Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-08-04

OlVu-SerVlce Reform no Seli-reSpectln
citizen has particle Of patience. The
phrase has become d bv-word. Most of
tie men who have palavered about the
subject and covered it with their sicken-
ing rhetorical. drool are deservedly sus-
pected of the worst sort of dema-
goguery, it they are not despised.
Grant professed to be aCiyil-service
Reformer; but it was only to get rid of
personal annoyance and evade ''the
courtesy OF the Senate he now so
stoutly contends FORA He merely want
ed "a pretext for ignoring the claims
OF leading Republicans whom he dis
liked. while he appointed whoever he
pleased to any office that happened to
be vacant, regardless of qualifications
or character. MANY of his appoint
ments to important Offices were not
only disgraceful in themselves, but an
insult to the country. Hayes made
great professions to, Civil service Re-
form. and stuffed the Federal offices
with scoundrels who had helped count
him into the Presidency. and political
tranps and nobodies from Ohio. violat-
ing every principle of sound policy and
ordinary prOprlety. ~
Garfield was fully -blossomed Civil
service Reformer He advocated the
subject in speech and press Hewaxed
eloquent in depicting the evils of the
present system and the beauties of the
one he proposed to put in, its place.
Three months in the White House, and
he has repudiated by his acts every
principle that he proclaimed Pension
Commissioner Bentley, who had been
years in an Office where he had saved
the Nation 81, 100000, and prevented
the stealing of as much more, was re-
moved on account of .the pressure. Of
the thieves who found him in their wav.
General Smith, Collector at Bangor, a
faithful and successful officer, was dis
missed in the middle of his term to
recompense Davis for retiring from the
Senatorial contest and insnring the cleo
ton of Hale. General Merritt. the re-
spected and admirable Collector. at this
port, was removed in the midst of his
term to reward Robertson, whose course
at Chicago made Garfield's nomination
possible. Stanley Matthews, railway
lawyer, was put on the Supreme Court
bench, for which he was notoriousEy I'M
fit. to placate interests and please indi-
viduais. Wallace r. White, notorious
as a briber. second Sessions without
the latter's ability. was made District
Attorney in one of the territories. A
score OF. other instances, can be named
in which not only has every profession
been falsiied, but every sound principle
of executive action has been tranpled
under loot. No wonder that Civil
service Reform is looked upon as mere
pretense and suspected as a blind when
it is not loathed. And now Mr.. Gar
field has been shot by man who vas
mad that he was not provided for by
the President he had worked to elect in
the expectation of an office.
..Whatever interest the country might
have had in Civil-service Reform has
been killed by the hypocritical pre-
lenses and Inscriptions acts of its adj
vocates. Moreover, the people of this
cOuntIs 30 not want an irOnclad civil
service system fastened on the Federal
Government. Everybody knows that
schoolmaster examinations are not tests
of capacity for the public service and
are ridiculous. Why demand that q
Weigher, or Inspector, or tide waiter
in the Custom-house shall answer a
schoolmaster' catechism when Senator
Logan murders. the Kings English
every time he makes speech, and one
third of the Senators are incapable of
correcting him? Three-quarters of the
talk about Civil-service Reform is the
veriest trumpery. What is wanted is
to abolish the whole spoils system,
which is debauching the politics of the
country and degrading the General
Government into an immense plumber
shop for the distribution of places to the
favorites Of the highest officials This
system degrades the 104, 600 Federal
offices into q vast corruption fund
with which an Administration pays
the expense of its election and
promises to pay for its continuance
in power. And to get rid of this svs-
tenn there should be such tenure Of
office act as shall make it impossible for
even a President to remove any body
save Cabinet Minister during his Off
cial term except for just cause, All the
subordinate places OF the Government
should be taken out of politics altogeth-
er. A man appointed to an Office should
be so assured OF his position for his term
that he can give his whole time and
mind to the public service It is the
Presidents duty to appoint the best
men he can find, to offices as they be-
come vacant. There is no system un-
der Heaven by which weak or nnprin-
cipled President will be compelled to
make good appointments AS General
Hancock we'll said,7 the only way to re-
form the Federal service is to begin at
the top by putting men at the head of
the Government who will make wise
appointments. The Senate was in
tended to be a sieve to keep all bad
nominations from taking effect. There
will be no practical difficulty when this
corrupt and ubiquitous spoils system is
destroyed. And if it is not soon abol-
ished it win abolish everything decent
and respectable and worth preserving
in the Republic. IN. y. Express.
Constitutional Government on Trial.
When Prince Albert declared that
Constitutional Government was on its
trial i'm Great Britain, he was roundly
rated by the British press, although he
uttered what now seems to have been a
truism But what the slow develop
ment of the events of which the Reform
bill was the most conspicuous did for
Constitutional Government in Great