Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-31
Assaults on Civil Service Reform.

Assaults on Civil Service Reform.
President Cleveland clearly intended to
make civil service reform the leading
feature of his administration. Probably
that is his intention STILL 1t is not i'm
probable that he has made some mistakes.
Some of his political enemies point to
alleged mistakes as indications that he is
not sincere. In the partisan debate in
the Senate, which ended last week, Sen
ator Harrison named several OF Mr.
| Cleveland's appointees who do not pay
very mucn respect to civil service reform
ideas if what the Senator said about them
is true. The Senator, however, may not
have been well informed with respect to
the facts.
Senators ingalls, and Voorhees, also
made bitter assaults on civil service re-
/ form during the same debate. They both
claim to regard it as a sham and a hum
bug. Is it not a little remarkable, now
ever, that neither Mr.. Voorhees, nor Mr..
! ingalls,, nor any other Senator, had a
word to say against civil service reform
during the last Presidential campaign?
If it is such a bad thing for the people
why didn't they tell them so then? Was
! it because they are not honest, or because
they thought then it was a good thingt
The chances are they are not honest.
They were afraid to condemn what their
respective parties had put into their plat
forms. They wanted votes, and so they
preached civil service reform. Are these
the sort OF men TO trust or to follow?
OF course, Mr.. Clevela and has made
some bad appointments, but the humble
is not large. He depended upon the re-
concentrations of those in whom he
placed confidence and was deceived. The
wonder is that he has made so few mis-
takes.
There has been a good many more re-
movals than the administration gets credit
for. About $50 nominations to vacancies
caused by removals in Presidential offices
are now suspended in Senate committees,
and between 5000 and 5000 fourth class
postmasters have been removed. Accord
ing to Senator Ingalls, postmaster has
been removed every fifteen mimi ties since
the Democratic party came into power.
This is working at a pretty lively rate.
1t is true there are Al, geo fourth-class Re-
publican postmasters yet in office, but
their places will be supplied with Demo-
Gratis before the end OF the present Presi-
Dental term.
These 4l,000 Republican postmast tiers
are not, as is sometimes asserted, omany
workers for the Republican party. They
don't dare to announce above a whisper
that they are Republicans. Many of them
are so ANXIOUS to hold on to their little
places that they are not certain they are
not Democrats. When they are removed
they Will become workers for their party
Of the most active and aggressive sort.
They will work to get their party into
power with the hope of getting TO be post
masters again.
Senator Ingalls, said that all the offices
ought to be filled with those who are of
the same political faith as the party in
power. If he had said all of the princi-
pal offces-those upon which the admin
istration depends to carry out it's policies
and give it character and standing in
localities-he would be generally in
dorsed; but the great majority of the
people believe, and will continue to be-
lieve that the little places should oe dealt
with in accordance with the principles OF
civil service reform.
There are nearly 100000 occupants Of
little places under the government. The
! injustice of turning adrift so many gov
eminent employees whenever there is a
change in the political character of the
government, the danger of making pau
pers and idlers in that way and the suffer
ing such policy would entail, as well as
the burden it would impose upon the in
coming administration, are some of the
reasons which led to the passage of the
civil service law. If the President sue.
ceeds in enforcing that law reason ably
we'll the country will support him. AS
saults upon the law by those who are
anxious to handle more patronage will
not secure its repeal.