Lexington weekly intelligencer., 1883-01-13
KEEP UP TIE FIGHT.

oiil I'D tn's respect Is gOOu as lar as II
goes. but 1t does not go far enough. As
it is, while government officers are for
hidden to make such assessments there is
nothing to prevent others from doing so,
and nothing can be easier than to or
ganize committee of persons who
receive no pay from Uncle Sam to de-
mand the usual little divvy from those
who do. all under the eye OF and by the
direction of the same old Hubbell COM
mittee or its lineal descendent.
Senator Vests amendment would
have cured this. 1t was as follows:-
''That the solicitation of money, prop
erty. or other thing OF value by any ex
ecutive officer, clerk, or employe of the
United States, or the giving by any
such officer, clerk, or employe of such
money, or property, or othersthing of
value for political purposes or to ad-
vance the political interests OF any per.
son or party is hereby prohibited; any
person offending against any of these
prohibitions to be guilty of a misde-
meanor punishable. on conviction. by
fine not exceeding $500. and by dismis-
sal from Office" The democrats gener-
ally voted for this proposition. the re-
publicans, led by Messrs. Harrison,
Logan, Lapham and Sherman, who
spoke against it, voting the other way.
The objection made was that congress
had no right to Interfere with citizens
in the voluntary giving of their
means 10 any cause which they think 10
be worthy. This sounds very plausi-
BILE, but it is only an evasion.
1t is certain that the present plan Of
raising immense campaign funds, prac-
tically out of the U. S. treasury, but
primarily from the employees of the
government, is an evil. All admit this.
1t is little less certain that this evil " i'll
not be radically remedied by the new
law. The courts have already passed
upon the spirit OF this part of the law,
as contained in the one existing before
it but not quite so definite and clear. If
the purpose sought to he accomplished
is good one and constitutional, why
should not an effectual means to en-
force it be held validP If the govern
ment can say, "You shall not serve me
unless you are twenty-one years of age,
a citizen of the United States, and COM
petent to answer certain questions, "wby
may it not make it condition prece-
dent 10 employment that the servant
shall agree not to contribute dollar,
directly or indirectly, to any political
csusei
The object sought ls to take ont OF
party politics the subordinate public |
service; to make it no longer tool fol-
politicians; TO make merit the test in |
1t rather than favoritism; to prevent in
1t corruption aud extravaganza by rea-
son of its constitution as political ma
chine or engine. The people want
these things done; then why not do
them effectuallyp
We are glad the Pendleton bill has
passed; we rejoice that it bears the
name of a democrat, and owes its final |
adoption more to his energy and elo-
quence than to all other carses, except4
the unmistakable will of the American
people. We do not mean by this that the |
eau expect this measure to
be q panacea for all its political ills. We
do not mean that it will even correct
all the evils of that part OF the civil SER
vice to which it applies, the subordinate
of the government depart
ments, for it will not. The new law is
acknowledged to be defective even by
its best friends, but 1t Is q step IN the
right direction. Here lies its great
merit and benefit.
Those who ridlcule or beIittle it may
read lesson in the vote recorded in its
favor in both houses OF congress, des-
plte the fact that the practical politi-
clans there very much desired to retain
their hold upon official patronage.
Those democrats who dep!ore its pas
sage because their party seems about
to come into power, aud because the
offices in question might then have
been given 10 democrats, are short
sighted indeed. The first and only
thing for wise party leaders to ask
question is, is 1t rightp Ii
it is, their duty is clear. They must sup
polt it us matter of duty to the coun.
try, even though there may seem in it
party disadvantage. This is
the honest way; and if parties are not
honest from principle they should at
least be 50 from the baser motive, that
1t pays in the long run.
If the democratic party comes into |
power, which seems to be very pro5a-
BILE, does it wish Its lease OF power to |
be long or shortp If the former it |
must dare always to do right. The
people have lost confidence in the re-
publican party. That party has been
the minority party in the country for
six years. and has only been able to
retain its power by its organized use
of the civil service, as would a general
in military operations trained and
army in the field. In a
strateglcal point OF view, therefore, the
democrats have done good thing for
in disarmiug this army, in
its leaders, in making its
as Tree 10 be democrats as re-
publicans, which will be demonstrated
by results long before 1884. But even
if this were not true, and especially if it
we're untrue, they have done Wise
hing for in that event the people must
see and acknowledge that here is par
~ which is brave enough to vote to
deprive itself of patronage and its con-
sequent power when on the eve of
coming into possession of the govern
ment.