The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-12-25
CLEVELAND ON CIVIL SERVICE.

iaiiSS't wv ~ any ittlloll u tilt ilOt-
ley combination that assisted to put HIM
in a position so much above his merits
and calibre, il is that faction least deserv-
ing of,and least respected by the peoples;
it is the followers of those Mugwump
dudes Schurz and Curtis, and he accord
ingly gives them n prominent place in
his message and all his considerations.
He flatters them by saving, 81 am in
clined to think there lis no sentiment
more general in the minds of the people
of our country than the correctness of
the principles upon which the laws of
civil service reform is based" To make
himself still more solid to get into the
very warmest corner of the hearts OF the
commissioners, he insimates his entire
readiness To increase their salary to an
amount commensurate with their great
services. But Mr.. Cleveland undertakes
Il most difficult task, far beyond his abil-
ity to accomplish, when he attempts to
make himself solid by nattering the mug
wumps with that sort of tatfy, and at the
same time satisfying the old Bourbon
Democracy, % per cent. of whom detest
civil service based upon any idea, as Sa-
tan hates holy water, and he will find 1t
hard to convince and harmonic the old
simon pure jackson Democrats who be-
lieve only i'm that fundamental principle
of the party, ''ro the victors belong the
spoils," with any tatly or with such twad.
die as the following which he uses after
speaking of the legitimate advantages of
party supremacy o disconnected with
office holding. while partizanship
continues bitter and pronounced ii is not
fair to hold officials in charge of impor-
tant trusts responsible iorthe best results
III the performance of their duties, and
vet insist that they shall rely i'll confiden-
tial and important places upon the work
of those not only opposed to them in po-
litical utilization, and so stepped in partl-
Fan prejudice that they hare no loyalty TO
their chiefs and no desire for their success.
Civil service reiorm does not exact this.
This the President imaslnes will make
him solid with the spells democracy. He
knows hat partizanshlp will remain bit
ter so long as the eN-confederate BoUr-
bons, who are the rulers of the Demo-
cratic party North rs well as South, re-
ioice in the suppression ol votes IN their
own section and their Northern mercen-
aries in Northern cities can perpetrate
frauds on the ballot box sutiicientto con-
troll elections, while Tammany may con-
troll the spoils. For bare-faced frauds
upon the ballot box, and for brutal sup
preston of the right of citizens at the
polls. the Presidents party have never
been euualed in this or any other nation
ON earth, and while this state Of affairs
exist there can be nothing between hon
est men and Democrats but bitter partl-
Zanship. consequently President CleNe-
land can see that it must exist ne 0ng as
the Democratic party exists. No Fresi-
dent has in the past and probably never
will in the future occupy a more ridlcu-
lous position than President Cleveland
in his frantic efforts 10 make himself sol
id with the mugwumps with their civil
service catechism, and h Bourbon De-
mocracy that believe IN nothing but
.'spoils,' Mr.. Cleveland knows that this
is the basis upon which the foundations
of the Democratic party are laid, thai
the cohesive power of public plumber Is
, their only bono of unlon;' that his par
" fought and gained the Presidential
contest upon no platform of national pol
icy. but he wrote Il letter expressing
himself in favor of civil service, while
wholly devoted to the party that utterly
detested it. and vent through a cam
paIgn like Il man rowing Il boat, his stern
10 the Democracy while his gaze was
earnestly fixed upon the mugwumps.
| The President says that n idea upon
which civil service is based is TO secure
the most and best work for the least
money. Two-thirds the commission are
| Democrats; they have $500 per year
: each. with office finely furnished, a stem
ographcr, all necessary clerks, fuel,
lights, and stationery, travelling expenses
paid whenever they may think 1t their
duty TO 90 somewhere, all of which Is
paid ont of the national treasury. They
4 have Is nOn-compettive examiners of
their own selection, SO examiners IN the
various departments at Washington, and
boards of examiners AT the custom hous-
es and post offices throughout the coun-
| try numbering some POO more, all sup
: posed 10 be expertsand thoroughly post
ed i'm every branch of human knowledge
from ~homonology TO hydrostatics, and all
paid from the public treasury. h prln-
cipal labors of the three commissioner
| is to draft rules TO govern the commIs-
: SlDIltIS anu lilClI cAIlllliSlS, diIu piC
I, pare questions for the starving competl-
q, tors for places. We give Il few speci-
mems below of the questions ~propounded
1 at a recent examination of applicants:
I An applicant for the position of assist
ant weigher in the custom house was re-
uuired TO ''name the different routes by
which goods might be transported from
New York to san Francisco" That was
very pertinent to the subject of weighing.
An aspirant for a place in the State de-
partment was asked TO express IN his
own language at greater length III good
prose changing the principal words, the
thoughts contained III the following
lines:
Tell me not i'm mournful numbers life is but an
For the soul is dead that slumbers, and things
are not just what they seem.
The applicant who could express the
thoughts containedintheSe badly dcrang-
; ed lines ought to cut a figure in h state
: department. Another weigher applicant
was asked 10 state in what State the city of
Lincoln was located. AS there are five
or six cities Of Lincoln located in as many
different States, IT ought not to require Il
very expert pupil in geography To name
one, though il might not be the one the
examiner had in mind, and get a dis
credit mark it would be nothing strange.
Now if getting the greatest amount of
work for the least mount of money is an
: important idea upon which civil service
Is based, why not adopt the contract sys-
TEN, and put the whole business up To
; lowest bidder. Any good lawyer would
draw up a better set of rules to govern
, proceedings than the commissioners
, have done for less than half the salary
! of one of them, while there are lots of
! men accustomed to preparing Sunday
school question papers, school books,
and church catechisms, that would pre-
I pare a set of questions quite as pertinent
TO the purpose as those prepared by the
, commission for a small per cent. of the
4 actual cost to the government.
Nobody should think we mean to speak
evil of dignities or ridicule civil service
as understood, ~eulogized and practiced
? under Mr.. Cleveland's administration.
Nothing is farther from our intention.
4 We believe i'll civil service as heartily as
the President processes to, but we don't
believe much in sham n loud profess
j ions without corresponding action.
c
CONGRESS.