Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-04-28
WEAK ARGUMENTS AGAINST CIVIL SER
VICE REFORM.

! -
the election OF President Garfield that
Journal has sought to convey to its readers
the impression that it occupied peculiarly
intimate relations with the Administra-
ton, and therefore it may be worth while
to examine what it has to say, as just
possibly adumbrating governmental in.
tentions. The Tribune begins a recent
article by stating that three.fourths of
3" the time of the President is occupied in
" hearing applications for Office" and by
admitting that this forcing of the highest
officers in the Government to devote
g their thought and effort mainly to the
"ambitions and wishes of place-hunters
ais a serious evil" 1t then asks, "What
sis the remedy ?" and says: "A small
''body OF eminent and stubborn
theorists say that it is to be found in
'the establishment OF permanent civil
''service." This, the Tribune admits,
would unquestionably work a cure, "but
would not the remedy be worse than the
"disease p And then it proceeds to init
mate that the result would be to establish
an oVerbeariDg, conceited official class. :"
1t says eve have no titles or decora
tions in the United States, and official
crank is the only personal distinction the
- citizen can aspire to. Make this rank
permanent, and those obtaining it would
q soon puff themselves up with pride, and
treat the public as if they were its mas
tiers
OF course one of the necessary imphca-
tions Of this line of argument is that I'm.
der the existing system we escape the
evils referred to that at present we have
no conceited official class, in fact. But
whoever has had any experience at Wash
ington knows that this implication is
false; that as a matter of fact there is
already a superabundance of official con-
ceit and insolence in all the departments !;
and that though rank is not now perma-
nent those who are dressed in little
" brief authority" do " treat the public
L" as if they were its masters" And the
reason of this is the best possible proof
of the badness of the present system. For
the reason of it is that under the present
system office-holders do not feel that they
are the servants of the public at all. Pro-
curing their place through political in
fluence alone, they pay allegiance solely
to the Congressman whose support has
given them office, and they feel under no
obligations to the country They are, in
fact, irresponsible. They are practically
beyond the control of the heads of depart
ments, and they know that if they are re-
moved it will not be for any neglect of
their official duties, but because they fail
to render themselves sufficiently useful to
their political chiefs.
1t is, therefore, the most arrant humbug
to pretend that permanent tenure would
introduce to the system the evil of class
insolence. That evil is present now. 1t
is natural result of the system which the
Tribune upholds. Permanent tenure not
only could not introduce it, but would
remove it. 1t would 90 this by sever
ing the connection between Congressman
and ofiic=holders by making the latter
dependent entirely upon the proper per-
Torrance of their official duties and by
forcing them to realize that courtesy and
modesty were required OF them. A
man holding Office under reform regu.
lations would not dare to snub the
public or to put on airs, for he might be
removed for such conduct, though he can
not be as the case stands. But, says the
Tribune, "If our republican traditions
and customs should preserve US from
an insolent bureaucracy and an AFRO
CANT, domineering official class under !
q system of lie tenure for civil service, it
SIS quite certain that the people will
never set up such system. They Will
not vote that nine out of ten of them
90 shall never hold Office in order that the
tenth man may enjoy the honors and
pcgquiaites OF place as long as he lives. "
TINS is more absurd than the other argu.
ment.
The American people have sense enough
20 perceive that all business, public as well
as private, ought to be done upon business
principles. They know that the only way
to get the best service out OF any man is to
assure him permanence of employment and
the prospect of rising in his profession.
They knoS that it is foolish and extrava-
CANT to be constantly changing public SER
wants, and that they have to pay for this
extravaganza They will see also that
there is not and never can be any question
of surrendering the chance OF Office holding
for nine out of every ten citizens since
under civil service reform all the Offices
would be open to all the people, the COM
nonsense condition being prescribed that
the fittest should be selected. But how
are the httest to be had for places
Of brief and uncertain tenure !?
Clearly permanent tenure is the
one indispensable requirement Of any re-
form system. Capable men will not com.
pete for places which they have no assur-
ance of retaining by good conduct. There
is no magic in Office hunting to cloud the
vision of the people as the Tribune inn
AGNES 1t is not "quite certain that they
viii never set up such a system as has
been proposed. On the contrary, it is
quite certain that they will set up that
system, since it is perfectly clear that they
are being driven to it more strongly every
year by the greed, rapacity, insolence ard
incapacity of ofiice-seekers, and by the
enormous extra expenses entailed upon the
country by the present corrupt, corrupting
and imbecile system. And if President
Garfield thinks what the Tribune utters,
so much the worse for his Administration.
JoEEs AND SLAVERY.
A Washington dispatch observes that
Senator Jones placed his Democratic