The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-10-07
DEMOCRATIC STATESMEN.

DEMOCRATIC STATES MEN.
What Has Eeen Held by the Lights of the
Democracy Regarding Civil-service Re-
form.
The opposition of the New York Sun
to Civil-Seryice reform leads it into
forgetfulness of certain pledges made
by the Democratic party in reference
to principles. 1t designates Presi-
dent Cleyeland's adherence to this re-
form as an attempted reversal of the
Democratic system of politics, and
pertinently asks: Where does he
find the authority for under
taking it?' The answer to this is
very simple. In the Democratic plat
form on which he was elected. ''But, !"
argues our luminous contemporary,
90 turning to the National Democratic
platform, we find the sum of the DEM
ocratic declaration regarding the re-
form of the civil service to be for an
honest Civil-Service reform If the
| Democracy had intended, upon assum-
ing the control of the Government as
in 1884 they hoped to do, to make the
civil service non-partisan, as Mr.. Cleve-
land had proposed, and to establish a
permanent tenure of office, the inevita-
! BILE result of such a system, it can not
be supposed that they would have
| failed to record their intention" The
Democracy. in that platform, offered
to the venerable statesman, whose
memory is dear to his party, and also
to the New York Sun, ''the pledge of
our devotion to the principles and
cause now inseparable in the history
of this Republic from the labors and
the name of Samuel j. Tilden" Eight
years before, that illustrious states
man was nominated and elected
on Democratic platform which said:
Experience proves that efficient, eco
nomical conduct of the Governmental
business is not possible if its civil serv-
ice be subject 70 change at every cleo
| ton, be prize fought for at the ballot
box, be brief reward of party zeal,
instead of posts of honor assigned for
proved competency, and held for fidel-
| ity in the public employ; that the dis
pensing of patronage should neither be
a tax upon the time of all our public
men, nor the instrument of their am
| bition."
This, the Sun will acknowledge, is
explicit enough and sound Democratic
doctrine. On this Mr.. Tilden was
elected, and on this the Democracy,
in 1884, renewed to him the pledge
of their devotion to the principles
and the cause they'fought for in 1876.
| On the Goth of June, 1882, Senator Pen
dleton, whom the Sun must acknOwl-
edge to be very excellent Democratic
| authority, closed one of his most brill
liant speeches in favor of Civil-Service
reform with the words: To-day, the
Democratic party is putin itself at
| the head of that return; Civil-Seryice
reform is writ on its escutcheon and
emblazoned on its banner. BY its
strength. and, in order to perfect it.
the Democratic party will, sooner or
later, come into power. When that
time does come, when we take posses
sion of this Government, when we shall
put in the high places of power our
worthiest and best, the President of
the United States, the Chief of the State,
under the people, the source and fount-
ain of honor and power in the country,
will be able to say to all as Van Arteyeld
said, in response to Yanclaire, who as
thanking him for his promotion:
"'Supremacy of merit, the sole means
And broad highway to power.
meritorioHsy administered,
While all its instruments, from first to last.
chosen for their aptneSs to those
ends
Which virtue meditates.'
If this is not sufficient to convince
the Sun that Civil-Service reform is a
Democratic institution to which the
party is pledged, perhaps our esteemed
contemporary will hearken to the
words of our grandest statesman. In
Mr.. Tilden's letter accepting the NOM
ination, in 1876, written in this city,
on the 31st of July of that year, he
says: THE convention justly affirms
that reform is necessary in the civil
service, necessary to its unification,
necessary to its economy and efficiency,
necessary in order that the ordinary
employment of public business may
not be a prize fought for at the ballot
box, brief reward of party zeal,
instead of posts of honor assigned
for proved competency and held for
fidelity in the public employ. Two
evils infest the official service of the
Federal Government One is the
prevalent and demoralizing notion
that the public service exists not for
the business and benefit of the whole
people, but for the interest of the Office
holders, who are, in truth, but the
servants of the people. The other evil
Is the organization of the official class
into body of political mercenaries,
governing the caucuses and debating
the nominations of their own party"
Further on, Mr.. Tilden recommends
1.-The patient, careful organization of a
better civil service system under the
tests, wherever practicable, of proved
competency and fidelity" Is it fair,
then, for the Sun to characterize Mr..
Cleveland's Civil-Service reform policy
as belonging rather to the Republican
platform than to the Democratic? The
Suns hatred of the President should
not lead it to the extreme of falsifying
the records of the Democratic party
albany ArquS.
Will Work to Beat Blaine.
ooIio,-,1