Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1881-09-21

WEDNE6DAY....SEPT. 81, 1851.
4 Greater Evn than tne spoiIs
system.
George William Curtis, In
H0rper's Weekly, still keeps up
his eternal pirate about civil service
reform. As o matter Of fact, no
party has ever done half as much
to degrade the service Of the gov
eminent, and to make q reasonable
scheme of civil service impossible,
rs the Republican party. The spoils
systsm has net only been carried to
unprecedented length by the Re-
publican administration, but a sort
of frssmasonary of POPULATION and
corruption has been established
which makes responsibility and
purity in the civil service almost
impossible. No one knows better
than Mr.. Curtis that the right time
for the Republican party to inau-
gurate the system would be after
they were once fairly out Of pc wer,
and bad regained 1t. For instance,
should the Democrats succeed in
getting hold of the offices, and
should turn out their opponents
with half the remorselsss
which characterised the govern
ment Of Mr.. Lincoln In 1861, does
not every body know that the first
act Of the Republican party would
be, metaphorically speaking, to
prosure "ninety million magni-
flying glass, of double extra
power" in order that the verisst
Democratic tide writer should not
escape vengeance and prescription.
The editor Of the journal of civil.
xation has much to say about com.
petitivs examinations and tests as
to competency. The way this rule
would work is very simple. Under
Its operations people would not
only lose their situations, but their
regulations - well. Officials whose
business 1t Is 10 enter large sums in
. big ledger, and add up the col
umns, would be put through q
course Of sprouts on the differential
calculas or comparative philology
by . committee which would know
beforehand exactly whom 1t in
tended to report pleasantly about.
It's certificates would be given to
those marked with q white or blue
line, and the evil, which is now
great, would be intensified hum
dred-fold. The time may come
when q responsible civil service
system will be Introduced into the
United States, but we doubt it.
The greed of parties is entirely too
great to admit of it. On the other
hand, IL we have no reliable tenure
of Office In the United States we
have at least escaped the disgust-
ing inflictlon of an insolent bureau
ocracy. We have now legions of
supercilious young sprigs, such
as figured In Dickens Cir.
cumlocution Office, who re-
sent any attempt to make
themselves useful or ornamental.
General Jackson and William L.
Marcy have received world Of
abuse ~ the alleged authors of the
spoils system, but when the worst
10 said rotation in Office has decid-
"a advantages. AS the American
politician will steal, no matter to
what grade he belongs, 1t ia just as
we'll that he should be routed out
of his hole at regular intervals.
The knowledge that such fate 10
apt to bsfsll him, with a conse.
qusnt exposure of his POPULATIONS.
will ut least have the effect of i'm
parting a sort of conservative hue
to his rascality; and the knowl-
edge that the people can cashier
hin whenever they will, makes
him at least outwardly respectful.
George William Curtis can preach
until deomsdsy, and Senator PEN
dlston can introduce a hundred
bills Into Congress regulating the
Civil Service; but, in practice, we
shall have the came old system.
Tho Republican party, however,
has grated monstrous innova.
tion upen the spoils system, and of
this Mr.. Curtis 10 careful to say
nothing, for the simple reason that
there Is not o particle of fairness
about him. The leaders of this
pretentious party have used the
public money, persistently and
daringly, to perpstuate their hold
on power. They have bought In
dividuaIs, Legislative and Con-
gressIonal districts, and even
States, wherever they could. Ex-
Postmaster-General Brady, of Star
route fame, made no bones of tell
ing the public where the money
came from that carried the
last Presidential election. His
insolent effrontery has left
no doubt of the fact that
he thought that his princsly con-
tribntions to carry Ohio and Indi.
ana h I'D oivou ma an ind faa aihIo