The Ottawa free trader., 1881-11-19
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.

3 In briefly commenting, last week, on a lear
: ed disquisitlon In the Ottawa Republican {
s Civil Service Reform, We attributed its autho
ship to the senior editor, who is about to tai
s his seat in congress as our representative, AL
y whose thoughts we therefore supposed woul
0 naturally be running on high themes of th
sort. We are sharply raped over the knucl
( les however, in this weeks issue of the Repu
0 lican, and reminded that for the present th
y junior is the responsible editor OF that journa
5 and that he, and not our NJ. c., was the authc
) of the article that had attracted our attention
D and glove is valantly thrust at US to contlr
ue the controversy. Well, now, profound as
our respect for the aforesaid valiant junior, h
| must realize that there is quite difference bt
tween crossing lances with veritable NJ.
and common every day sort OF scribbler, an
that to be thus Unexpectedly disillusioned il
regard to our real opponent Is naturally dir
heartening-tends to take the starch out of on
so to speak. Nevertheless, as it would prob
ably be great disappointment to our esteem
ed contemporary, if not indeed dlsrespectful, t.
decline his challenge, We accept 1t provisional
ly and "sail in."
He wants to know, you know" if ther,
are two or three millions of democrats in tn,
country, as the FREE 1'RADER alleges, who ar,
sincere friends of civil service reform, why W,
have not cited some instances
Where the democracy-for of course a larg,
majority OF the two or three millions" mus
be democrats-show, by their acts theil
fidelity TO the civil service reform Professions
lie did not cite one.
"Cite instancesl" Bless your soul how car
we cite instances, when in the last twenty
years you republicans have not given the dem
ocrats a single opportunity to make good
their professions. As well might it be asked
Why didn't Buffalo Bill rush In and arrest the
assassin hand Of Guiteau and prevent his
shooting President Garfield. Bill wasn't there
and hadn't the opportunity. Five years ago
it Is true, the democrats fairly and honestly, by
majority of over quarter Of a million, elect.
ed president and were In fair way to bring
their professions to test hut by vigorous
application Of the delectable civil service sys.
tenn of the republican party through the stur.
dy hands of zack. Chandler, o. p. Morton,
Gov. Wells, Stanly Mathews, John Sherman,
&c, 122 Of the best offices in the country were
80 bartered away that the democrats were
cheated out of their president, and 80 lost their
opportunity. Again 1t is true that 80 clearly
was the majority OF the people on the side of
the democrats that they obtained strong
working majority in both houses of congress,
but the appointing power still renamed with
the fraudulent president and cabinet and
again the democrats were cheated of their on.
porlunity.
About the only place, indeed, where Tie de-
mocrats ever had an opportunity In the last
fifteen years TO put into practice their civil
service Ideas, was IN the southern states, and
there 1t must be confessed the superiority of
the democratic over the republican system is
30 signal that even old fraud Hayes had to
confess 1t. Whereas under republican rule IN
the south, In Grant times the robbery of the
public treasures, to an extent and unsurpass-
ed In Its boldness and infamy In the history of
the world, was the rule, and lawlessness, dis
order and crime in consequnce were every
where rampant-the moment the democrats
were allowed to seize the reins there, good or
der, cessation Of crime, and honesty on the
part OF public officials Immediately followed
and have been the rule from that day to this.
The beastliness, the infamy and crime of
the republican civil service system consists IN
Its open bargaining and transfer of important
public Offices orthless scoundrels to secure
purely political advantsg ges, as IN the case OF
rewarding the 122 thieves who stole the presi.
dency from Tilden in the case Of buying upI
Malone, Riddleberger and the rest of the yir.
ginia repudiators; IN the case Of stealing the
presidency second time by the purchase of
Indiana through the judicious distribution of
offices and the free use of-laughter, &c.
&c; and again In the brigandage system
never heard Of until its invention by tbe re.
making hoggish assessments
upon all public officials to create huge cor
ruption fund to carry elections, and in ,reasing
the pay of such officials SO that they could
stand the draw, thus IN fact purlolning their
election funds from the public treasury.
When our esteemed cotemporary succeeds
IN giving instances" where the democrats
have been guilty of such debalchery of the ci.
vii service, we may be induced to take up the
subject again.
The free ship men In New York claim to
have positive assurances that President Arthur
will express himself in favor of trying the eI
pf nd m MI in Cnr u, 10, A