashion, will reform the civil service. That it will certainly do; it
 will do it according to old Democratic principle, To the victors belong the spells. "
 That principle is of Democratic origin, and
 the Democratic party has adhered to 1t with
 a fidelity worthy of the best cause. Other parties were infected by it, but the Demo- cratic party may claim the glory of its pater- nity and of it's most unswerving advocacy. It may abandon any other principle but not that. If there ever was 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 oppo- sition to it, I do not know his name. It is so closely interwoven with the traditions of that party that I doubt very much whether it could be abandoned without destroying the party's existence. That great word, ''the CO., hesive power of public plunder," " had it's HISU anu uOeI poluGeu appAcdG4Ou IO Ine De- mocracy.
 Now let us see what that sort of Democratic reform in the civil service really means and what it's effect would be. Look at the press ent condition of the service I have already admitted that the reform of it has not gone so far as was intended and was desirable, but I may say also that more has been accom- plished than is generally known and believed I repeat, 1t is almost universally acknowl- edged fact that at present the public business is, on the whole, well and honestly conducted in the Government offices. The revenues 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 it's branches it has almost entirely disappeared. The postal service is acknowl- edged to be more than ever ably, honestly and efficiently done. Even in those branches of the public service which more than others have almost from the beginning of the Gov ernment borne the reputation of being in- efficient and corrupt, such as the land, and especially the Indian service cases of pecula- 1 tion and roguery have become comparatively 1 rare and the general ineficiency of officers i is very much improved; and I speak of this l with assurance for the reason that am con- versant with the details
 Now substitute for this the Democratic re- form, making clean sweep according to the | old spells system, and what will you have ? Hundreds of thousands of politicians, great | and small, but all hungry, rushing for seven | ty or eighty thousand places, backed and | pressed by every Democratic Congressman | and every Democratic committee in the land 1 This impetuous rush must be satisfied as rap idly as possible, for they want to make the l best of their time, and in this case, as well as others, time is money. It is useless to dis | guise it the mass of office-seekers, starved | for twenty years, will not be turned back as l long as there is mouthful on the table. l Seventy or eighty thousand officers selected | at random from that multitude of ravenous 1 applicants will be put into places held now | mostly by men of tried capacity and expert l ence. They must be taken at random, for 1t | is impossible to fill so large a number of | places in so short time the furious de- 1 mand will permit in any other way Need I | tell any sensible man what the effect upon | the conduct of the public business will | be? It will be the disorganization of | the whole administrative machinery of | the Government at one fell blow; it will be the sudden substitution of raw hands for skilled and tried public servants; the substi- tuition of the eager desire to make out of pub hc affairs as much be made in the | shortest possible time, for official training experience and sense of responsibility. It will be a removal, for some time at least, of those carefully devised guards which are now placed over the public money and its use it will in one word be the sudden distribution of so many thousand places of trust, respon- slbility and power, now well filled, in the true sense of the word as spells among the hosts of the victorious party.
 It is useless to say that the Democratic party contains a,suficient number of men of ability and integrity to fill all those places No doubt it does.s But it is absolutely i'm possible for those who have the appointing power, even if they were ever SO well dis posed, to make careful selections for so many places in a short time, especially considering the fact that usually the least worthy aspirants among the most clamor- ous and the most skillful in securing the strongest political indorsement Need I tell the taxpayers what such an experiment will cost Suppose after the success of the Democratic party in Presidential election Ill the offices, high and low. in all the banks and saving institutions of the country, were to be filled suddenly with Democratic politicians upon the recom- of Democratic Congressman md campaign committees, what would he stockholders and depositors think ,f the safety of their money? And yet the interests involved in the banks are by no neanS cyreafer than the interactc involved |