The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1889-05-09
THE CIVIL SEkVIOE.

woarxlHarox. MINI. MAY 9. 1889
THE CIVIL SEKVIoE: g
The veteran editor of the New
York Sun, Charles A. Dana, is not
an admirer of the so-called civil
service, and he has recently made
a stalwart statement of his views
Of that much lauded system. He
calls it Chinese civil service. In
China there are no political parties.
There the will of an emperor, and
capacity tested by literary exami-
nations controls the appointments
to each and every Office. And in
no other country is there an equal
amount of corruption. In judi
cial venality and corruption espe-
cially China exceeds tho world.
Mr.. Dana specifies "Thers if you
you have a lawsuit you must buy
the judge. It is not enough to em-
ploy the ablest counsel you can.
You must also employ the judge,
and retain him beforehand. There
the great ruler who is at the head
Of a province, when he gets short
of money, squeezes the men who
are below him. I object to this
Chinese system for these reasons {:
It is contrary to democracy; it is
contrary to honesty: it tends to
corruption; it produces corruption
in most intelligent country, and,
in a literary sense, the most highly
cultivated country in the world
China"
Mr.. Dana's argument that the
existing corruption in China grows
out of the civil service system is
neither fair nor logical, for oppres-
sion and dishonesty may occur un-
'ter any system. Judicial and ad-
ministrative corruption has had a
growth of ages in all Asiatic coun-
tries. Wherever men are dishon-
est no institutions, however perfect,
can or will reform them. Never
theless we agree with Mr.. Dana in
saying that the creation of an ar
my of permanent Office holders is
no panacea for the ills we are sub
ject to. A permanent class of Of
fee holders creates servility and
destroys manhood. Those who are
fed at the public crib must lick
the band that passes the loaf. Its
dependents cannot have independ-
ence of political opinion or action.
There are ills under our present
system, but their correction lies in
another direction. Reduce the
patronage of the general govern
ment, make more Offices elective by
the people. Thus the President
will have time for craftsmanship,
and be no longer a mere dispenser
of political rewards to his friends,
and punishment to his enemies.
GOOD FRUITS.
Whatever the shortcomings of
Gen. Harrison's administration
may be, some reliefs have come to
the people through some very SEN
sible decisions of his cabinet Off
GERS. Secretary Noble has upset
an oppressive ruling of his prede-
cessors precluding entry un der the
timber culture act on any section
where q few scrub trees might
be found The Secretary allowed
common sense to set aside prece-
dent. He says: mo arbitrary
rule can be established for the gov
ernment in every case. n X II
is within the experience of all man.
kind living in prairie regions that
in drains and ravines few scatter.
ing trees are to be found, and il
stands to reason that it was not the
purpose to deprive the occupants
of the vast prairies of the west OF
the benefits of the act if there hap.
pened to be single tree upon the
premises" Two previous decisions
made by wiseacres held that few
trees on tract defeated the entry.
which, the Secretary says, 'would
prevent an entry of prairie land
that had timber of any character
upon it, fallen or otherwise
In like manner the Commission
or of the Pension Department is
setting aside illiberal and unjust
constructions of the pension laws,
whereby meritorious soldiers were
deprived of the relief they were
legally entitled to. Some of the
habitues of the departments act as
if they imagined their function tc
be to see that old and dependant
soldiers get as little relief as pos.
sible. Happily the pension bureau
is now in the hands of men who
will construe the pension laws fair.
ly and justly to the men who saved
the country.