The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-07-31

doubt as to the beneficial outcome of !
this civil service business Ways will be |
found and there are already some dis |
covered, by which the vital provisions Of !
the law may be set at naueht by those
who see hit to do so. Our system of |
government, wrought out by,onr political
methods, is system of rewards and
pnnishments. and any legislation that
attempts to settle the question whether
mans fealty to part and zeal in securing
his party's success, shall OF shall not be |
rewarded, is a menace to the existence |
of political parties, and will not be al |
lowed to stand. For ninety years we
have gone on without any untoward |
governmental calamity on account of our |
civil appointments made because of par |
tisan activity in many cases, and because |
of loyalty and high patriotism in
many other cases, aud the Government |
does not seem TO be suffering now from |
the enforcement of the doctrine that the |
spolls belong to the victors. Take from
| the voter the incentive to do duty FOR his |
party by proclaiming that he who fights
| in opposition, even if unsuccessful, shall |
be rewarded with official places, and he
becomes not only indifferent to the
existence of his party, but wishes it well
out of the way. 1t is the abuse of this
system by the republican party, rather
than the system itself, that has rendered
| it obnoxious
| Mr.. Frank Hatton did little piece of
| dirty work before he went away on his
| present trip that was very like good
many of his official capers He reduced
thee clerks from 81 600 positions to
places paying $500, and Immediately
| filled the vacancies thus created by ap-
pointing his wife's uncle to one, his own
| uncle to another, and personal friend
| to third. 1t is understood that all OF
the degraded clerks were competent,
and had been employed fora long time
3 in bureau in which they had risen
by degrees from 81 900 to $1,60OI
grades. One of them is described as
m N, skillful in many things, scholar, !
veteran of the army, and most
faithful officer The injustice compelling
the three men of experience 10
surrender their desks and their
| salaries to persons who are
without experience is apparent to any
one that it seems scarcely credible to be-
| lieve that Postmaster General Gresham
could lave been consulted in the matter,
| or if he was that he was truly informed
about all the circumstances The degEad
e men will be expected to teach the new
| 1mers their duties and will probably
do most of the work they have been do
| ing at the same time thai their compel
| sation has been reduced. Then, if they
| be not discouraged, and are still inclined
| TO toll on for promotion again, they must
rise through two grades to reach their old
standing. If these injured men have as
| good case as they are represented to
ave IL would seem to be the obviously
| just thing for Judge Gresham to restore
| them to the places they have lost and iet
| the new corners step down-oT out Il
Is to be hoped that the time is not far
| distant when this swell head from Iowa
| who wears the title of First Assistant F.
NJ. G., will himself he called upon to
step down and out He is wholly uufl
for the position. or any other of that i'm
portanCe. His manner on the street or
| wherever you meet him seems to say in
his own choice language BY God. per
haps you don't know who l am" By the
way. it is currently reported that Public
Printer Rounds will have to go" before
long He has been great failure
The brilliant maritime achievements of
the American navy are multiplying all
the time Within three months, as many
ships Of our vast naval force have sailed
to the bottom of the sea with astonishing
celebrity, while another, the Miantanomah,
refuses to sail al all, after an expenditure
upon her of some two and "a fourth mil
lions of dollars. The other day the Pinta
a vessel that presumably goes by steam
although no amount OF it can urge her
} along attempted to make the long. and TO
her interminable voyage from Norfolk to
! New York, Whether her mission was to
blow assisted paupers from The lannon's
mouth or batter down the East River
bridge makes no difference, because she
couldn't get there for any purpose. More
than one hundred thousand dollars had
Just been laid out upon this dubious tub,
which came near going TO the bottom be
, fore she had proceeded three miles from
!, port. Whether the three new steel cruisers
ordered by the last Congress can be trust
ed in deep water in view of these samples
of contract shipbuilding, will depend
more upon the extras that will go into
their construction than upon the plans
and specifications upon which John
| Roach made his bid PHONO.