The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-10-01
CIV-t SERVICE REFORM.
a RINGING ADDRESS BEFORE THE Ma
TI0NAL CONVENTION.
1t Is Claimed That the Civil Service Law
d.s Been Quite Generally Enforced
aua That Great Good Has Re-
suited to the Public Service.

RUrFALo, N. Y, Sept. 2S.-The Ma
lional civil Service Reform Assoc.a-
ton convened here today. After the
uaua praliminary business the presi-
dent delivered an address which
was walnly received. The associa-
tiou then adjourned until tomorrow.
Following is the address:
Ten YEARS OF REFORM.
Whon Jhe distinguished president
ot the HGifalo association invited the
national league to hold it's annual
neet'ug "A this city, we were sure, in
accepting the invitation, not only of a
generous and hospitable welcome, but
we knew that we were coming to one
of tLa loly cities of the reform faith.
IT. tHe rs yolutionary army every state
watched with profound interest the
conduct of it's own soldiers, and those
states today still cherish with pride
AND gIaoi,ude the story of the deeds of
the New York line, the Massachusetts
line, the Virginia line, all of them
untjTing "a the final triumph of the
whole american line. So in our con-
test for reform, the contest for honest
government by the people and not by
p3h5,oned politicians, the Buffalo line
has been always at the front, and TO
the conviction, the constancy and the
courage Of atljne, some of the noblest
victories Of the good cause are due. 1t
Is especially pleasant, therefore, that
We should assemble in Buffalo for our
lentn annual meeting not only to
renew the pledge of our fidelity to re-
form, 6nt 30 exchange congratulations
uN1L It's achievements and progress.
The fOrmation OF the league was
net, rs spmetimes it has been nle1s-
antly represented, whim of anlia0le
gepJlemuG who had fancy for new
fashions lpolitics, spinning moon
beams and dipping water in sieve.
The 5piri of reform is the instinct OF
Jrdegaud progress and as old as gov
erument. 1t is the creative instinct
moving Opon the face OF the waGers.
When lhe Republican platform of 1884,
realirmeG in 1888, spoke Of the dan
gers TO free institutions which lurk in
the power of official patronage, it did
not announce a new discovery; it
merely Siated a historical facG. In
the famous declaration of 1858 which,
after consultation with his English
advisers, William The Third issued
upon emharking for England, he
mentioned as the sixth among the
3lrteou particulars in which the
lav. ot england hal been set at
Enght ~ the dethro1ed dynasty,
tre nfcrFereace with elections by
tUInug ont of all employment such as
refused 10 vote as they were required;
and In The Declaration of Rights
drawn by Lord Somers with which
She crown of England was offered to
William and Mary, the seventh OF the
fouYteea grievances mentioned was
the same violation of the freedom of
elections by patronage. So earlp and
SO prominently in constitutional his
tory was the evil of patronage de-
Bounced rs a great public wrong and
peri |
"a \ century, later the evil, instead of
declIning, had grown to such strength
that when the most ignoble of Eritish
ministers sought by the corruption of
patronage to restore the supremacy
0f the crown, Edward Burke raised |
his great voice in protest. Macauly
iu famous passage describes the eE-
cess and the terror of this abuse in
Eu2l5ud. and Webster draws SIM
ila. picture of It's ravages in this
country. 1t was sixty years ago that
he said, IN arraigning the jackson ad-
GAS far as | know there
is 10 civilized country on earth in
which, on a change of rulers, there is
such an inquisition for spoils as we
have Witnessed in this free republic"
The evil mat both described was the
lbalaesU G rm OF political corruption.
II was making booty Of the public
servtCa. md Marcy, who defended
alle oamaee, justly described service
81 seiaoi as spoils. In one country
She publc patronage was q bribery
iUDd 10 plo op the crown, in the other
to heIp 4 party. In both it was Or
g1n1aa corruption.
IT is not surprising that the pas
aouJte ardor of parGy spirit during
q civil war which identified support
,f party with the existence of the
GOVERNMENT should have strengthen
81 The tradition that extreme parti-
sapshir S the rightiul condition of
public enployment, nor that the i'm
irg1sa Increase of such employment
az the very time when this conviction
was strongest should have developed
at once aud flagrantly the evils or an
exclusively partisan civil service. The
e,a,tatiou of patriotic feeling during
the war is an inspiring recollection.
But the reaction that always follows
s,cb exaltation was not less signal,
ana corruption in our politics was
never felt to be so general, so vast and
penelra.lng, as during the last quar-
lon Of a century. The formation ofthe
f,aarle. therefore, did not announce
tGa discovery of new abuse, but the
conviction that an old one was at once
"a deeply extended and so threatening
as fa demand constant exposure and