The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-11-06
1882 317 77

pressed In an election, there must DO no
only a change In legislative and exeeH.iY,
officers, but In tile whole civil service
lhisls no moro necessary than q CORES
i ponding change In the army and navy
| Changes In the policy Of administration dt
not affect In tho least degree tho duties o
subordinate and clerical officers. What
ever the policy Of the government may be
whether n protective tnritf or II reyenu,
tariff, whether currency of coin or paper
whether n lavish or n restricted system o
internal Improvement, whether an agrees
i've or II pacific foreign policy, u civil or I
military Indian bureau, cheap post
/ nge pr dear postage, tn,
duties OF l'ostmasters md collectors
Of mafshals, clerks and messengers, OF al
subordinate employees OF every kind anc
degree are wholly unaffected. Elections
change political Officers In order that the
policy approved by the people may be Ell
forced. But rotation in Office, as Il maxim
applied 10 the great body Of public en-.
ploycs, is MS absurd in public ~ in private
business. 1t Is not tho purpose of,he civil
service 10 provide IL living for all citizens
in turn at the public expense, but to seD
cure tho transaction OF the public bushes.
by those who are best lifted for It's duties
Nobody hus right 10 any place except &c
far as he proves his fitness upon fair and
equal trial, aud tho legitimate public In.
terest in the civil service is only tint its
duties be well done. t5T <ae.
Reform OF the civil service, therefore, IL
not merely n question Of the more ccouo,A
ical and efficient conduct OF tho public
business, important ms that question Il, bu.
involves the very substance OF popula,
government. ft>proposcs the restoration
OF political parties to their Legitimate ilnc,
ton us organized 6gGncies Of the popular
will; tho overthrow Of government by
patronage; the emancipation OF tho sui.
fuge and OF the press from corrupt per.
sonal servility; the elevation OF the stan.
dards of public character and service, and
it proposes TO accomplish these results by
means which will place the transaction OF
the public business upon bnsiness basis;
open hcpublic service 10 all the people;
restore the self'respect OF the public agents,
and promote rs nothing else can promote,
the cause OF popular education.
Such results will not be accomplished by
general -denunciation- Of evils, however
necessary, eloquent and vigorous such dc.
nunciations may be- Nor can action be
delayed until every possible doubt has
been removed, every captious Objection
answered, and every foolish ialsehood ex.
posed. The abuses which have alarmed
the public mind proceed from one general
source, and that is appointment by per.
sonal interest and influence instead OF
proved merit. The spoils system is a vasl
sclieme Of personal iavoritism. To destroy
that favoritism is to relieve tho service Of
It's worst abusesand the country OF the peril
that springs from them. The practical
method Of preventing fayositisus, d method
which has been amply justified BY expert.
ence, is the SELECTION Of the non.poliitical
employees ofthe Government bya wise svs.
tenn Of competition and probation. Tnis
nie.hod would not only secure the most
intelligent public agents and those bss.
fitted lor the especia! duty required, but it
would at once deprive leading politicians,
OF high and low degree, OF the means OF
their ignoble traffic.. 1t would prevent ar.
bitrary removals because the object of such
removals, which is to substitute one mar.
ticular person for another, would disappear.
It would stop political assessments by leav.
Ing employees equal liberty with all other
citizens to give or to Withhold, liberty
which is both illogical and impossible un.
der the spoi!s system. 1t would tend to
correct the sycophancy, terror, suffering
and decentralization within the service, and
the public extravaganza, corruption and
danger bred by the present system, by
striking at its source.
Proper security Of tenure is essential To
the efficiency of any office, but what il
called tixily OF tenure, whether for long or
for short terms, is undesirable because tI,.
power OF prompt removal is Indispensable
to the proper discipline and effectiveness
ofany service, public or private. Undoubt-
edly such authority is liable 10 abuse. But
the true remedy for abuse lies in removing
reasons for the Legitimate exercise OF the
authority. With the power Of removal
thus protected from abuse, no harmful life
tenure could be established, because. as in
private business, dishonesty, inetliciencv
and negligence would lead to summary
dismissal. There need be no fear, under
such II system, of IN oflice-holding arstoc-
racy, because al aristocracy is a privileged
class. Bu. no privilege would be conferred
by acompetition open to ail citizens to OBJ
tain All employment which bes,ows no
right except that Of doing prescribed
duty, and IRON. which prompt removal
would follow dishonesty or ncompetencv
Such employees would constitute only such
an arisiocracy as already exists in every
welEregulated private business in tLe
United Stalcs Equally groundless is the
alleged fear Of ianciul examinations md
Of il civil service Of pedants. Final m.
pointment would not depend upon exam
inasion but upon probation or a term OF
actual discharge Of the duties required; aud
II by pedanls and "brokcn.down School.
masters be meant educated men who
are also unfit and incompetent
officers, the service would not be filled with
them because they could not enter If.
But there is no reason to suppose that ed.
ncation breeds incompetency. Young
men from the public schools are quite MS
likely 10 make good public servants us tho
"runncrs" forpoliticans. Sixty per cent
OF the successful applicants who have been
appointed uader the reform system at the
New York Custom House were clucatcd
in the public schools, and six and one.hali
per cent in colleges 1t will not be tho
least OF the good results of reform that il
will promote that education in tle frrr
schools, which is the great bulwark OF he.
publican liberty.
There is no question before the country
gilmore commanding importance than tlIat
ofttic reform OF the civil service, because
it touches-thc very fundamental princiDle
Of the government, freedom OF the sutiraye
It is, the question whether elections shaII
honestly represent the popular Will. Il
seems 70 us, therefore, that good citizens
can render no better service to the country
in the coming Congressional elections than
by supporting only those candidates who
will acliyely,favo in Congress tho passage
OF the bilIs nov, pending III both houses,
or. bills founded. upon: the same general
principle, establishing non.par,isan
and open competition and pro.
baton for subordinate appointments
i'll the civil service. Such legislation
would not only opcna5 public i en-.
pioyulent 10 NIL citizens upon iusf anil eono,