The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-08-08
JEFFEKsoNIAN DEMoOKAoY No. ..

gradually EXTENDED since the close OF
JacksOn's administration until the pre-
sent Republican party has so perfected
it that scarcely one of the Democratic
party now holds office under it. The
only prominent exceptions would seem
to be rebel leaders, such as MOsby, Long
street and Malone, who by their CONVEX
sion have become shining lights and
great leaders of Republieanism. The
FederallStS, after their defeat by the
Democracy aud the election of jefferson,
charged him with the origin of this
doctrine because he removed some Of
them from Office. No charge could be
more untTuthful. His doctrine was
that all purely political offices, such as
members of the Cabinet, and such other
officers as were required in proper aud
lawful performance of their duties to
carry out the principles of the party in
power, should belong to the party in
power, but that the nOn-pOlitical offices
should be divided among the people of
the United States, according to the Jeffer-
sOnian rule. "ls he honest, is he capable,
is he friend to the constitution"
The opponents of Democracy, however,
have in great measure abandoned
attributing this doctrine to Jefferson.
One of their latest writer's, Morse. the
author of his biography lately publish
ed in the Statesmen of America, BOs-
ton publication, admits the falsity of the
charge. Thomas II. Benton, in his
Thirty Years in the u. 8. Senate"
clearly shows that JeffersOn's views
were opposed to this doctrine, theoreti-
cally and practically, and that at the
close OF his term of Office, fully one
half of the Offices of the United States
were held by opponents of his admins
tratlOn. The opponents of Democracy of
the present day generally attribute this
doctrine to President jackson, but Mr..
Benton shows that such accusation is
equally false, and that, although Jack
son removed many for cause, and filled
many offices with Democrats on the ex-
piratiOn of the terms of the persons
holding, yet when he retired from Office
he had not removed so many "as not to
leave majority against him-even in
the executive departments in Washing
ton City," The Federalist party under
the Elder Adams were the true Origina-
tors of this doctrine, They were the
VictOTs in the Presidential campaign of
1896, and though they did not announce
the doctrine they carried it out. Not
single Republican was appointed to
office by John Adams; all his appOintees
were Federalists, and when Jefferson
became President on the 4th of March,
1901, he had scarcely a Democratic
officer to keep him in cOuntenance. All,
all, were Federalistsl If this was not
giving the SpOils to the VietOrs, l would
ton in his historical work says: "His
(JeffersOn's) election was a complete re-
VOlutiOn of parties, and when elected he
found himself almost the only man of
his party in office. The Democracy had
been totally excluded from Federal ap-
pOintment during the administration of
his pred eceSsOr; almost all the offices
were in the hands of his political foes.
| recOllect to have heard an officer in the
army say that there was but one field
officer in the service favorable to him.
This was also the type of the civil SER
vice." The facts of history thus clearly
show that the Maehiavillian maxim Ito
the yictOrs belong the spOils," is a
Federalist and not a Democratic maxim.
That the FederaliSts under John Adams
carried that evil doctrine into full exc
cutiOD, that the Democrats under Jeffer-
son and his successors up to and includ-
ing jackson, were opposed to the doc
trine and allowed the nOn-pOlitical Off
ces to be held by men of both parties,
and that large numbers of the OppOsi-
tiOn held Office at the end of President
JacksOn's term of Office in 1886. Under
these circumstances the Justification of
history on this subject is wonderful. |
Within the last three years l have read |
assertions in articles in the leading re-
views and magazines in more than a
half dozen instances, that jackson was |
the originator of the spOils system in
American politics. 1t is most charitable
to believe that those writer's, blinded by
their anti-DemOcratic prejudices, ignOr-
antly made those assertions rather than
that they willfully attempted to falsify
history, and believed that falsehOOd by |
being boldly and often asserted is as
good as the truth.
The condition Of things when Presi- |
dent jefferson was inaugurated being |
that almost all the U. s. offices were held |
by Federalists, required and justified |
removals, and those removals were not
made arbitrarily, but according to rules |
established by him. The fundamental
principle was, that justice required that
each party should have share in the
nOnDOlitical offices, the control of each
branch of the service being in the hands
of the administration; that removals
were only to be made for cause, and of
course there should be inquiry into the
truth of imputed delinquencles, official
and personal misconduct, negligence,
incapacity, inherent vice in the appoint
ment, partisan electiOneering beyond
the fair exercise of the elective fran
chise, and when the heads of some bran
ches of the service were politically Op-
posed to his administration. These,
with Mr.. Jefferson, constituted the law
of removals, and was so written down
by him Immediately after his inaugura-
tiOn, and were considered just and prop
or by him during his administration Of
eight years, although there was then no
limitation to the term of Office to four
years as at present. Jefferson believed
that true Republican principles author
ized every man to vote as he thought
proper, without being removed from Of
ice; his rule on this subject was as fol-
lows: "GOOd men to whom there is no
objection but difference of political
opinion, practiced only 80 far as the
rights of private citizen will justify,
are not proper subjects Of removal, ex-
cept in the cases of U. 8. Attorneys
and marshals. Every officer of the gov
erment may vote at elections according
to his cOnscience; but we should betray
the cause committed to our care were
we to permit the influence of official pa
tronage to be used to overthrow that
cause. The instances (0f remOYaD will
be few, and governed by strict rule and
. not by party passion. Those who have
acted well have nothing to fear, how
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