Morning journal and courier., 1882-06-22

CIVIL SEktl lfE RE F'ORms
 Civil Service Reform is having quite boom" just now. The Civil Service Reform association of Boston has condemned the ap- pointment of Roland Warrington as colIec- tor at the port of Boston. The Quincy (Mass association has condemned the ap- pointment and adopted a resolution that the association will oppose the renomination and reelection of Congressman Harris, who d1d not protest against the appointment strongly enough or effectively enough to suit the re- formers. Representative Harris wrote let ter in which he explained his position, and Dr. William Everett, the leader of the Quincy reformers, replied saying, that in his view civil service reform is the one paramount is sue in American politics to day. It is not
 compatible with the principles of that reform that Representative shall interfere to pro- mote or hir1aor the confirmation of n1as--nai
 cer. Mir. Harris has done so. Consequently, although Mr. Harris still may be, in the view of Dr. Everett, very good Republican, he is not a civil service reformer, according to the standard of Dr. Everett, and cannot have his vote. The general convention of the Con gregational churches of Vermont adopted the following resolution at it's recent meeting :; ''That in the opinion of the convention the Christian sentiment of the State should make itself felt in opposing any selfish combina- tions which aim to make of public office pri- vets spells, or to interfere with the freedom of the people in choosing the fittest men to fill positions of public honor and responsi-
 bility; also, that we give our cordial sympa- thy and approval to all we'll considered efforts to improve the purity and efficiency of the national civil service"
 The assessment circular issued by the Re- publican congressional committee has stirred up the Civil Service reformers very effective ly, as it ought to. The Boston association has held a meeting, and passed a series of resolutions as follows
 ResOIUed, That the practice of levying as- sessments for political purposes on office
 holders is one which is dangerous to Repub lican institutions and that every good citizen ought strenuously to protest against it. ReSot0ed, That by reason of the working of the 'spoils system" our two great political
 parties have come to have few, if any, dis l tinguisbing marks or principles other than that the one sympathizes with the army of | fce-holders who are now in office, while the other labors for that other army of office ] seekers who are out of office in other words, | the two parties are becoming simply the par ty of the ''ins'' and the party of the ''outs. |" ResoEUed, That if, under the circumstances, ! the funds necessary for carrying on our po- litical campaigns are raised by assessments on the salaries of those who are for the time being in the enjoyment of the spells, we 1 shall find that our elections are controlled, and that machine" government, in which | the great mass of the people will have little voice, is run by funds drawn from the ma l tional treasury, nominally for salaries, but in fact for strengthening the machine. ResOG0e6 That the creation of such self perpetuatlng machine for the government of our country cannot fail to be dangerous to its liberties and to lead to the grossest cor
 ruption among the managers, tools of the
 machine itself, and that if the present appar- ent policy of the managers of the Republi- can party is persisted in many who have heretofore acted with that party will deem
 that there IS less danger to be feared from the success of it's opponents and from a, per haps, general substitution of the ''outs" for the ''ins" than there would be from allow ing the ''ins to entrench themselves against the people behind the spells of office.
 A circular signed by George William Curtis, Everett P. Wheeler and William Potts has
 been sent to the principal employees in the New York custom house and postoffice warn ing them that if they make the contributions requested by the Republican congressional committee they will, in the opinion of coun- sel, make themselves liable to punishment by fine or removal from office, or both Also, that the National Civil Service Reform League intends to bring the matter to the notice of the Attorney General and the other federal prosecuting officers. Mir. ". H Rob- ertson, collector at the port of New York, is quoted as saying that the assessment circular issued by the Republican congressional con- mittee need have no terrors for the employees of the custom house over which he is placed,
 and that no man will be dismissed or in any
 way interfered with for not paying political assessment It is also said that Collector
 Robertson approves of the circular warning leading office holders against complying with the request to subscribe made by the Repub- ican congressional committee.
 And thus the good work goes on. What is
 the Connecticut Civil Service Reform Asso-
 sociation, that started out with such flourish of trumpets and such a list of good and great names doing?