Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-10-08
THE ORDER TO "pREFER. y


THE ORDER TO PREFER"
President Cleveland went into Office
pledged to civil service reform. Upon that
voluntary obligation he secured the votes
of a large number of independent Repub-
licans connected more or less intimately
with the civil service reform associations
of the country. On two occasions the
chief Of these bodies has expressed its
dissatisfaction with the manner in which
Mr.. Cleveland is conducting the admins
ration of affairs in the allotment of
offices, and places under them. Probably
if the truth were fully disclosed, these
gentlemen are very much more disap-
pointed with the Administration than
they confess, for the President after brief
period of apparent vigor in the interest of
the reform, manifested a weakness that
has at last eliminated in open disregard of
the pledges made in 1884. 1t is well an
derstood that party pressure brought to
bear upon him has been very great, but
that will not be accepted as an excuse for
want of backbone.
The final act in the drama of this retro
erosion has just been made known 1t
takes the form OF an order from the War
Department that employees in the arsenals
of the United States, other things being
equal, must be Democrats. 1t is true that
there is a subsequent clause stating that
the purpose is to gradually divide the pos
itions between the two parties. But this
does not appear to be the essence of the
order, for the proportion to be observed in
division is not specified, no reference is
made to Union soldiers, nor is this vague
expression mandatory, whereas that di-
recting the selection of Democrats is made
imperative,
The order, though dated last January,
was brought to public notice by the dis
charge from the Rock Island A rsenal of
the widow eff Union soldier. Had the
intention been to evenly distr %ute the
places between partisans, it probable
that publicity would have been given to
the order at the date of its issuance and
much have been made of the claim for its
non-partisan character. The civil service
reform laws do not, of course, extend to
the army, neither in the past has political
partisanship. The present order is, we
believe, the first in the history of the
country in which political party has
been named in connection with any APP
pointments in the military service But
the spirit of the reform ought to reach
the army civil employees, modified only by
the consideration that should uniformly
give preference to the men, who, in the
hour of its peril, volunteered to defend
the Union of States against the assaults
of domestic foes. How very much better
would the Department order have read
had it directed that, other things being
equal, employment should be given in
IN preference to the Union veteran or his
wife or children. In that case there would
have been no need 60 speak of division"
of the 'places," and all the loyal people of
the nation would have been satisfied and
gratiied.
The more the order is examined the less
value is to be attached to the vague refer
ence about gradually" dividing the
places between partisans. 1t is perfectly
evident that that expression was meant to
be meaningless The Chief of Ordnance,
General Benet, and to whom, as a soldier,
the projection of politics into the service
must have been abhorrent, declares that he
issued the order by direction of Secretary
Endieott, who stated as reason for it that
room must be made for the horde of hun
cry Democrats who are worrying the Cab
met officials with their clamor for public
pap.
Looked at in the most favorable light.
the order reflects no credit upon the Ad-
ministration, which is now wholly within
the grasp OF the arrogant chivalry wing of
the party, and that ill-coneeais its covert
designs and its vain hope that it will be
able to put the North under its heel and
at last punish it for its loyalty. We ex-
empt from fore knowledge of the scheme
those sincere Democrats who are 6eluded
by their shrewder brethren, precisely as
they were in 1880. What the chivalry
could not accomplish by force of arms,
they propose to now attain by insiduous
but legal approaches in detail. They
hope TO fill all places of trust with Dem
ocrats of the chiyalry stripe, or those who
are subservient to their will; to
keep intact the domination of the Brig
alters of the Southern Confederacy
in the House TO dictate industrial
conditions that viii hopelessly cripple the
North, and while dsnouncing Union sol
diers-whom they we're unable to over