The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-01-27
THE OHIO DEMOCRACY AND CIVIL
SERVICE REFORM.



WeeklieS that follow in the |
wake of that sheet have echoed its 90 |
jectiOns. As il is well known that the |
Enquirer i'll its objections is not actu-
aJed by primer pie, but by personal hatred
of Senator PendletOD, we confess our
establishment that it should be able to
find any following among the Demo
cratic weeklies or among the Democrats
of the State, outside of the small num-
Der whose only object in belonging TO
any party is the sPJlls, and who never
do any work for the party unless they
are paid for it or they themselves have
succeeded in getting on the ticket for
some position. This class of men of
course are expected to oppose civil SER
vice or any other reform, for. all they
care for is the sp0ilS. Principle is a
secondary matter with them. But how
any Democratic weekly or any person
who is Democrat from principle can
now oppose the Civil Service Reform we
cannot conceive. Democratic papers,
speakers and laymen have made it their
theme for years. They have held the
Republican party and its practices up
for public condemnation, yet If we are
now to take the Enquirer, and few of
its followers as authority, the DemOcra-
tic party is in favor Of the very practices
for which ii has condemned the Repub-
lican party. Fortunately the Enquirer
and its followers are not authority as
to Democracy and the Democratic lead
ers do not follow its advice, This is
shown by the vote on the bill in the
two Houses of Congress, where ma
jOrity of the Democratic members, and
among them some OF the ableSt and
most respected leaders, voted in favor Of
the passage of the PendletOn bill to re-
form the Civil Service. While the bill
may not have come up to ali their wishes
they recognized the necessity for the
measure, ana proposed to vote i'll accord
with their teachings. The fact of the
Republicans having come tOtheir death
bedsrepentance and supported the bill
was matter for congratulatiOn. 1t
was an acknOwiedg on their part
that their practices for the past twenty
years were wrong; and that the DemOc-
Tacy were correct in their charges
against that party.
But our astOnishment is still greater
that any Ohio Democrat, and especially
that any Ohio Democratic paper should
pronounce the bill undemOcTatic and
condemn Senator PendletOn for adyOcat-
ing ii. 1t looks a little like lncOnsist-
ency and the papers and persons who do
so evidently are not blessed with good
memories. Now we are no more friend
ly toward Senator Pendleton than we
are toward any other prominent, honest
and Jealous Democrat, but we are tee
tOJaliy opposed to defaming and break
ing down our best men to crafty the
personal malice of any one. The truth
is, the bill is not only Democratic, but
Senator PendletOu in introducing and
advocating the bill acted in accord with
the platfOTn of the Ohio Democratic
State Convention. 1t is too late to say
that the Ohio Democracy Is not in favor
of the measure; and lt is not fair to
condemn Senator PendletOn, for an
agent should not be condemned for
OUeying the instructions OF his pTinci-
pal. lie evidently thought the Demo-
Crats Of Ohio meant what they said.
In proof of the assertion that Senator
Pendleton's Civil Service bill is in ac-
cord with the views of the Ohio Demo-
cTacy, it is not necessary to go very rar
back in years. At the convention held
at Cleveland in 1880, shortly after the
National Convention, the Committee on
composed of George HOadly,
Alex. Long. r. $. Bancroft, John A. Alc
MahOn, j. j. Moore, David II. Cummings,
IL. L. Dickey, James Taylor, ThOs. r.
Powell, J. David Joy, John l.. Vance.
VIM. Z. Fink, NJ. |. SOutl d, j. IL. VII
IistOn, A. j. Warner, ". A. Owesney,
John Clark, +. B. Eshelman, E. b. Hat
field, Rufus p. Spalding, reported the
following, which was adopted by the
Convention:
'Resolved, That the Democrats of Ohio
adopt as their own the National Demo
cratic Platform"
That National Democratic Platform
the following:
. az. We eXecrate the course of this Ad
in making places in the
Civil Service reward for political
crime AND DEMAND A REFORM BY STA
TUTE, which shall make it forever i'm
possible for "a defeated candidate to
bride his way to the seat of an usurpeT
by billeting villains upon the people"
AT the State Convention held at Co
lumbus in 1881, the Committee on ResO-
lutious, composed of r. G. Hewitt. James
v. Parker, j. W. Denver. G. Y. Vallan-
Geo. w. Andrews, +. ii. HuTd,
Ulrich Sloan, II. T. Niles, +. Ii. Thorn,
w. f. Haynes, Leo Ebert. Allen o.
Myers. Gibson A. AthertOn, NJ. May, j. b.
Drake, James Moore, John II. Clark, w.
A. Pixley, Henry ApthOrp and John w.
Heisley, reported the following, which
was adopted by the Convention:
Resolved, That we are in favor of
Civil service Reform WHEREBY OFFICES
SHALL BE HELD TO BE PUBLIC TRUSTS TO
BE ADMINISTERED FOR TIE PUBLIC GOOD,
NOT SPOLS TO BE ENJOYED AS THE
REWARD OF PARTISAN ZEAL OR SER
VICE"
At the State Convention held at Co
lumbus last year, 1882, the Committee
on Resolutions, composed of e. G. Hew-
itt, Noses 2. Wilson, G. W. HOuk, C.. N.
Lami5On, f. 7. Dnnn J. NJ. Saltzgaber j.
h. n aal, fl. 4. Niles +. c. DOugherty.
Charles Rosa, Leo Ebert, K. r. Allen,
Joseph P. Hoffman, ID. l.. WadswOrth, A.
J. Warner S. NJ. Hunter, j. NJ. Estep, l..
ID. ThOman, John r. Woods, John w.
Heisley and Jacob Mueller, reported the
following which was adopted by the
Convention:
Resolved. That we favor honest re-
form in the Civil Service, and denOunce
the extOrtiOn of money from Office-hOld-
eTs to corrupt the ballot and control
elections as most threatening, as it is
the most insidiOus danger, that besets
free government, and the shameless re-
sort to such methods by the party in
power to carry It's ends evidences the
utter abandonment of principle for place
and spOils under boss rule"
The above are the pianks upon which
the Democrats Of Ohio have stood for the
past three years. They are not merely
the views of one or two men, but they
are the voice of the entire party pro-
10 hu fot in