The St. Johns herald., 1889-05-16

. in North American Review for
 May, has lengthy article on the
 fuse and abuse of civil service re-
 fOrm," in which he scores the po-
 litical spoilsmen to the quick.
 When the Act for the promotion
 Of civil service was passed" says
 Mir. McMahon, "the political spoils-
 men felt as if highway robbery had
 been perpetrated upon them. To
 conceal the real motives of their
 hostility to the measure, they at
 tackled its constitutionality, as if
 they cared more for the constitu-
 tion than for patronage and plum
 der"
 These new born constiution-zeal-
 ots were up at once in arms against
 the new law, and bowling like
 hungry pack of wolves, they brazen-
 ly declared the law unconstitution-
 al in it's provisions, and why? Be-
 cause it was diametrically opposed
 to the "pack," and the packs"
 methods. Notwithstanding this in
 stantaneous interest in that sacred
 instrument "was of such sudden
 growth" it deceived no one for an
 instant. Politicians are pompous
 in their self-importance," and ras-
 cally time-serving liars even at their
 best. 'No wonder, then, they as sume to defend the constitution against civil-service reform," desig- hating such a law as foreign to the genius of our political institu- tions, and as conducive to perma- nent office-holding." Notwith- standing the jackal wall of these hypocritical defenders of the con stitution, and their disintcrested CD 1 cry of unconstitutionality; never theless, the supreme court of the United States has affirmed it's con stitutionality. This court of last resort holding that when Congress, by law, vests the appointment of inferior officers in the hands of de- partments, it may limit and restrict the power of removal as it deems best for the public interests. In the language of the court, "the head of a department has no constitutional prerogative of appointment to of flee independently of the legisla- ton by Congress, and by such leg islation he must be governed, not only in making appointments, but in all that Is identical thereto" Therefore, marvel not, that they who made traffic of public places," should have fought, struggled and villified the proposed new law, for in their exaggerated conceit, they had acquired legal establishment monopolists of the offices p
 In the present disgraceful scram- ble for office, as every day to be wit messed at Washington, during the past two or three months. We can not do better than to quote the lan- guage used by celebrated English novelist in referring to office-hold- ing and office seeking, he said "On the occasion of my visit to my first visit especially, 1 saw, when at Washington, that the members of both Houses of Con- gross regarded the offices of the { government as their especial and property. Men crawled : over each other like ants buffeting one another, fighting, wrangling, ( scrambling for place-all engaged in a common assault upon those whom they were seeking to dislodge ( and disposses, all the time cringing and trucking to the politicians who \: seemed, by undisputed right, to take ( control of the public places and dis : pense the governments substance The brutality and selfshness which marked the rule of the office-mon- ; gers was more disgusting and offen- Sive to decent men than the sway Of 1