The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-11-02
How the Government is Run.

The patronage and the power of the |
Government are openly used to keep the
Republican party in Office. This is the
primary object of the present Admins
tration, and it has been the main object
of all its predecessors since the second
election of Mr.. Lincoln. The worst
methods, however, came in with Grant
ism in 1869, and laid the foundation of the
detestable and destructive system which
has been in operation since that time.
The appointments to Office, the as
sessments upon the employees, the dis
tribution of contracts, the favors of the
Treasury. the honorable distinctions OF
the civil service, the promotions in the
army and navy. and everything else
within the control of the executive de-
partment are all appropriated for the
party, and in the interest of the dis
pensing power. In other words, the
Government is converted into great
machine for continuing the supremacy
OF the Republican party as against all
comers. When ordinary methods fail
to secure a majority, fraud is unhesitat-
ingly employed, as it was in 1876 to
steal the Presidency.
The Republican leaders knew well
that if Mr.. lTilden entered the White
House the robberies and the rascalities
by which many of them had Teen en-
riched would be exposed. They deter
mined on revolution if necessary, and de-
vised the Great Fraud, with force be-
hind it, and threats of civil war in case
of resistance. The Navy Department
was set on fire three times within few
weeks. 1t has been proved before the
Senate investigating committee that
whole pages of the great ledgers of the
Treasury were cut out, that enormous
were erasures and alterations on the
books, involving millions of dollars.
These acts, and others of a like char
acter, are so many confessions of GRIM
inality. They bear witness to the cor
ruption and the crimes of the party
which has debau.hed the whole public
service, plundered the Treasury of un-
told millions, and established an oil
garchy of officeholders. who, with a
standing army of more than hundred
thousand drilled subordinates, enter
States, bulldoze primaries. purchase
delegates to State and local conven-
tions, forge proxies. and dictate the
nomination of candidates wearing the
Administration collar.
The departments at Washington are
the headquarters of State associations of
politicians appointed to clerkships by
Senators and Representatives. These are
nine or ten Thousand strong. and their
chief business is to keep up a constant
| correspondence with the home man
ayers, to act as secretaries for MEM
bers of Congress, and to become pro-
fcient iii the art of running the ma
chine. They instruct the Custom House
officers, the postmasters and their dep
uties, the internal revenue collectors,
| inspectors, and detectives, the land
officers, the United States marshals and
| their deputies, and the host of agents
all over the Union as to the :. views and
| policy of the Administration" so that
upon given signal the whole force
moves with precision upon any chosen
4spoint Of attaeizs --ss;.l4s-..
These Republican mercenaries are al
lowed thirty days leave of absence every
year, with full pay, and without any au-
thority of law. They draw years sal
ary for eleven months attendance. and
the so called working time is about six
hours daily, while the actual working
time is less than three hours by general
average. Atelection time ten days leave,
with pay, is al owed to all the officials
at Washington; they are required to go
home at their own expense and to vote
the machine ticket. Any default except
for sufficient reason, which is to be made
known to the chiefs of the State asso-
Citations, whose active vigilance is al
wavs Recommendation for favor. is re-
garded as good cause for removal,
and is so reported. Deducting Sundays
and holidays and including this per-
mitted absenteeism, the loss of time in
so-called working hours of each of these
mercenary soldiers is about two-thirds
of year, though each receives pay for
three hundred and sixty-five days.
They know that the members of Con-
gress receive $4,000 for about ten
months work, and they think the ex-
ample is worthy of imitation The
President the Cabinet, the heads OF
bureaus, and the chiefs of divisions all
desert their posts for months every
year, and demand full pay for every
hour as if present on duty.
This is the way the Government ma
chine isrun. Suppose millions are stol
en-; is not the Treasury full to overflow
ing?-N. Y. San.
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