The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1886-01-07
A CHANGE OF POLICY.
The President Tired of Investigating
Our Helpless Condition Before
Foreigners.


definitely decided to abandon his
former apolicy of attempting tc
make a personal investigation of the
character and capacity of every
person whose name is presented for
office. He finds, what all of his
predecessors have learned by expe-
rience, that this country is too
large and its officers too numerous
to admit of such policy, however
desirable it may be in the abstract
or commendable in theory. IL is
not only physically impossible for
any one man to perform the task,
but it is productive of bad results
to announce the policy or attempt
its performance. SO long as it was
understood that the president as
sumed the responsibility of all APP
pOintments, senators and represen-
tatives woald often yield to the
temptation to recommend appli-
cants for office merely to get rid of
the opportunities of unworthy ap-
plicants. hoping that the presidents
personal investigation would reveal
their true character. OF course in
the multiplicity of such cases it
would often happen that thorough
investigation would not and could
not be made, and then the presi-
dent was held responsible for the
mistake. The change of policy will
throw upon the senators and repre-
sentatives recommending appli-
cants the responsibility of deciding
as to their character and efficiency,
and they will be held responsible if
unworthy appointments are made.
This, as every one but the mug
wumps know, is the only practica
BILE policy, and, as experience has
demonstrated, it is the policy most
likely to result in good appoint
tatiye does not know the character
of applicants from his state, or is
not held responsible for their st and
ing or efficiency, it is difficult to
see how any one else is to know
or why the president should be
held responsible for mistakes when
senators endorse unworthy appli-
cants. II is said that the announce
ment of this change of policy has
produced some CONSERVATION in
congressional circles, and already
several senators have FASTENED to
the white house to withdraw rec
concentrations previously signed
by them.
1t remains to be seen what poll
cy will be adopted in case the bill
now before the senate should be-
come law, which makes it Grim
inal ofense for a senator or repre-
sentative to recommend anybody
for office. That bill, however, may
be classed as a rare specimen OF
legislative popycock which has been
previously discanted upon il these
columns.
The letter of Mr.. Tilden to John
G. Carlisle, warning the country of
the danger to which 1t is exposed
for the want of adequate coast de
fences, is producing a good deal of
discussion in political circles, and
itsis to be hoped the discussion
will be productive of good results.
In a conversation with a distin-
guished United States Senator, who
is friend of Mr.. Tilden's and also
in full sympathy with the admins
tration, the fact was stated to your
correspondent that Mr. Tilden's
letter possesses far deeper signifi-
cance than appears upon its face.
"The bare facts as stated in the
letter." said the senator, "are ap-
palling enough, and they call loud
ly for a remedy. The fact that five
billion dollars worth of property
in our seapoFts he at the mercy Of
any power, provided with a few
armorial ships,is sufficient to rouse
nation possessed of common
sense, 1t is true that we might
dwadle along forever in sense of
security, as we have done for years
and be perfectly safe, il we choose
to submit to all the snubbing and
humiliation which foreign nations
may choose to infict upon us. But
the time has come when it is abso-
lutely necessary for this nation to
have foreign policy, and be able
to make its power felt and respec-
ted by other nations in case we
should have occasion to say that
our souls are our own-a statement
which we have not dared to make
for twenty five years. Germany
and France are discriminating
against our most important pro-
Gucts-viOlating the most favored
nation clause of our treaties-and
we dare not even pass retaliatory
laws for fear of provoking their
wrath. We send a minister to
Austria :and he is ignominiously
kicked out of that country because
of his wife's religion, and we dare
not protest except in the most ab
ject way. France takes possession
of the highway across the isthmus,
and builds a canal which it pro-
poses to control without cons ult-
ing our interests or recognizing our
existence, and we dare not let her
know that we have a Monroe doc
trine or that we entertain any views
on the subject whatever. Our cit
izens have large in terests in Mexi-
co and are destined to have much
more in the near future, but We
have no power to protect them or to
annoy any of the border states il
they should apply for admission tc
the union. The same may be said
of our relations with Spain with
reference to Cuba, and of England
With reference to Canada"
''Is there any likelihood of oul
attempting annexation of any O
the provinces named in case we
lead the power?" queried your cor
respondent.
81 do not say that there is. On
the contrary, L desire to say dis
tinctly that there is no presen
probability of any such event hap