Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-03-24

pennsyryanisng Mr.. RANDALL can
well afford the swap. but can Mr.
| CARfdsIEs
-----------------~-
The Spoils.
The author Of the following short
| communication, a gentleman Of promi-
ncncc. IAN ex-congrcssman,) says IN
private note to us that il it goes out
that no one can be heard at Washington
unless he is endorsed by congressman,
| il will ruin the Democratic party in the
State. The subject is worthy Of stten-
ton. We have pondered it good
deal, bu. have not been able TO reach any
satisfactory conclusion. Certainly the
fathers Of the Republic never expected
the appointing power to be exercised BY
the legislative department Of the gov
eminent. There is not much "ciyil-
service reform" in that. We quote
the ex-congrcssman
lFor the Dispatchl
OF course the Democratic party in
Virginia is in a muddle over the grave
1 question OF the distribution Of the
| Federal patronage in the State. How
could it be otherwise, when everybody
is after an office and the party has had no
experience in this line for quarter Of
a century!
We sought the victory and won 1t.
| The spoils is gricvous burden, but we
must bear il as best We can.
Our party abused Arthur unmerci-
fully for giving Malone the absolute
control of the patronage in Virginia.
We denounced Malone in unmeasured
terms for daring to exercise the power
conferred on him by Arthur. All COM
planned of the g one-man power thus
established in Virginia.
To my astonishment / observe that
the eight Democratic congressman have
met in Washington for the purpose of
first dividing the spo,ts among them
selves, after which each member will
dish out such Offices as may have been
assigned to him by the conference Of the
eight TO his own peculiar pets and favor
ties.
Surely Mr.. Cleveland is too honest
to make any such contract, and too sen
sible to adopt any such ruinous and I'M
democratic policy as this. Such pol
icy, if adopted, would be far more OBJ
iectionable than the Arthur-Mahone
oae-msn rule, and will convert the Fed
efai patronage into an engine Of oppres-
sion and Of party destruction.
DEMOCRAT.
We are glad to learn that the Ken
lucky congressman refused to attempt
to divide out the offices in that State.
We are glad also to learn, as we do
from the following paragraph in
Washington lG..er to the Alexandria
Gazette, that var. BARBOUR still be-
lieycs in the rights OF the people. We
quote:
Among the many who thought that
the conference lof congressman had
nothing TO do with the matters that
were considered by it were several Of
its own members, among them Mr..
Barbour. who, his friends say, is OF the
opinion that every man in Virginia has
a right to apply for office if lac shall
think proper to do so, and that the
congressman from that State have no
conceivable power to determine who
shall and who shall not exercise that
right.
Certainly what Mr.. BARBOUR says
is the simple truth. stated as he states
it. But if the Administration shirks |
its own responsibility, and calls upon
the congressman TO designate the Gov
eminent officials, what them If the
Postmaster General refuses to hear and !
decide as between rival applicants for !
office. and turns the whole matter over !
TO the congressman as the President !
has turned it over TO him, where is the /!
remedy. We know not. But we !
know what the result will be--namely, /
that all the offices will be filed by the |
personal fayorites Of the congress- 7
men. The mea who are the near |
est to the cOngressmen--the men |
who have his ear and his conf !
dence--will dictate the appointments. |
The public service must necessarily
suffer. Personal favorites are not !
always the best men to fill public sta |
tons, ner the best men to control the
filling Of public stations. Public !
office is public trust" says the Presi- |
dent. But If the saying is to be car
ried out in the spirit in which it is sup
posed to have originated, the appointing
mower, as well as the oflice-holder, must
not lose sight Of the fact thus stated by
the President. However, il is all a
muddlc" just now and we, as do
all concerned no doubt, feel as if we
were fighting shadows OF striking in the
dark.