National Republican., 1882-12-13

| force had come the immense body of public
officials who have for years past gone forth
from the treasury into the different states for
| the purpose of managing and securing presi-
dental elections at the public expense. Mr..
Pendloton read an extract from the testimony
taken by the committee on civil-service re-
form last winter, showing that in the bureau of
engraving and printing 900 persons were en-
! ployed 800 of whom were entirely useless and
were discharged without affecting the eff
cheney of the bureau.
! Mr.. Allison remarked that the evils which
| Mr.. Pendleten was setting forth had all been
cured by the legislative appropriation bill
| passed last session,
Mr.. Pendleton said the testimony he was
reading was taken last March. He was glad
to know that these evils had been corrected,
but that did not affect their force as illustra-
| tions of the abuses which had grown up in
our civil service. In further illustration Of
these abuses he repeated statement made by
senator now present (whom he did not
name) that the head of one of the departments
! of the government had said there were sew
enteen clerks in his department for whom he
could not find work; that he did require one
clerk of higher grade; that if he were given
that one he could drop the seventeen without
impairing the efficiency of the service, but
that the political, social, and personal pressure
was so great that he would be obliged to
tain and pay them, though he had nothing for
them to do. Was there need to prove the
fact known to all men that a systematic
pressure has been brought to bear upon the
clerks in the departments to extort from
them portion of their salaries2 And need
anybody wonder that under such a system
the employees of the government felt that
they had bought and paid for their offices,
and that the faith of those who exacted these
contributions was pledged to their retention?
The system inevitably demoralized all con-
cerned--the clerks, the officials making the
appointments, and the senators and repre-
| sentatives eXerting pressure to secure ap-
pointments for their friends. Who could for
get the scene presented in the senate cham
ber last session when the chairman of the
committee on appropriations stated that the
appropriations amounted to $292 100000 and
felicitated himself, as the organ of his party,
that this amount was only $77 100000 in ex-
cess of the expenditures of the preceding
year.
The expenditures of the government this
fiscal year was $i02, ,000-nearly 50 head
for every man, woman, and child in the United
States-more money probably than was ap-
propriated during the first forty years of the
existence of tho government. Seeing these
enormous appropriations, the people sent up q
demand for a revision of the tariff, and of the
internal-revenue laws, and a reduction of the
taxation pressing so heavily upon them and
the republican party answered this demand
by repeating the duty on perfumery and the
stamp-tax upon checks, and sneering at the
| efforts on the democratic side for reduction
of taxation. 1t was these methods of admin
| 1stratiOn by the republicans that made it pos
sible for the democrats and other citizens.
who priced their country higher than their
party, to elect the democratic state ticket in
Ohio, and sixteen out of the twenty mem
bers of congress-he said sixteen, because al
though only thirteen of them had received
their certificates, the other three would GER
tainly be seated by the next house, if certif-
Gates were not given them in the meantime
Mr.. Hale said that, as Mr.. Pendleton was
cOnfning himself so closely to the issue of
civil-service reform, he would ask him n oues-
tion in that connection, namely, whether the
chairman oil the committee on appropriations
| MIR. Allison), when he stated that the appro-
priations last session were $1,000, 900 in ex-
cess OF those the previous year. did not ac-
count for the increase by showing that it was
made necessary by the DEFICIENCIES coming
over from democratic congress, and by the
increas of pensions.
Mr.. Pendleton replied that.he had quoted
Mr. Ailison's statements correctly, and that
the only way the chairman (Mr. Allison) had
accounted for the amount of the appropria-
lions was by stating the items He (Mr.
Pendleton) was confning himself more closely
to the question of civil-service reform than
| Mr.. Hale thought, for he was showing the
great revolution in public sentiment de-
veloped by the late elections, in which this
was one of the most important issues. The
republicans had dsregarded the popular de-
mands upon this and other great questions of
reform, and the people had overthrown them,
and he desired to impress it upon his demo-
cratic friends that they would receive and re-
| tain the peoples confidence only in so far as
| they answered promptly, honestly, and earn
estly to the demands of the people, The
pending bill was the commencement of an
attempt to meet one of those demands. It's
underlying idea was that the offices of the
| government pnOnlp.
| the performance of the duties is to be in the
| interest of the people; that there is no excuse
| for the existence of an Office or the payment
| of a salary except that it is necessary for
the welfare of the people; that every superhu-
! GUS office should be cut off and every incom-
petent office-holder dismissed; that the en-
ployment of two where one will suffice is rob-
| berry, and that if salaries are SO high as to
justify the levying of forced contributions of
| from to 10 per cent. they are too high and
ought to be reduced. The bill was designed
as a method of applying to candidates
for public employment the Jetfersonian
tests-fdelity, honesty, capacity. 1t dealt
only with the departments in Wash
| ington and custOm-houses and other
public offices employing more than
fifty persons.E The number of such offices did
not exceed thirty-five, and the whole number
os employees to whom the bill would apply
would not be more than 10000. The bill did
not touch at all the question of removals
Some gentlemen were disposed to wait until
after the next presidential election before
passing a bill to reform the civil service, in
the hope that change of administration
would give fair share of the offices to demo-
crats but the democratic party might
not elect the next president and he be-
lieved it would not, unless its repre-
| sentatives in congress did two things: One
respond to the demands which the people
make upon the party in its present condition
of probation: and (2) disarm the great body
of officials who, as a great disciplined army
go forth to peryert and control elections. In
conclusion Mr.. Pendleton said he believed the
passage of this measure would hasten the day
of democratic triumph but, even if he
thought otherwise, he would still urge it,
because, much as he loved the democratic
party, he loved his country more.
Mr.. Allison replied briefly to Mr.. Pendle-
toms remarks about the appropriations made
last session. He had been member
of the committee on appropriations for
nearly ten years and he had never
seen any partizanship in that committee
| Whatever else might be said of the appropria-
tions at the last session, they were recon-
mended by the members of the committee of
both parties with substantial unanimity, and
| it was not fair for the senator (Alr. Pendleton)
to attempt to make party capital by charging
the republicans alone with the responsibility.
The democrats were responsible equally with
the republicans for the great increase in the
pension role, and, as to the river and harbor