Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-07-25
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SATURDAY EVENING, JULY as. 1852.
Beginning at the Wrong Place.
Gen. n. NJ. Curtis has been fined one
thousand dollars in tho United States
court in New York, for . violation of
the law prohibiting. election oe6cers and
employees of the United States from
requesting, giving to or receiving from
any other officer or employee Of the gov
ernment, any money or property or other
thing of value for political purposes. "
Curtis proposes taking an appeal to the
supreme court, and we should say that
he has very sound reason to contest the
law. It may or may not be constitu-
tionsl; and if IL, ot6ttitioAalF1 = as
doubtful - its valae, 6r & a9hep Aednt
on its good sense, it may be pronounced
unconstitutional with great safety.
Journals which place = very high value
upon words and think of nothing beside
appear to be very much enchanted with
this law and speak of it in words which
are as specious and yslueiessl PY thpee
of the law itself. 'sh r'lliilLh
1t would be a good thing, no doubt if
political assessments upon Office koldets
could be done away with; but they never
will be and they ought not to be, as we
said the other day, while Office is made
the reward for party labor and is de-
pendent upon party success. If it is a
true doctrine that to the victors belong
the spoils, then it follows, as logical
sequence, that the people who enjoy the
spcils should he called upon, to pay the
expenses of the conflict; and if there are
close-fisted ones around who would like
to enjoy the fatnessOf; their places with
out paying their fair share of the expense
of getting them they should be hoisted
out by the seat of their breeches in
double-quick time. The civil service
reformers must start their reform at the
root. The Democratic state platform
recognizes this and while it protests
against the plundering of Office holders
by assessments of money for political
purposes it consistently and logical
ly adds, because "public Offices are the
property of no party, but are open to
every citizen honest, capable and faith
full to the constitution, qualities ions
which Jefferson declared were requisite
for oflice.'' Let the IC&ces be taken
away from the victors as their spoi's in
political contests and be given for merit
and efficiency alone; tl,ea there will be
no reason for levying contributions on
office-holders for party campaign funds,
and we may be very sure that the Office
holders will require no law to protect
them from political assessments. Then
the threat of Daniel Webster to remove
from Office any one found interfering
actively in political contests would be
very much in order. '.'
AT present such an order would be
very much out of place, because now the
politicians are th6se who are, rewarded
for their political services by the Offices
they hold. Oflice-hOlders not only are
not ordered ::out of political service. but
they are the ones who are expected to
bear tho heat and burthen and cost OF
the affray. Though it should NOT be 80
it is so; and while it is SO Congress
might as we'll forbear fOrbidding politi-
cal assessments, after the manner of the
POpe's bull against the comet. 1t can
not stop them and really does not wisll
to; else no such vain law as this would
have been passed which does not pro-
hibit, according to Attorney General
Brewster, members of Congress from
asking ofiice-holders for contributions
because they are not officers in the mean
ing of the law. A law which can bt
evaded by substituting . nOn-Ofice-
holder for an office-holder as the assess
ing party is not likely to be greatly In
the way of political committees seeking
funds. Judge Wallace praises the law
as one designed to prohibit the introduc
tion of party interests into the public
service and that would be a very goot
design; but i: is one very Intellectually
carried out. The law does not accom-
plish its design nor come anyway neal
it. No law that we can conceive will
accomplish the design. 1t would b
easily carried out, with president de
voted to the idea; he would need no law
to separate party interests from the pub
lie service. Agood man and good presi
dent would find the power in his hands
to do it-for it IS his simple duty Blu
to such a creature as Arthur the though
will never come.
4 Boomerang.
The chairman of the Republican state
committee, Thomas v. Cooper, was q
candidate for the Republican nomina
zion for governor until Cameron ordered
him off the track Among the acts Of
his present position has been the issuing
of an address directed against the
Democratic candidate for governor and
urging as the sole objection to Mr.. Patti