The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1882-05-28
nm UTcH HFB 1JFu, on Jr

Even the strongest Democrat may find
something more to rejoice at in the Inde-
pendent movement in Pennsylvania than
the prospect Of defeating the divided Repub-
lican party thereby. The people, that en-
tity professional politicians are fond of
praising before its face and deriding behind
its back, seems to have discovered its true
grievance, has taken the hit in its teeth at
last, and is fairly running;awoy. Partisan
curb and lash are of no avail. If there ever
was hrst-class political convention held
purely in the interests of civil service re
form, that at Philadelphia must be so re-
garded. Every reference TO this good cause
in speech and platform was loudly cheered,
and every act Of the convention, including
its very convocation, the strongest possible
protest against the spols System in all its
developments. The convictions of some of
the delegates on this subject may have been
uniformed, the ideas of others crude but it
is no light thing that the public has hit
upon the real cause of more than half the
evils of our present system of government,
and that practical, active men in public
affairs, headed by United States SEN
ator, have united in making reform n
live issue before the masses in the Keystone
State of the Union Whether IT be called
Bossism, or " the Machine "or the Spoils Sys-
TEN, the refcrmers and Independents of
| Pennsylvania seem to have reached the con.
viction that using places in the public service
as corrupt bribes has gone far enough, and
that they will no longer he vassals of the new
feudoliy of ofice-holding or be overawed Ivy
its hcnchmen. When an evil ia thus def.
adaptive American mind to follow it up with
a remedy. We say that Democrats are cor.
daily interested in this movement, becaus,
when the Democracy comes into power, as Il
is sure TO do in the natural huctuation o
politics, this same battle will be to fight owe,
again. There are men in its ranks, obscur,
and lukewarm now, and others who will com,
in, attracted by the scent of plunder, VIII,
| will seek by grasping the offices and "patron
age" to make themselves little or bil
bosses" like those in the Republican part,
at the present time. To prevent this, or t
depose them and give the will of the peopl
free expression, will cost a severe strug
gle; and immense advantage is game,
in this direction by the prestige of tn
successful revolt of the decent Republican
of Pennsylvania in 1882. Who knows-fc
we are inclined to be sanguine in view {
the good work mplshed--that this ma
not be the beginning of an agitation before tn
people that will not end until civil servic
, reform is firmly inscribed on the statut,
book, not to he erased3 We say without hesit,
tion and with conscientious belief in il
truth, that it would he better for the Den
> ocracy TO have the whole force of Republ
, can petty office holders (though 1t is mi
| take to suppose that they are all Republican
: at hearD made irremovable at once, rath,
I than encounter in every election their frel
/ zied opposition at the polls, and that chron
S fear in the respectable body of citizens thi
: the scandals of Jackson's first administratic
e are to be repeated in case of general Den
: ocratc victory.