The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-01-05
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
Singing Speech of Senator Hill,
of Georgia.

We present below a portion of the
stinging speech made by the Hon. Ben
II. Hill, of Georgia, in the Senate two
weeks ago, Wheu the question Of civil
service reform was under discussion
"The Senator from Ohio took occasion
to remind us that the late President of
the United States was the victim of a
corrupt civil service in this country.
That everybody says is so, and therefore
1t is not necessary for me to discuss il.
But, sir the President was scarcely laid
away in his final resting place, the peO-
pie everywhere were still weeping for
his departure, when in the midst of their
very sObs a Federal judge was sOiIing
his eTmine by inditing a letter to the
successor Of that very President, who
succeeded by reason of that very corrupt
civil service, appealing to him to make
appointments for the express purpose
of aiding coalition to control a State
election, and the choice language Of that
judge was that the President should
make the appointment "tO cement our
coalition" For what purpose was the
coalition? Simply to secure Republican
officers in the State. The Senator read
that much. but he stopped there. He
did not tell the Senate, as he might
have done, that that very President to
whom The letter was addressed, with the
weeds of mourning all around him, with
the sObs of the country still echOing
from every nook ana corner of the land,
sat down and made the very appoint
ment that that judge designated for the
purpose of "cementing our coalition,
and that President, as soon as he made
that appointment for the express pur-
pose of "cementing our coalition"
turned right around before the ink on
the commission was dry and used the
very same pen, dipped in the very same
ink, to write a learned disqulsitiOn or
hOmily upon civil service reform to be
inserted in his message to Congress.
That is the way we treat civil service
reform in this country.
do you blame the President for that
Has he not right from his own expert
ence to assume that everybody in this
country who talks about civil service
reform is simply playing with the peO.
pie? Why, sir, are there not scores OF
men now listening to me who sat il
their seats in this very Chamber anC
heard read from that very desk Officia
communications from a former Presi
dent and his Secretary of the Treasury
insisting upon the removal of this very
President from the custOm-hOuse il
New York, upon the ground that he haC
made it the headquarters of pOlitica
lutely necessary to secure an honest ad
ministratiOn of affairs in that public
office? Did you not all hear that reaC
from the desk? Was it not publicl!
given to the country And yet that yer!
man who was removed from the custom
house in New York, upon the grOunC
that the honest administration of thI
civil service required his removal, tina
very man the next year was nominated
by that very party for the second Offic,
in the gift of the people, and the yer!
men who asked for his removal sup
ported his election, took the stump fOl
him. And that is civil service reform
And all the crowd of civil service re
formers at the North, with hOmilies upOI
civil service reform, and who have beeI
at it for years, voted for that very maj
for Vice President. What do you thinl
of that2
''Well, is anybody surprised that .wheI
that President made his nomination t.
the Senate for the purpose of cement
ing our coalition IN Virginia his party
friends should all have supported tina
nomination when every one Of then
holds an office here due to that yery
coalition? Do not half this Senate