Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-12-15
YESTERDAY IN CONGRESS.
SENATOR BROWN ON CIVIL SER
VICE REFORM.

oi Other Senators-Supreme Court Re
Hef-The Day in the House.
W AsHINGTON, Dec. 14.-At the close of
the morning hour the Senate resumed
consideration Of the bill to promote the
efficiency of navy chaplains by increasing
thelr salaries. Rejected-Yeas 20, nays "a.
The military and agricultural appro-
prlation bills were referred to the appro-
pirate committees.
MI. Blair presented a memorial adopted
by the convention Of clergymen, held at
ocean Grove, \. j., last summer. in reIa-
ton to government aid to education. The
memorial is signed by Bishops Andrews.
Coke and Simpson and large number OF
representative clergymen.
The Senate took up the bill on the cal
endar to provide for the ascertainment of
the claims of American citizens for
French spOliatiOns.
Al two o'clock the bill gave way to the
diminished business, the Pendleton civil
service reform bill
Mr.. HOar addressed the Senate in favor
of the bill. He congratulated the coun-
Try upon the fact that by a fortunate con-
currence Of circumstances both parties
were substantially united in an effort TO
reform the civil service, a carefully ma
tured bill for that purpose introduced bv
a distinguished leader on the one side
Mr.. PendletOn) being reported favorablv
TO the Senate by distinguished leader on
the other side Mr.. Hawley) and the
President of the United States. not here
tOtOre very closely identified with this re-
form, promising in advance to
give il his cOuntenance and support.
The Senator from Ohio Mr.. PendletOn
had cast severe reprOaches upon the Re
publican party i'll connection with this
subject. Those reprOaches were not un-
deserved, and they should be met not bv
recriminatiOn, but by stating the fact that
the system which had produced so many
evils had begun with the government.
When President Jefferson came into
power the prescription of his, political
friends had been so fierce during the pre-
ceding twelve years that, IS he declared.
he did not find one Of them in office.
Mr.. Brown admitted that a better svs-
tenn of administration than we have had
for many years past ought to be inaugu-
rated, but he did not believe that this bill
would remedy the evil. On the contrary.
he believed that, if passed, it would prove
to be a snare and would greatly disap-
point popular expectation. He had heard
the British civil service commended and
held up as model for us, but he did not
regard it as such. In a
country where the Executive
and the higher branch of the Legislature
have an hereditary right to office. it was
natural and consistent to have a civil
service with a life tenure, but such a sys-
TEN would be wholly inconsistent with
the principles of our government, and, if
it were adopted, would tend to build up a
distinct and powerful class supported out
of the taxes of the people, a sort of Prato-
rian guard, who might come i'm time to
control the destiny of the nation.
Mr.. Hawley said the right of the EXecu-
tive to remove was left untouched by the
bill.
Mr.. Brown-Then what is the use of the
bill? If it does not touch the power of
removal, it is the sheeTest humbug. If
the people demand civil service reform,
what deception we practice upon them
when we offer them this measure
providing no protection for incumbents
against removal without cause. Again,
in its pretense of filling offices by cOmpet-
itive examinations, the bill is a cheat.
because it provides for the filling Of offices
of the lowest grades only in this way. In
the higher offices in the departments there
We're, he believed, large number of Off
eials who were unfit intellectually and
morally for their places. They were
not to be disturbed, but, whenever
one of the lowest clerkships became va
cant then competition might come in. 1t
would not do to open the higher grades of
office to competitive examination, lest too
many Democrats should come in. and
therefore this bill provided that these
higher vacancies should be competed for
only by persons now in office in depart
ments Fespectiyely-that is, by Republic
cans.
Now, said Mr.. Brown, | propose to do
a little plain talking to the Democrats.
The Republicans have had offices for the
last TWENTY-FIVE years cOnsecutively
Lately an avalanche has swept over the
country, carrying with it the strongest
condemnation Of the practices Of that
party. 1t is true that it was i'm an off
year, but prudent Republicans see that
unless the Democrats are guilty of some
great fault on some important question,
there can be but little doubt that the next
President of this Republic will be Demo-
crat. My fellow Democrats, how do you
20 into that campaign? Suppose you put
in nomination the gentleman from Ohio
Mr.. PendletOn) or the gentleman from
Delaware Mr.. Bayard) or any of the
other distinguished gentlemen who have
been named for the place, and he goes be-
fore the Democratic masses. | tell
you lndJ you are handicapped III
asmuch as all the much higher
offices will have been already disposed Of
disposed of? hOw?" the people will ask,
and YOU will answer that the Republican
party has had the offices for twenty-five
wears, and seeing the probability of Il
change of administration has hedged. and
passed tor us civil service bill
that the Democrats have helped to enact,
50 that no Democrat can be put into the
higher offices. Even if we do succeed in
CARRYING the election, if there is a vacancy
in any of the clerkships of the lower
grade Democrats can compete. but for any
of the higher vacancies that may occur
the Republicans already in office are
to compete with each other, and
there is no chance for a Democrat. What
effect do you think that announcement
will have on the spirits and energy with
which the Democrats will go into the
campaign! You must remember that
under a free republican government like
this men fight for Office as well as for
principle, and, if you deal with the Demo-
Gratis of the country in that way, you must
not expect them to enter the campaign
with spirit or energy.
But it is replied that the Democratic
candidate will not be likely to meet so
strong an opposition from the Republicans
i'm office if we pass this bill. ! have not
faith in their arguments, These men are
mostly strong, Jealous Republicans, and
they believe that their party has a sort Of
divine right to control the offices of this
country. see no reason
WHY Democrats should vote
for this bill at this time, certainly not
without an amendment to destroy the
aristocracy of Republican office holders
that the bill proposes to establish. Why
should any Democrat vote for a bill which,
while protesting to fill offices by cOmpeti-
tive examination, prevents competition by
Democrats for any of the offices except
the lowest on the list? Our Republican
friends seem to be quite unanimous now
for the passage of a civil service
reform bill, but why has it
taken them so long to reach that point?
They have been twenty-five years in
power. and deducting six years for the
war and the period of early recOnstruc-
ton. they have had sixteen years of peace,
during which they have been free to deal
with this question. The humbuggery of
this business is shown by the way they
have treated this question in the
past. Some years ago, when
General Grant was President, very good
civil service law was passed, providing
all the necessary machinery for the work.
4 commission was appointed under that
law. which did the best it could. but in a
short time the thing became so much of a
mOckery that Congress absolutely refused
--aropriate the salaries of the commits
'iVI,Tl You y will have to change the nature of
our government before YOU VIII De
able to carry out in practice these nne
snun theories about civil service reform.