Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-04-28
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A CHANGE FOR REFORM.
Some Suggestions Which Truthful william
Thinks viii Interest Statesmen and Con-

Some Suggestions Which Truthful william
Thinks Will Interest Statesmen and Con-
Gressmen,
For some years l have advocated
orally, the abolition OF the present sys-
tenn of ladling out political spo:ls by
which member of Congress becomes
either an Office broker, or the unhappy
instrument of his constituency with
which to pull out hot chestnut3. Now
that another prominent statesman be-
sides myself has attacked the question,
feel free to say few words ON the
subject, not as partisan. but as man
whose voice has always been loud and
resonant on behalf of progress and i'm
provement-in other people.
In the matter of State patronage,
should not the whole of each States
quota of appointment be disposed of
in the State itself, subject to the APP
proval of the President and Congress
and in conformity to the existing Civil
Service laws?
In other words, let the applicants
personal qualifications and political sig
nificance be passed upon where he is
best known, and then let the proper
committees and appointive power look
into his official fitness for the place as
provided in such cases. Neither the
President nor the heads of departments,
as rule, can personally investigate the
home status of an aspirant for appoint
ment The duty, therefore, OF pryng
Into this matter and indOrsing or re-
pudiating the claims of the petitioner
rests upon the already overburdened
Congressman. So irksome has this at
last become that it is about all we can
do now to get anybody to 60 to Cow
gress. Every man who has gone to
Congress for twenty years has done so
reluctantly. | know this, because |
have talked with several of them, and
on the promise that it should 90 no
further they have admitted it to me.
Every year now swells its innumera-
BILE army of martyrs who yearn to be
of service to their distracted country.
This would have been so even if there
had been no change in the political
complexion of the Administration. My
idea is, therefore, to bring the producer
nearer to the consumer as it were. This
would leave the Senator or member
time to attend to his legislative duties
and also an opportunity to form the az
quaintance Of his family. At present
the only time that Congress can really
get to legislate is when it sits with
closed doors defended by seventy-tive
men on the front stoop OF the Capito'
armed with shot-guns and orders to
shoot the first man who tries to clim[
the front yard fence with petition.
say freely that for years my sym
pathes have been with Congress, and
yet Congress never did anything fol
me. presume that if l were to 90 W
into the Senate tomorrow and take of
my overcoat and undertake to addres,
that august body, the President would
not recognize me, and yet, there's
nothing in my power that / would moi
do for either branch of our Nationa
Congress if it happened to be in trouble
or needed help.
say, then, II at this never-dying nui
sance of alternating between the vari
Gus appointment clerks at Washington
and morbidly restless and hungry
constituency ought to be abolished, OF
else the pay of Senators and member,
should be increased to one hundred dol
lars minute so that when they 90 t
the asylum there will be something left
for their distressed families to live upon
l say to YOU fellow citizens, in clar
ion tones, that we ought to look into Thu
matter at once. We do not know how
soon any one of us may be Congress
men ourselves. We are happy ant
contented now, it is true, but others
too, have been lulled to rest in fancieC
security, only to awake and find them
selves selected by cruel fate to wrestl
in the pandemonium of Congress days
and at night TO wear out the knees o
their best pantaloons petitioning reluc
tant Administration TO do the squar
thing by venerable constituent VIII,
helped to carry Rock Elm Center in tn
late election.
If our fair ship of State is to 90 dow
in the second century of her proud his
tory, if along the shore of remorseles
time her bleached and battered hulk
to slowly rot under the eye of succeed
ing empires, If her brave and Drawn
crew must be swallowed up in tn
green, foam. crested pillows that hol
the history alike of kingdoms and G
men, let it be the result of foreign pow
er and not of cruel and criminal foil
at home. Let not the future historic
write with red chalk, in letters siXtee
feet high, that America went down int
oblivion's reniorseless appetite, the pre-
to a prolonged political scuifle on tn
part of 100000 men who yearned t