Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-12-20

Among the kilograms from Washington
on Monday was the following interesting
piece Of information:
Representative DezendOrf. of Virginia,
will, at the earliest opportunity, introduce
a bin prohibiting any person who holds a
public trust or government Office of any
kind, from being a member of
any central, executive or any
other committee of any political or
ganizatien, from being a delegate to any
convention Of any political party. and
from seeking to control the political action
of his subordinates. 1t also prohibits any
such person from taking part in any cam
paign as a speaker or canvasser during
the hours for which he is employed by the
government. The penalty for the viola
ton of these provisions is dismissal from
Office and ineligibility to reappOintment
for five years."
ON reading the above quoted paragraph
the average citizen, probably, INDUCED
the hope that Mr.. DezendOrf-s proposition
would command the speedy approval of
our lawmakers. The ''grand old party
was hit hard when it came
in contact with the people a few weeks
since, and blow such as the adoption of
Mr.. Dezendorf7s measure would intiict
upon Il, would give il its quietus. tits the
most serious civil service reform proposal
that has yet been advanced. The prac-
tees which Mr.. DeZendOrf would prohibit
by statute have been the great reliance
Of Badicalism for years past. His bill
strikes at the very foundations of the ma
chine. and its enactment and enforcement
would have the effect of giving a perma.
nent vacation to the superintendents. en-
gineers, firemen, stOkers and the host of
assistants Of minor Importance, who are
required 10 work the giant engine of
practical politics."
II is hardly necessary to inquire what
has impelled Mr.. Dezendorf to rival such
monumental patriots as Carl Schurz and
George W. Curtis in zeal for purifying the
public service. 1t is only necessary TO re-
call that among our latter day celebrities
is one William Malone. and that the said
Malone is the boss par excellence. and
that Mr.. Dezendorf is possessed
Of a lively appreciation of the
merits of this master boss to ac-
count for the latter's complete con-
version to the doctrine Of civil service re-
form. The practical politicians viii re-
gard Dezendorf's proposal as a huge Joke,
and their organs will rate him as the
champion ''crank'' of the century.
The bosses and their organs are willing
to concede, since their late'unpleasant eX-
perience, that the ''machine" was run at
rather too high a pressure, but the idea
81 abandoning this complex and intricate
yet withal highly serviceable invention
and returning to the slow, plodding and
% them, clumsy methods Of our illustrious
forefathers is exceedingly CT rather quite
too utterly ridiculous.
Imagine Raum. or Chandler, or "Honest
John sherman, or Admiral Robson, Mr.
Barney Biglin, Malone, Cameron, or Ar
thur himself seriously supporting Dezen-
dOrf i'm this Onglaught ON the eternal fit
ness Of things" "Perish the memory of
I Lincoln, forgotten be Thad. Stevens and
sumner, vanished be the 'colored man and
I BROTHER but leave us the offices, or at
I least the means TO retain them"
4 Dcsend0rf is. as the bosses would say.
. quite TOO previous. II Il All Wei
I enough TO serve notice TO quit on man
/ when his term is up, but to expect him to
revolutionize his family arrangements
and disorganize his establishment gen
orally is entirely too much. Mr.. Dezen-
dorf will hardly be rendered enthu siastic
/ 10y the support he is likely to receive from
the grand old party in his proposed
J move ON the s.machine' In fact Mr.
/ Dezendorf calmly invites the party to
commit .felo de So. But whether the
grand old party refuses point blank to
accommodate this remOrseleSs reformer
or takes time To think about it, the people
will before long come 10 the conclusion
/ that the party has got to 20, and will give
+ it the choice of suicide or extinction at
/ their hands