Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-07-09
THE CTVIL SERVICE.
senator HOar's Arraignment Of Presi
dent cleveland.

From speech delivered In the u g. Senate July lstl
There are two doctrines concerning this
matter OF the civil service, each of which has
found it's defenders. One is that the offices
Of the country, great aud small, are the
legitimate rewards of party service and the
fair prize of political victory. The other is
that the officers Of the country are to serve
the people and not to bride them that those
officers whose conduct is not TO be affected
by their opinion shall be chosen without
thought Of their party ~ you select the off
GERS Of a church or the officers of a bank. To
the latter President Cleveland is thoroughly
pledged. He has acted upon the former ~
faithfully az any President In our history.
There never was worse example of the de.
sertiOn Of good cause than the deserton Of
civil service reform by the men who aban-
doned the Republican party to vote for Mr..
Cleveland, and who are now seeking to cover
their mistake by proclaiming that "the Pres
ident is doing very WE'LL and that he is true
to the professions on which he WAS elected.
II there be no truth in these gentlemen's pro-
fessons, the President is doing very we'll.
II there be truth in them, he il doing very
badly.
There are 1898 civil officers whom the
President personally appoints with the con
sent Of the Senate. or these about eighty
are judges with life tenure collectors Of
lDltTnhl IbNtu nus, lnb ulEtClOf VI tue mint,
and perhaps few others hold Office by in.
definite tenure. All these latter he has al
ready removed and filled their places with
Democrats. OF the rest he has already nom
mated successors for upward OF two thou
sand. The terms of all these would expire
by their legal Limitation during his term.
Yet his axe il constantly falling upon the
uecks of worthy and faithful officers for no
other reason but they are Republicans, and
he wants the place for Democrats. To his
credit be 1t said that the poor pretence Of
offensive partsanshlp seems wholly abandon
ed. The invitation to Democratic members
OF Congress to make secret charges against
honorable Republican office holders has, |
sm glad to believe in most instances been
CONTEMPORARY spurntd. This invitation,
given by member OF the cabinet, but of
which the President could not have been ig-
uorant, and of which the full responsibility
rests upon him, is especially odious. 1t de-
prives American citizens of honorable public
station, without notice or trial, on a charge
of o1snsiveness. II removes responsibility
from the Executive to the member OF Con.
gress, contrary to the spirit Of the Constitu-
ton, thereby keeping alive the worst feature
of the old system. Ii degrsdes the member
of Congress to a secret informer. Tue Occu
patton Of rag picker OF the Partisan gutter is
respectable compared to that which this pol
icy assigns to the successor OF the august
and stately Washington and of brave and
honest old John Adams.
1t il not necessary to invoke the RESPONSE
blity for his subordinates which the Cousti
tuition imputes to the President to ascertain
his principles and intentions in regard to the
use Of patronage for party advantage. Judges
IN the territories have term Of Office estab-
lzhed 10y law OF four years. No power is
.I... - l..
them. The constitutional principle which
applies to executive officers does not affect
them. Many eminent authorities deny the
right under the law to remove them all Bat
however that may be, the removal OF judge
within his term to find place to reward parti-
san service il not the act OF a man to be trust
ed anywhere as a leader in the cause of civil
service reform. The root OF the matter is
not and never will be in him. The men who
applaud him in 10 doing, If they profess to
be civil service retormers, make Of this cause
r pretext a cloak, a veil, and cannot be de
pended upon for either earnestness or con
stancy in its support. The Judge who rep
resents in those plastic and forming com.
munites the majesty of the law should be
removed if any man on earth should be 70.
moved from the hopes, the fears and the ex-
elements of the partisan. He is the last
man to be bidding and boVing for Executive
fayors OF the twenty nine territorial judges,
the President in fifteen months put sixteen
Democrats in office. Nine Republicans have
been removed solely on account of their pol
itical opinions that he might appoint Demo
Gratis in their places. or some, | believe ALL
OF the other seven he has demanded the
resignation. This he has done himself 1t
is his own act. The responsibility is upon
the shoulders Of no subordinate. This is the
worst and EXTREMIST case possible under our
laws of the use Of patronage in the service OF
party.
The President OF the United States pro-
claimed that political Office shall not be the
reward of party service, and that officers
whose duties have no relation to political
opinion shall remained undisturbed. That
was the text. He then demanded the resig.
nation OF Frederick Douglass from the Office
Of recorder Of deeds that he might have a
place with which he could reward n Jealous,
active, Democratic politician for political ser
vice. That was the application This ia the
Presidents own direct act. No evil counselor
deceived him. No party Glamour overpow-
cred him, no scape-goat bears the blame
The President who did that will, in my judg-
ment, never rescue the civil service from the
evil spirit of party.
That is no sound constitutional doctrine
which is not good for the whole country. We
must dlstrust the professions OF those who
practice one thing IN one state and another in
another, which gives the spoils to the victor
or pays respect to the desire to divorce the
civil service from politics according to the
local exgences Of the Democratic party. In
ssachusetts the civil service reformeTs are
to be, l will not say decoyed, but attracted,
persuaded, enticed from the ranks of the
Republican party, or there is no hope for
Democracy You find in that state there
fore, certain respect for that sentiment
and certain slowness in making changes
Even there, however, have never seen an
exhibition of blind party spirit which sur
passed that which has been shown by some
of these gentlemen who left the Republican
party TO vote for President Cleveland, and
who now seek to cover their mistake by
claiming him as a civil service reformer.
What difference between their captious crit
icism of Republicans aud their blind adora-
ton of Democrats What a straining at re-
publican gnats, what a swallowing of Demo
cratic camels !
In Massachusetts the problem is to gain Re
publican recruits. In Maryland the problem
is to hold fast a trained and drilled Demo
cratic army. The policy of the administra-
ton for Maryland has been described by an
eminent Democrat OF the highest authority,
Mr. Flndlay, whose earnestness in the cause
VI pure EuNbtulu6ut 10 nut UhblJ W D6 us
puted. lie has lately declared, and the au-
thentic report of his declaration is on our Ia
bles, that 1.-THE spoils Democracy have cor
rupted and debauohed the franchise of Mary.
land, and have made, Through tie agency Of
Tie President, appointments which cause the
name of civil service reform to be offensive"
The editor of the Civil Service Reformer,
published in the chief city in that state,
charges that the Democratic postmaster had
made three hundred appointments-in the
month of April over one hundred, at the rate
of over four day, and had been able to &C.
lect almost invariably from the ranks of his
own party, and that he had reduced the opera
ton of the law to a sham.
Mr.. President, the Commissioner of PEN
sions testified the other day, March %, 1856,
before a committee of the Senate:
have removed "a many Republicans as l
could with due regard to the expedition of
public business. l can state approximately
that 30 per cent of those originally appointed
have been Democrats. Out of n appointed
under civil service rules, ~ have been Demo
ocrats and politics unknown.
The president who has found leisure to re-
prove Congress AZ to its method of discharg-
ing its legislative duties will not plead igno-
rance of the existing method Of the eXeou-
ton Of the laws which 1t is his sworn oonsti-
tutional duty TO suPerintend. The officer who
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