The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-07-27
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
coNci usloN OF PRESlDtN !
LYON G. TYLER'S PAPER.
Folks Relentless War As'"S'
Friends in omce-Biame OF the Spun
s,s,,m Must he shouldered Nv wv
North.

noforc the rupture OF the wings WIZ
President TYLER. the latter had I'' " ~ "
hostile interest 10 say whether IN o"""''
49,, win his veto message, in order 10 IT,
I,eye his motives from the impu'auon OF DC
inc governed 10y desire for re-oiecu'"' u,
should not positively declare that ne "ou'o
.,,,,,o q candidate for reelection, and ih'i'
,,oa,imous decision was that il would DE
,mpolitic and unWse for him to adop' '""'
sion After their resignation nc Wa a.,
,acled nv the dominant elements III "o''
nartics. and his friends soon io"h" u NV
cary IN band together for seii-pfes'IN "''0'''
rhcso friends. though incousidcranie j"
&C wore numerous in the states ana
Insisted on Mr. Tyler assuming ulC ,"'''
nls '' Co.. re-election. This Mr. lyicr a'
80, decided 10 do, not with any h"lV W "
Scction hut for the sole purpose Oh en-
St;,,c, himself 10 maintain his posltl"n ~
t,vcon the two parties. ouo-, I"'""! ,, '',,
49,, ~ name with that OF texas anu, y
~ ho compclled the Democrats l" IT,
,,o,,nco Mr.. Van Buren, ana 10 N"AV va
pit who was General JachaV" ~
choice. \ few months aiteI ,uIs
nnion was brought about p''N'''
Tvloy's friends and the pcmo'I",T r.
~ o,r,,,er were sOlcnnly assured ID! VIZ
lu1 i"ntson with Folks fun know,
10 10 and acauicsccncc, that they Woui....
treated as friends and brc'hi'"
a. tho democratic party. Ana lhus HS",''
,6c followers Of Crawford ana '"' 80, ~,
united in lS4t as they were III 10 W." '",
,';n,o,,. over the opposition, CONSISTING V'
,he friends of Adams and Clay. but "- "i,
80 tho union of factions in the l'eln"VI" ','
nsrty dissolved as soon as lhe aiVt"i! -
nhtainod. JacksOn's love LOT IVA, no"
carried him against AN BuIth anu ''.i'.'
y. Tho time of the Democratic CONVENE"
~ NJ ISL. I'M though the control OF the
80 mad really passed from the Albany
Regency. jackson himself soon Ic'ui nVN
49, oiJ ioyo. and i'm returning brought MI'
IN alone with him. Now II was an easy
80 ~ accomplish this. for Polk himself llau
Lclongod as Sneaker Of the House oil ht p
rcsontativcs. 10 the inner circle a" li,
ALBANY Regency, and had pubhciy aoN' ~,
his countenance of the Marcy uoctiHc "'
spOis and prescription ,.,, eli,
NO sooner. therefore had l"iN "OD" ,''l
s.oIIed than. despite hi- assurances anu
stai ''l',,,,,,.es of General Jackson. he be-
,,an a romorselcS@ war against the lrlcnu7
Mr Tvler had left in Office. embracing aIsu
in the proscription the friends oil VT: O"I-
boun and MIR. Il. j. Walker. who, a. tN"S
annexation men, had. 10 was supposed con-
tr1huted largely % the undolns oil M ~"
Drren Polk oStraciscd Tyler men. al
boun men. Walker men ana NulSS =
but do or say what he mlshl' H'
could not transfer the Democratic paul
To the control Of the oiu JH ';,i,or,
CLIQUE. Under the idea OF securing lnlnIai!
nonularitv. he rejected the alternative ol
noaco0,l adjustment of our difficulties Wiih
Ncviro and bv his order 10 gen. Taylor =.
take pOssessiOn Of the Rio Orande. Drought
ON an unnecessary war; for lhe manage
mont If which he designed Mr. benton. WIG
was without any military QUALIFICATIONS.
But when this design failed, ana mihiiIt
glory brought no increase OF P"puIdii'N
Polk found himself deserted 10y the heS7ehc!
mon. led by Van Buren,, Frank i. Bar.
