Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-01-30
Gen. Grants Views ofMen and Things.

Gen. Grants Views Of Men and Things.
WHAT HE THINKS OF cIvII. SERVICE REFORM,
! OF THE DEMOCRATIC PAETY, OF THE PRONI- |
NENr CANDIDATES FOE THE PRESIDENCY, |
| ETC.
The current numbers Of John Russell |
YOung's ''Around the World with Grant
contain some interestngaccounts of conver-
sations which the General held with Mr.. |
Young, and in which he freely expressed his
views Of many important matters connected |
with American politics. We copy some of
thcsc:
! GEN. GRANT on CIVIL SERVICE IEFoEM.
There is no man in the country" said the
| General, 80 anxious for civil service reform
as the President Of the United States for the
| time being. lie is the one person most inter-
ested. Patronage is the bane of the Presiden-
tial Office 4 large share Of the vexations and
cares of the executive comes from patronage.
| He is necessarily a civil service reformer,
because he wants peace of mind. Even
/ apart from this. | was anxious when be-
came President to have civil service reform
| broad enough to include all that its most |
earnest friends desired. | gave it an honest |
and fair trial, although George William Cur
lis thinks did not. One reason, perhaps,
for MIR. Curtiss opinion may be that he does
not know rs much about the facts as do.
There is good deal of cant about civil SER
vice reform. which throws doubt upon the
sincerity of the movement. The impression
is given by some of the advocates of civil
| service reform that most of the executive
| appointments are made out of the pcnlten-
tiary. Writers who have reached years of |
discretion, like John Jay, gravcly assert that |
| one fourth of the revenue collected ut the |
New York custom house is lost in the process |
| of collection. OF course no reform can he |
sound when it is sustained by such wild and |
astounding declarations. Then many of |
those who talk civil service reform in public |
are the mos, persistent in seeking offices for
| their friends. Civil service reform rests en-
tircly with congress. If members and sena-
I tors will give up claiming patronage, there
will be Il step gained But there is an im-
menSc amount of human nature in mem
bers of congress and it is human nature to
seek power and Use it ant! tp help friends.
An executive must consider congress. y
government machine must rum and an exc
cutive depends on congress. In Il country
as vast Us ours the advice Of congressman as
to persons 10 he appointed is useful, and
generally for the best interests of the coun-
try
Mr.. lIaycS's administration will close the
twentieth wear of Republican rule. These
20 years have built up a large body Of cN-
pcIicnced servants in all departments ui the
government The only break was when
Mr.. johnson was at cnmitN with his party,
and filled many offices with incompetent
men. suffered from that. Most of my
carly removals and appointments we're To
weed ont the bad men appointedhY johnson
Mr. Ilavcs has had nu such trouble. made
some removals in the beginning that |
should not have done. But as soon rs |
came to know the politicians this ceased.
was always resisting this pressure from con-
grrsSlncn, and | could recall many cases
| where nothing hut resistance. my own de-
| tcrmned resistance, saved good men. One
| fourth, if not more, of the officers oil the
government in Washington are Democrats.
| Some of the best men in the service are
! Democrats | never removed men because
! they were Democrats, if they were otherwise
I tit. | never thought of such thing, nor
does Mr. lIavcS. This shows that civil SER
vice reform is growing in America, in the
only way it can grow naturally through
time"
Il see. said the General. in some of
the newspapers that under Mr.. Hayes it is Il
subject for congraiulatiOn that office holders
are no longer removed because they will not
paw assessments for political campaigns.
never removed Il man for such refusal,
never knew one of my cabinet to do So, and
if had ever known it. | would have dis
missed the officer who had made such re-
movalS. Statements like this belong to the {
cant of the civil service discussion, and {
throw doubt upon the sincerity of those who
advocate thu, reform. | can see where our
service can he amended. But every day the .
Republican party remains in power amends .
it, As to competitive examinations, they
are Of questionable utility. Onc of the most
brilliant candidates before the civil service
board was in Jail very soon after his ap- ,
pointmrnt for robbery. The way To
achieve The best civil service is, first TO in
ilucnrc congressman. and induce them 10
refrain from pressure upon the executive,
then pass laws giving each Office special
tenure; then keep the Republican party in
power until. the process of education is
complete As it is now the only danger :
see to civil service reform is in the triumph
of the Democratic party.
THE pEMoCEATIC rAErN.
Il have no objection 10 the Democratic
party Us il existed before the war. hope
again 10 STE tn, time when | will have NJ
objection 10 it, Before the war, whether
man was W hig or Democrat. he was always
for the country. Since the war, the Dem
ocratic party hIS always been against the
country. That is the fatal defect in the
IllllihIllb why Z N'uiH |
see with alarm its advent to power. There
are men in that organization men like Bay
arl. Met ctlcllan, Hancock and others whom
know They are rs loyal and patriotic rs
any men Havard. tor instance. would [
make Il splendid president. ! would not he '
afraid of the others in that Office; but, be-
hind the President thus elected, what would
vnu have. The first element would he the I
solid South. South only solid through the !
. Ill.
und would lac the foreign element in the
North. an element which has not been long
enough with us Ia acquire the education or
experience necessary IL true citizenship.
Neither of these elements has any love Tor
the niun. The first made war IL destroy l
il. the second has not learned wlEt nion is.
These rlt.mrnis constitute the Democratic 4
party, and oncr they gain power should be- $
concerned for the welfare of the country. t
They would sway their President, M matter Y
how able or patriotic.
ryENIIuN oF TIE PRESIDENTIAL TEEN.
Il hay,. thought a good deal over this sub $
iect of the duration of the Presidential I
Office. The nnc-t term idea has many arsu-
mrnts in lis favor. Perhaps one term. with |
ont u reelection. Tor SIX ar seven WEARS, !
would hr ~ .snnlas any other The arstI-
mrnt AGAINST a second term that I'r, si,rui
is tempted To- tls.' his patronage I" rrclrct -,
himself. is moi snnnd The moment Il l'rcSi-
dent used his on. for such Il purPaSc he 6
would tail II would h,' th,' SuirIlt nf his !
administration. II would offend the people u
and aitav a-aius him the public men, most 7
nt whom are dreaming ol The succession Tor
themselves, and would rcscn; a policy they u
deemed Ia he an invasion of their own rights ,
There is nothing in that argument Patron :
age does not strengthen Il President. When r
vnu take up the question ol second or third f
terms, and propose permanent inrliSlinlIty a
afterwards. Nuu are encountered with the I
argument that in Il free government people i,
have Il right To- elect whnmSnevrr they
please. and that because Il man has served
the country well he should nn; at the end of :.
his term hc in the position ot an officer +,
,,shicrrd from the army What You want :,
tn avoid it seems to me. is moi reflections, !.
hut frequent elections ! think the hest
plan. one that would 20 farther To satisfy all
opinions. would he one term for sin or seven Ii
wears. and incligihity tn reelection Prac d
ticallv this would settle the question. Eligi- \
hility after MI intervening term would MT Y
he of much value. for. in cur country, most u
of the men who served unr term would hc '
past the age for election hy the time another a