The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1882-04-21
THE THREE REPUBLICAN PRIN.
OIPLES.
sPoILs, BOSSES AND REPUTATION.

At meeting of the Civil Service
Reform Association of Philadelphia
held one evening last week, Wayne
MacV Veagh, Garfield's Attorney Gener-
al, expressed his opinion of the Repub-
lican party in general, and of G. A.
Arthur in particular. The following
is the full text of his remarks:
President Hayes did me the honor to
consult me fully upon his famous civil
service reform order. The difficulty
with civil service reform under the
Hayes administration was due to the
fact that unscrupulous men in the party
had been guilty of questionable acts in
the south. When the question came
up of their reward President Hayes al
lowed himself to be over persuaded and
give Office to the desperate political ad
venturers of Louisiana and Florida.
From that moment confidence in the
sincerity of his motives was lost I re-
garded his famous order as a long and
wise step toward reform; but, as a
matter of fact, the closing days of his
administration saw the effort of Sec
retary Sherman to nominate himself
for the Presidency by the aid-in part,
at least, as was alleged-of the Treas
ury department.
Men do not change their characters
after reaching fifty years of age. What
President Arthur was in the Custom
House at New York he is in the White
House at Washington. He is kindly,
well-disposed gentleman, of many friend
ships. My own relations with him
have always been friendly. But it is
useless to deny that President Hayes
failed in crucial tests. 1t is the same
with President Arthur.
| Ny party seems now to have but
three principles, and l happen to be
earnestly and vigorously opposed to
every one of them. Its first principle
is the spoils system am opposed to
that. It's next principle is the boss
system; l am opposed to that. The
only other principle of the party, that
l can discover, is the reputation of the
State debt of Virginia; / am opposed
to that. So, I am Republican under
difficulties, and we are all of us becom-
ing 80.
You are surprised at not getting a
response to your communication from
President Arthur. But he has always
done what you are censuring tonight.
He always was for the boss system.
The boss system is graded system,
going up from the drinking saloons of
large cities through the different official
ranks to Governors and Presidents.
Those men today rest on the spoils
system. They need the degradation
and Generalization of the civil service.
Their entire political structure depends
upon it. The only way is to over
whelm them. with votes. You must
supplant them with other men.
Look at the awful humiliation
through which Malone and his associates
are dragging the State of Virginia
Every citizen must be ashamed of the
spectacle. The administration is pros
tituting the National Treasury to en-.
able certain portion of the people of
Virginia to force another portion to
repudiate her debt. If we could
charge that crime upon the party re-
sponsible for the rebellion if we
could charge it upon the Bourbon
Democracy-it would be some relief
But it is being done by the party
which represents the names of Abra-
ham Lincoln and Charles Sumner |
am not IA sanguine man, but ! don't
see why we can't make it less com
Portable for the gentlemen who mis-
represent Philadelphia and Pennsylva-
mia in Congress in reference to a re-
form of the civil service.