Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-10-17
FEDERAL APPOTNTEES FOR THE
TERRITORIES.

TERRITORIES.
Colonel Frank j. Parker, of the Walla
Walla Statesman, has been having an in
terview with the President on the subject
of Federal appointees for the Territories.
Colonel Parker said that all the Demo-
Gratis wanted was that good and faithful
members of the party be appointed to
Office. In SO saying he voiced the gen.
eral sentiment of the Democrats through
out the Western Territories. The first
great need for the Territories is that they
shall have good and efficient officers, and
while it would be far preferable if such
appointees were selected from the Terri
tories in which they are to be Federal Off
cial, still if superior and better men can
be had from without the Territory, let
US have them from without. The great
trouble is that where appointments are
made from without the Territories they
are procured by political influence, and
the good of the Territories to which they
may be assigned is matter of secondary
consideration, if of any consideration at
all. 1t is a well known fact that already
the President has been imposed upon in
the matter of appointments, and notably
in the case of Judd There was another
case in which some man was recon-
mended for a judgeship, and was ap-
pointed on { recommendation. The
person who made the recommendation
wrote to the President expressing sur
prise that the appointment had been
made, saying that the appointee was
totally unfit for the place. The letter
that the President sent that man will be
famous in history, and most salutary in
politics. Oregon, we believe, has the
proud distinction of having furnished the
applicant and recommendation in this
case. Recommendations, as rule, amount
to very little, and have the same value as
the good Indian papers which are met
with occasionally in different parts of the
Territories. Aside from the usual worth
lessness of recommendation there is an
other important matter Federal ap-
polntees from abroad, as rule, are totally
unacquainted with the material, political,
and social condition of the Territories to
which they go. Let mans fitness for
an office be never SO great, if he is unac-
quainted with the genius of those among
whom he oes as an official he is
lacking in an important essential.
Likewise he is wanting in SYM
pathy and interest, and his office
is merely his means of livelihood. The
Territories are places in which to mend
broken fortunes or to make new ones.
The rule among Federal officials in the
Territories is to quit the Territories so
soon as their term of Office expires. Their
future is not to be in the place of their
official life, and hence they care but little
what reputation they leave behind them.
Either political party in the Territories
does not feel responsible for the con-
duct of the Federal appointees be-
cause these appointments are made
without any consideration of the
parties in the Territories. Political par
ties in the Territories are very largely to
blame for this condition of things, be-
cause they do not in party capacity
recommend applicants for office. If
party were going to put ticket in the
field for the very same Offices which are
now appointive by the President, would
not such party call its convention
and place in nomination it's best men,
and determine who were its best and
fittest men by an open canvass of the
merits of all candidates for nomination :?
The party would feel that if it were sue
cessful at the polls that upon it rested
the responsibility for good or a bad
administration of public affairs, and so
would want the men who were to repre-
sent 1T chosen by the haphazard method
OF favoritism. Is there any reason why the
merits of a candidate for appointment
should not be determined in the same
way? If the Democratic party would |
hold convention and determine upon a
set of candidates, the probabilities are
that such "a ,ldates would be appointed |
to Office; and if they were not, the Dem
ocrats of Utah would know that they had
done their best to obtain the appointment
of men for whom they could vouch.