Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-09-09

scieutious with regard to the national debt than
they showed themselves with regard to their
own? Have We ri hit to expect a sound finan-
cial policy? While there are many good. sound
money men in the Democratic party, it is equally
well known that the DEMOCRATIC party has ire
sist1bly attracted to its fold very large ma
Jorlty of the green hackers, ibfationists, and
hat money men. 1t has indeed in its national
platforms OF late declared for sound money ;
butln 1876. while il pronounced for redemption.
Ii demanded at the same time the repeal of the
resumption law. l ask what would have be-
come Of resumption had the resumption law
been repealed? But while thus speaking of
sound money in their National platforms, is it
not equally true 10 large number of the
States the most prominent fiationists are put
forward for the highest honors followed by the
masses of their prey? So Gen. Ewing in Ohio.
80 Gen. Butler, in Massachusetts,, so Mr.. Lam
ders in Indiana while in Maine, Democrats and
Greenbackers fuse in cordial embrace, and
while in many IF the Western and most of the
Southern States the Democrats almost en- 7lldsse
represent unsound financial ideas. Is it not
true, that to the very last resumption was OF
posed IN Congress by Democratic Congress
mel Why, when Gen. Hancock was nominated
the attraction for the GreenbGckers seemed to
be so strong that the venerable Peter Cooper
and Gen. Sam Cary, of Ohio, acre among the
first TO pay him their devotion and irish him
success
Now, can anybody foretell what will happen
III these respects in case Of Democratic VIC
tory? In fact, We do not know whether the
advocates OF the public faith or the repudia-
tionists, whether the hard money men or the
II hationists, are the strongest element in the
Democratic party throughout the country, and
which OF those elements will control its policy
appeal to you, business men, am I 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, taxpayers of the country, to take
that gambling chance under such circum-
stances?
But one thing is certain, that the Democratic
party, IN its fashion, will reform the civil SER
vice. That it will certainly do; it will do it &C
cordlng to an old Democratic principle, ''to the
OlctorS belong the Sp0ilS." That principle is
Of Democratic origin, and the Democratic
party has adhered to it with fidelity worthy
OF the best cause. Other parties were infected
by 1t, but the Democratic party may claim the
glory OF its paternity and of its most unswerv-
ing advocacy. Itmay abandon any other princi-
pie, but not that. If there ever was a Demo
GRAFT either at the head OF the organization or
! IN the ranks, who has proved recreant to that
great doctrine, and made proclama ton Of his
| opposition to it, do not know his name. It il
SO closely interviewer with the traditions of
that party that doubt very much whether it
could be abandoned without DESTROYING the
party's existence. That great word, s'the CO.
hesive power of public plumber" had its first
and most pointed application to the Democracy.
And, indeed, when we look at its heterogeneous
elements to-day it is not easy to imagine any
| other cohesive power which could hold them
| together. Ii Gen. Hancock, or any other
leader, should signify his intention to abandon
it, every Democrat in the land would receive
the news with an ironical smile, and simply
| say that that leader knew trick or two. II
such an intention were declared, and the de.
claration believed, it is not unlikely that theil
hosts would disband at once. When the
| Democracy, therefore, speaks of reform OF
| the civil service, the meaning of that term, in
| the light of history and of the tendencies al
present. prevailing, can be nothing else than
that the reform shall consist in putting out all
the Republicans and putting all Democrats in
their places. What a reform that would be-
How the North and the South would shake
hands over the bloody chasm filed with such
things! What host Of men would be march
ing upon the Capital from all quarters of the
compass, each one feeling that he is born tc
serve the public, and thag the Government can
not get on without him.
Now let us see what that sort of Democratic
reform in the civil service really means
and what its effect would be. 1t is an almost
universally acknowledged fact that at present
the public business is well and honestly con-
Quoted in the Government offices. The rev.
enues 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 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 Government
borne the reputation of being inefficient and
! Ia6 +ho Ill,
Indian service, cases of peculation and
roguery have become comparatively rare, and
the general inefficiency of officers is very much
improved and L speak of this With assurance
| for the reason that am conyersant with the
| details.
AvARICIOUSNEsS VERSUS EXPERIENCE.
Now substitute for this the Democratic re.
! form, making clean sweep according to the
| old spills system, and what will you have
Hundreds of thousands of politicians, CREST and
small, but all hungry, rushing for 10000 OF
so, 900 places, backed and pressed by every
Democratic Congressman and every Democratic
committee in the land. This impetuous rush
must be satisfied as rapidly as possible, fol-
| they want to make the best of their time, and
in this case, as well as others, time is money.
1t is useless to disguise il; the masses of office
| seekers, starved for twenty years, will not be
! turned back as long there is mouthful on
the table. Seventy Or eighty thousand officers,
selected at random from that multitude of
ravenous applicants, will be put into places held
now mostly by men of tried capacity and expert
ence. They must be taken at random for it is
impossible to fill so large number of places in
SO short d time as the furious demand will per-
nit in any other wsy. Need I tell any sensible
man what the effect upon the conduct of the
public business will be? 1t will be the disor-
ganiz alton Of the whole administrative ma
chinery of the Government at one fell blow; it
will be the sudden substitu ion of raw hands
for skilled and tried public servants; the sub
stitutiou of tee eager desire to make out of
public affairs as much as can be made in the
shortest possible time, for official training, ex-
peIience, and sense of responsibility. It will
be 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 distrib ution Of so
many thousand places of trust, responsibility,
and power, now well filed, in the true sense
Of til word, as spOils among the host of the
victorious party.
LOCK ON THE CTHER DE.
No prudent citizen can fail to be repealed by
such prospects unless equally great or greater
dangers threaten from the other side. Let us
look at that other side now. [ am certainly
not one Of those WHO would assert that the
Republican party has been without fault.
have been one of its most unsparing critics, and
have been unsparingly criticised myself BY
thorough going partisans in return. | shall
always claim for myself freedom of opin on and
speech in that respect. The Republican party
has undoubtedly made great many mistakes.
I will not go back to the period of RECONSTRUCT
ton and an absolved Southern policy, because
that lies far behind US, and is not an issue il
this campaign. Its constitutional results have
become settlements, accepted on both sides-in
f. S-io Of CT NJ