Litchfield enquirer., 1880-03-04

atorlal a0VlSedly; TOT, though the gentlemen mentioned were not at the time all Senators, they derived their power from their influence n that body and not from any direct hold on the people. Indeed the sort of influence they exercised had become unpopular to such an extent that the Republican National Conven. tion of 1876 declared against it in the following unmistakable language:
 Under the Constitution, the President and heads of departments are to make nominations for office; the Senate is to advIse and consent to appointments, and the House of Represen- tatives is to accuse and prosecute faithless officers. The best interest of the public ser vice demands that these distinctions be res- pected that Senators and Representatives who may be judges and accusers should not dictate appointments to office. The invaria- ble rule in appointments should have reference to the honesty, fidelity and capacity of the appointees, giving to the party in power those places where harmony and vigor of adminis- tration require it's policy to be represented, but permitting all others to be filled by persons selected with sole reference to the efficiency of the public service, and the right of all citizens to share in the honor of rendering faithful service to the country. .tss
 Mir Hayes in his letter of acceptance spoke even more explicitly against this evil political practice which had been gradually growing up in Congress, and which had been greatly strengthened by the quarrels between Presi- dent Johnson and Republican Congresses and by the passage of the Tenure of Office Act.
 The election of MT. Hayes at once proved the insincerity of the Senatorial Junto with reference to civil service reform. They made every possible effort to prevent the President from fulfilling the requirements of the plat form on which he was elected. When MT. Conkling could not get Republican votes enough to reject the Presidents nominations, he intrigued for Democratic help. The result has been that, plainly as the President desired to keep hls promise with the people, the Senate would not let him do it. The Junto blocked the wheels of reform and, though the busi- ness of Congressional office -mongering has been for four years at stand-still there has been no thorough reform of the dirty work of the Grant regime. Officers who were originally appointed by the methods denounced in the Cincinnati platform have continued to hold over till 1880. The political machine brought to perfection under Grant has remained nearly intact under Hayes. Now another four years have gone by, and the question arises-which shall give in, the people or the Junto?
 The renomination of Ulysses s. Grant is no compromise of this question, be it observed, it means a square back-down from the position taken by the Republican party in 1876-an unconditional surrender to the Conkling Cam eron combination. Besides the evil precedent set by third term nomination, besides the danger of new, or old personal influences such as were a constant scandal in former terms, we are asked to give up all hope of reformed civil service! Such a consideration as this may be overlooked in assemblies of heated partisans, designated by questionable methods, such as have sent solid Grant delegations from New York and Pennsylvania to Chicago. It will have weight, however, with the minori- ties of independent, thinking voters who hold the balance of power in many Northern States now confidently counted Republican. How ever "strong" Gen. Grant may be in his deal ings with personal enemies, it is to the fact that he is peculiarly weak in dealings with personal friends that he is indebted for the support of the Junto.
 "But," say the anti-reformers, "politics is politics and always will be politics. and the civil service reform proposed in the Republi- can platform of '76 is humbug. Hayes ca- reer proves that. Why stick to that old ab- surdity any longer!" We join issue with these gentlemen on the facts. Civil service reform under Hayes is not humbug. It has made a good beginning. That it has not done more is not the fault of the system, or of it's friends but of it's enemies. Messrs Conkling, Came ron, and, we regret to say, the majority of the United States Senate at their heels have strained the constitutional powers of that body to the utmost to make civil service reform a failure. The rartlsan press has backed the Senate against President and people, but the determination to break down the Jacksonian spolis system which is precisely what the Junto is lighting for-is as strong as ever h. dependency-a movement that is largely bas- ed on.this popular aspiration-was never more powerful, or more likely to wield decisive influence, than in the Presidential election of 1880. " " H- " J"
 The Conkling- Cameron combination can use but one strong argument with the Independent of Republican antecedents-the hopeless de- cadence of Democracy. The reformer who turns away from Republcansm with disgust sees nothing to hope from their opponents The Kilkenny fight of Tilden and Kelley in New York, the Barnum regime in Connecti- cut, the Butler domination in Massachusetts, and the loathsome political mixture Dr. Gar celon has made hateful in Maine, prove how little can be gained by supporting one politi- cal machine against the other. There is one contingency, however. that seems not to have occurred to the managers of these rickety old political contrivances s-the chance that 1880 wilidisclosea larger number of Independents who will repudiate both, than Presidential election has ever seen before.
 Three important decisions have been ren. dered in the U. s. Supreme Court, this week. regarding the Fourteenth Amendment, The first case decided was that of negro convict