Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-10-19


From the New York Tribune.
Current agitation concerning civil
service reform, the alleged deteriorA-
tion of recent years of the public scr.
vice, and the character OF the Appointees
OF President Cleveland, ma1Ds per tipent
the inquiries: What 10 u6acial integ-
rity7 What is ofhsial dishonesty?
Where 10 the line 10 be drawn between
the two? What 10 the standard of the
present National Administration?
The Hon. Thomas r. Bayard, de-
claiming not long ago against what he
consice cred the alarming growth Of cor
ruption In the National Government
under recent Administration seemed
to give his own idea Of the true standard
Of ofhcial duty BY an account Of the
sentinel on guard In Govern ment arse
nal, where bullets were being cast. A
small boy, standing by, attracted by the
rapidly Of the process and the bright
ness Of the rolling globules, wished to
take away with him one as . memento,
but was sterDly forbidden BY the sentry,
who nobly eaid, "No, they arc the prop.
erty Of the United Ststes." General r.
e. Spinner, while Treasurer of the
United States, also stated his views as
TO the true obligation Of m official, on
An occasion whom he was asked to Join
in preparing and publishing for sale Q
book describing the various United
States notes. He declined, on the
ground that he believed that the whole
time Of an officer on full salary belonged
to the Government, and that he ought
not to earn any other money while hold
ing his Office. Once upon . time, o Ger
tain commissioner Of internal revenue,
resiguing his Office In midsummer, took
with him to his house In Washington q
half-reau Of paper, intending to write q
report before Congress met. Afterward,
concluding mot to make any report, he
appeared at the Bureau and for mally
returned the paper, and also penknife
which he had used while commissioner.
But 1t subsequently appeared various
large official contracts which had been
given out by the commissioner were not
entirely free from suspicion. On the
other hand, 1t may safely be affirmed
that General Spinner, who WAS an un-
questioned m o6el Of official integrity,
never refused to give away his auto
graph, written with q public pen and
Government ink on official paper; pos
stbly he may have occasionally written
o few private words under an official
frank; and doubtless If he found after
his retirement few quires Of Govern
ment paper In his desk at his house, or
o penkpife or pencil In his pocket, be
did not SYSTEMATICALLY carry them back
to bis successor.
There can, OF c0uree, be no objection
70 the utmost stiictness of official In.
tegrity, II 1t is sincere, but cases like
those narrated naturally suggest that
the actors therein may be straining out
the enat and swallo wing the camel;
cleansing the outside of the cup and the
platter, while inside they are full from
Iextortiou and excess.
1t is fair to assume, however, In view
Of Mr.. Bay ards little story, that he
would not steal directly from the Gov
lernment 30 much rs q little lesden hull
let, much less o sum Of NOR ey. But
there are other methods by which high
officials sometimes do make money for
themselves in addition to their salaries,
OF by which they help others to make
money; which methods in their direct or
indirect results are more injurious to
the public service than all the direct
corruption and robbery that prevail,
which latter doubtless Mr.. Bayard sin.
cerely deprecates. One of these meth.
ID q Ia the acceptance while In office OF
employ ment as lawyers the motive and
usually the effect Of the employ ment
being to defraud, deplete, or injure the
Government In some way. This lie a
gro wing evil, and should be Stamped
out BY rigid laws In State and Nation.
Il Mr.. Bayard himself has furnished
conspicuous instances of this indirect
method of receiving bribes for official
influence. He ia also the only Score.
L 70 rtA r,hiln hnlhip 6afandsnx hta
lclient'e interests on the floor Of the
Senate, has bad the hardihood to &C.
knowledge tina, bs did It rs paid at
,orney. On July 20, 1882, the Senate
WAS considering an appropriation to
build the machinery of such OF the four
doubls -turreted monitors "a the Navy
Department mis ht think most expedi.
ent end bast for the interests of the
service. Senator BsyRrd interposed In
the debate in behalf Of the Harlan &
Hollingsworth Company, Of Whining.
ton, Delaware. and demanded that nc
discretion should be given AZ to which
of the W ssele should have It's machinery
com pleted, but that the Amphitrite,
the monitor at the yard OF this com.
pany, his clients, should be finished al
ali vents. In order to do him no in
justice, his language viii be quo! cd:
Senator Bayard-*** I will confine
m, remarks to the building of this one
ship, the Amphitrise. The people
who are building this vessel, the Am.
phitrite, are anOwn by the name of the
Harlan & Hollingsworth Company.
They are constituents of mine; they
have held and still hold to me the rela.
ton Of counsel and client (sic) PROBES
sionally n y
Now, only ask that Congress shall
take the steps to move that vessel
away from that yard, to put the vessel
Ia such de iree of completion as shall
enable her to be launched and moved,
but that that shall not rest with the
discretion merely of the Secretary Of
the Navy. L do not propose to leave
him the discretion 10 move such OF
these four vessels as he sees At. / wieh
tat vessel moved out, and the people
simply paid for what they have done.
They are not beRgars, they are NO lob
byistR, they have no secret agencies or
Influences to impress upon ANYBODY,
but I simply want them dealt with
Just a. honest citizens ought to be deal
with by IL cir Government. Therefore,
do mot propose, 80 far as can help IL,
that there shall be any don BIT In regard
to the completion of this double turreted
mon itor. ~
i I do not propose that there shall be
any more doubt about or mere discre'
ton resting upon II Take the vessel
away, and let the money now applied
bs applied under the control OF the Ad
visory Be ard to complete the vessel. n
Y When the Senator from Kentucky
offers $500, 900. / will say simply that
will not do.
Mr.. Hale COT Maine)-I have been
much interested In the euloq ium Of the
Senator from Delaware upon his clients
[ and ccnarituanIa Lot M look