Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-03-08


The following words from the inaugural
address Of President Harrison, having ref
erence to the civil service, should be care
fully read and considered 10y men Of all
parties
Heads Of departments, bureaus and all other
public officers having any duty connected there
with will be expected to enforce the civil service
law fully aud without evasion. Beyond this Oh
vous duty hope TO do something more to al
vance the reform Of the civil service. The ideal,
or even my own ideal. ] shall probably not attain.
Retrospect will he a safer basis Of judgment than
promises We shall not, however, I am sure, he
able to put our civil service upon a partisan
basis until We have secured an ncumbency that
fair minded men Of the opposition will approve
for impartiulty and integrity. As the number Of
such in the civil service increases, removals from
office will diminish"
The foregoing, when taken in connection
with the declaration Of the Republican Ma
ton convention. that
THE reform Of the civil service auspiciousy
begun underline Republican administration should
be completed by the further extension Of the re
form system already established by law to all the
grades Of the service to which Il is applicable
The spirit and purpose of the reform should be
observed in all executive appointments, and all
laws at variance with the object of existing re
form legislation should be repealed, to the end
that the dangers to free institutions which urk in
the power Of official patronage may be wisely
and etlectually avoided
clearly foreshadows the policy of the pres
ent Administrations and is far in advance Of
anything heretofore uttered upon this i'm
portant subject by any of Gen, Harrison s
predecessors and deserves to be framed in
letters of gold.
The Springfield Republican of last Tues
day, with its accustomed zeal of fault-fnd.
ing with everything that is not purely
Clevelandism, can see nothing in this por-
ton of the inaugural but the cry of turn
the rascals out, and says it means that, if
it means anything. 1t should be remem-
bered that the political representations of
that paper almost invariably prove incor-
rect therefore no one should feel disturbed
at them. When we consider that its editor
n-chef is bourbon Democrat and free
trader of the worst type, and that the Pres
dent in his address laid bare the many
heresies Of the last administration and
sternly rebuked the Democratic party for
its misdeeds, both of commission and omis-
sion, it was to be expected that the Repub-
llcan and other newspapers of its ilk would
madly criticise the official utterances of the
successor Of their idol, whom they have SC
blindly worshiped during the past four
years.
The words of the President quoted above
are fairly susceptible of but one interpreta-
ton, and it is most clearly this that when.
ever reasonable number of representative
men opposed to the political party to which
the present incumbent Of an office belongs
| approve of the integrity and efficiency OF
that officer and his impartiality in the dis
charge of his official duties. the President
stands ready, in such case to aid in the adj
| vancement of that reform $50 auspciousy
begun under past Republican administra
tions, and thereby place the civil service
! upon non-partisan basis as far as may be
not only as regards the classified service a.
is now provided by law, but also as to ap
! polntments made by the executive, ITO tn,
end that the dangers to free institution,
which Turk in the power Of official patron
age may be wisely and etfectualy avoided
To the political spokesman who has no in
terest' personal or pecuniary, beyond tn,
mere enjoyment and profit of holding pub
lie office, or brokerage therein, the word,
of the President portend much ill., But t,
! the sincere civil service reformer, and t
every citizen who desires to see the coun
try delivered from the baneful influence OF
the spoils system they are words of wis
dom courage and true statesmanship-ai
earnest of better future.
\ BELIEVER IN THE REFORM.