Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-04-01
Man and the Gods will restore the Pyth.
oness to her Tripod.
ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
The statement thas the President has de.

1HC stdlCuiC1b LUG L ISsiUcAt uc-
clsred his purpose no longer to permit
| Congressman to dictate appointments, and
further to abstain from all interference
with the patronage of the departments, is
almost too good news to be true. If, how.
ever, it is true, it shows that President
Arthur, with all his caution and slownoss,
possesses more determination than any
Executive has had since the war, audit only
remains to be seen whether his courage is
sufficiently persistent to carry him through
the ordeal which his new position will
force him to undergo. BY insisting upon
his prerogative in regard to his own patron
age, and by washing his hands of the De.
partment patronage, he will, whether he
intends it or not, become most powerful
supporter of Civil Service reform. For
while on the one hand he must exercise
quite a new caution in his appointments,
seeing that his responsibility in them will
be undivided, on the other hand he will
enable the heads of Departments to relieve
themselves of the pressure of the Office.
seekers, by divesting themselves of the
power to make appointments without the
application of proper tests to candidates.
And it cannot be doubted that if President
Arthur is resolved upon this policy he will
have to encounter great deal of abuse and
adverse pressure of various kinds. 1t is
not to be expected that the stalwarts,
who looked upon his accession as opening
perfect Ell Dorado to their adventurous
efforts. will quietly fall in with a pro-
gramme which must dash the coveted
treasure from their hands. The many
Congressman who possess no other hold
upon their seats than the offices afford, will
be fairly consternated by this view. If
they cannot make all the appointments in
their Districts if they cannot bargain and
pledge everything in sight for future help /;
if they cannot commit themselves in adj
vance on any of these matters they
will find that the ground has been
mined beneath their feet. They will GER
tainly not submit to the proposed change
quietly. They will certainly make war
upon the President if he continues firm.
They will certainly make it extremely IN
pleasant for him. For this is unfortunately
not a new experiment. We have seen two
Presidents make it before Mr.. Arthur.
We have seen Grant, with all his " back
bone," abandoning his position when he
found that he would have to fight Congress.
We have seen Hayes collapsing into a
mere jelly under the same formidable
pressure. Perhaps President Arthur is
made of sterner stuff. Perhaps he has
reckoned all the cost of his innovation, and
feels himself able to bear it. We hope so,
most sincerely, but we cannot help feeling
that the odds are terribly against him, and
that after all he may not have realized
what such step involved. Yet he is un-
questionably within his prerogative in do
ing what he proposes. Congressman have
for years usurped powers which do not be-
long to them. They have, as Mr.. Arthur
forcibly puts it, all been ambitious to be
Deputy Presidents in their districts. And
because they were united, and the Execu-
tive was but one man, they have hitherto
succeeded in dragooning that officer, and
in compelling him to appoint whomsoever
they selected. 1t will be a fortunate thing
forthecountry, for the public service, and for
Congress, if President Arthur possesses the
frmness and endurance to carry out the re.
form he has taken in hand. Success in
such an enterprise will bring him lasting
reputation. Defeat even will tend to con.
that the spoils system must be destroyed.