Hntier Tapnau. King. &C.. who falsely ac-
cusen him Of all manner OF broken
pledros. and formed the "irec-~olll party.
'rbus Polk WAS unfortunate ON all sides.
Nv his war policy aud failure 10 settle Inc
slavery question when the treaty oil Naud3-
loupe HidalgO was negotiated, ana ID! MS
uroscription Of Tyler men, calhoun men.
and Wings. he occasioned the election oi
General Zachary Taylo the people IS CAN
didate." in lSlg. and the defeat I'll ms own
party. lie survived the disaster only l'"
months. 49,.
tlNll service thl Iiti'ii 't'' ''''
onehy established IN the Government:
Politics. Ike water. always seeks dead
level. ana while we have always had TWO
partips in our government, one IN FAVOR OF
increasing its powers. and the other OPP
pospd 10 il. seldom has it happened that any
authority once obtained 10y the government
has been recalled. The patronage party
passes "A spOils measure against the earn
est protest of the other party ana realS ihe
first and great benefit Of IT'S monopOIl'
When its rival comes in, il finds itself IN
most cases unable 10 reverse the eNll step
already taken. but unwilling 10 permit the
perpetrators of the mischief to remain a.
The sole bcniciaries elects them from their
advantageous positions. From 1874 10 ISL
the Democratic party was the patronage
party but from 1871 to 1876 the wing part!
was substituted 10 its place.
Yet while opposing in many ways Inc
further development OF the governmental
influence, the Democratic party still bore
the impress of the Jdckson-N an Buren, IN
luencc, especially in the offices.
I'm the ofi-repeatcd debates between the
Democrats and Wings, the only question
was which party had made the most remoy-
ais Z "Instcad of sound incontrOyeriible
argument, we find vast array oi charges
and counterchargcs. with VindicauOns oil the
character Of those appointed or removed,
and often excuses for wrong because pre-
Vious administrations had done wrong.'
And vet il must not be forgotten that during
all this time from 1910 TO 1860, the executive
Office was in the control of Northern men
or men associated with them in principle.
Polk and Taylor were the only two southern
men from 1919 10 1860, and Polk was of the
inner circle of the Albany Regency, and
TAYLOR belonged 10 party whose dominant
element was of the North, and he survived
an election TO the presidency hut Que year.
~ for the other Presidents, while Fillmore
was reared IN the New York anti-MasOnic
school. 10 whose subtle political ingenuity
is ascribed the invention of the National
Political Convention, Pierce and buchanan
were original Jackson men. ana had never
belonged TO the Crawford Democratic school
OF strict construction.
To the North alone, therefore, should be
ascribed the blame of the ,poils system.
Virginia Presidents had shown by steady
course Of political action their utter abhOr-
renee of IL. Webster in his speech in Rich
mond in 1910 had declared that "\ irginia.
more than any other State in the Mon, had
disavowed ana condemned the doctrine OF
removals from. Office for opinion sake II
was Calhoun in 1880 who had moved 10 re-
peal the law Of $50, fixing iOur-Vear,
tenure of Office in the Treasury Department,
and he had received the support Of the Nlr-
ginia senators, Tyler and Leigh. Miss
salmon, in her pamphlet on the Appoint
ing Power" citing authority Of various
kinds, shows that as late rs 1893 the doc
trine OF spoils found no favor in the South.
"rhe tendency at the NORTH she SAYS,
''was in favor Of prescription; at the South
against it,"
The condition OF things was greatly az
grayated when the southern influence was
entirely eliminated from one of the great
parties. The Wing party went 10 pieces;
aud a new party called the Republican par
", was formed in the North, out of various
fragments and fractions OF the old parties.
Into it went all the notorious spoils elements
of the country. The surviving Anti-Masons,
led by William III. seward; the Albany
Regency, led by Fremont, BentOn's sOn-in-
law; +. u. Blair, Il. +. Butler, Of New
York. and many others Of the old Van Blu
rem Democratic clique; the "hnow-Noth-
ings," whose secret orgies Henry A. Wise
so enectually exposed; the AbOlitionists,
whose platform was "the immediate diss0-
luton OF the Union;" and many thousand
foreigners who were fresh from the absou-
tism of the old world and spoke Of allie
glance % the government instead of 20 the
tannle Success of marty had meant pre-