The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-21

ton. This life tenure had left 10000
petty office-holders appointed under the
empire sitting obstructively upon the
wheels of the republic with which they had
no sympathy. Until these life tenure bar
nacles were legisiated from its bottom the
ship New France" gathered no Roadway.
In an American republic, where unlver-
sal suffrage is the law, nothing more intol-
cradle could be conceived than a wretched,
insolent aristocracy of 100000 petty fed
eral office-holders, practically immovable
save for crime or moral suicide. 10 TINS
ultimate of class distinct from all other
classes, independent of the administration
and unaccountable TO the voters, fixed and
immovable save for causes proven, this
civil service reform quackery would bring
US at last. Rather than this system with
its steady drift toward absolutism, no won
der the strong thinkers OF both the great
political parties unhesitatingly prefer the
''spoiIs system; they prefer to bear Its
Ills we have than fly to others
that we know not Of, because with
vigorous and honest administration
1.-The spoils system" can be made to give
us good government by saying that while
public office is the reward of party service
no man who is not found both honest and
capable shall hold his reward an hour
after his infdelity or incapacity is mani
fest. This contempt for so-called civil
service reform" is not peculiar to the ex-
ceptionally greedy and low-toned repre-
sentatiyes of national politics. Among
the eminent men who did not believe in
the current movement for civil service
reform were Grant, Blaine, Wendell
Phillips. President Arthur, Samuel J.
TiIden, Thomas A. Hendricks, Judge
Thurman, Roscoe Conkling, Governor
Morton, Senator Edmunds John
Sherman, and Samuel ]. Randall.
These men stand for the best brains and
personal character of all shades Of polit-
ical thought in America. President
Grant gave the new system a fair trial.
and deemed it nothing better than scho-
lastic nostrum for the ills of the body
polite imported from England by political
doctrinaires tied TO q diploma. President
Arthur resolutely enforced the law, but
held the new system in distrust. Thur
man and Hendricks never disguised their
contempt for it, and Senator Edmunds de-
clared that the only assurance of good
government was the personal quality of
the administration; given that, and I'M
der the spoils system We should be
well governed; without that and we
would be- as badly governed, if not
worse, under the imported English sni-
vel service reform as could possibly be
under the spolls system. A good presi-
dent, who held his cabinet responsible for
the administration of their departments,
would be certain to keep the civil service
both clean and competent; and nothing
else would; no new machinery of methods
would help us to a good civil service under
q poor administration, and with a good
administration "the spoils system" would
not be permitted to keep in Office dis
honest or incompetent man. If "the
spells system" is to be reformed better re-
form in the Democratic direction of let
ting every community elect its own post
master; that would decrease patronage
and place the responsibility OF their selec-
ton upon the communities they serve,
who would naturally select men locally
known and respected.