St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-03-02
discouraging that there should be any
antagOnism whatever.
GEN. ANDREWS ONTHE SPOILS
SYSTEM

Influences of the Spells System" Gen.
Andrews should be an authority upon
this subject, for he has been for the
greater part of his manhood beneficial
~ of partisan spoils. The most remark
able thing about the article is the evil
dence it furnishes that he has become
convert to a better system of politics
than that upon which he has thriyed
He is certainly to be congratulated
upon his change of heart.
Gen. Andrews charges the spoilS syS-
TEN with responsibility for large part
OF the present political decentralization.
He defines it as 1.-THE appointment of
persons i'll the public service through
influence or as reward for personal or
party adherence" This he condemns
as productive only of evil. and denies
the right of an administration to place
its political adherenls in offices of trust
and emolument. All the old stock ar
guments in favor of so-called "civil
service reform" are placed on parade
duty, and beautiful picture is drawn
OF the ideal future when national, a
state and municipal administration
shall retain in its service the men who
have striven to accomplish its defeat,
and are using the money they draw
from their Offices to assist in it's over
throw.
zen. Andrews makes grave mistake
III pointing to the army and navy as an
illustration of the degree OF efficiency
which may be attained in the civil
service by permanent tenure of office.
There are many differences, which such
an intelligent man as Gen. Andrews
should not have overlooked. The mill
tary and naval officers are educated at
the public expense expressly for the
service to which they may be assigned,
and they enter upon their duty as life
occupation. with ambition only to rise
In the single routine to which they have
consecrated themselves. They want no
occupation in the ranks of the clergy,
the legal fraternity. or in the various
walks OF literary life. With those who
enter civil life it is different. The man
who is clerk today wants to be a de-
partment chief tomorrow The man
who is chosen to a legislative office as
pres to seat in congress, or the sen
ate. or to the govarnorship of his state
To accomplish his ambitions he must of
necessity devote much Of his time and
attention to political work. By SO doing
he neglects his duty to the government,
and if he is opposed politically to the
existing administration he works
double injury and injustice.
Gen. Andrews, as we'll as other sup
porters of MS theories, cites the civil
service in Great Britain as model after
which this country should pattern. But
the conditions existing in the two coun-
tries are wholly dissimilar. The man
who applies for clerkship in England
is not politician. Probably he is not
voter. and never expects to become
one. He certainly can boast of no "in-
fiuence" to aid his petition. He occu-
pies precisely the same footing as the
applicant for a position in the counting
house Of mercantile firm. If he is
competent he may set the place he de-
sires, and there he settles down for life.
If he prove faithful and competent. he
may step into the shoes of his superiors
when they die or age forces them from
activity. But they seldom think of
entering business for themselves or of
becoming competitors of the firms that
give them employment. in rare in
stances they are enabled to start III bust
ness. but do so usually under the pat
ronage of their old employers-as their
agents and representatives., not as their
rivals. Such thing as participation in
partisan political strife among the en-
MI nf q itch Io,
never been known, and never can occur
under the existing system.
But the "spoils SYSTEM is not as
prevalent in this country as Gen. An
drews and others would have the pub.
lie suppose. There are Republicans in
Washington now holding responsible
positions in the departments who were
appointed in Lincoln's first term, and
there are Democrats who have held
their positions ever since Buchanan &C.
cupied the White house. There are, of
course, many changes made with each
changeIof administration: but, as rule,
the clerk who performs his duty we'll
and keeps aloOf from party politics is
as safe in his position as he would be III
mercantile house. The personal
clerks and confidential advisers of the
leading officials are, of course, changed,
as they should be. SO are the personal
clerks and confidential advisers of Eli
glish officials, the models of the whole
army of civil service reformers.
Gen. Andrews recognizes that the re-
form for which his soul longs will not
be wrought in the present generation.
The GLOBE agrees with him. and fur
thermore predicts that until the mill
ennlum arrives men will not be found
who will entrust their business to the
hands of their avowed enemies. Nor is
such change desirable. Indeed. a
stricter adherence to 1.-THE spoils sys-
TEN" by the present national admins
tration would be highly appreciated and
cordially approved by majority of It's
supporters in every part of the country.
The following is the enactment which
Gen. Andrews would like to secure:
That from and after the passage
of this act appointments of assist
ant treaSurers, mint and assay Of
ficers, customs and revenue officers,
consular officers, district attorneys,
marshalS, poStmaSters, Indian inspect
orS and agents, registers and receivers
of land offices, surveyors general and
supervising inspectors of steamboats,
shall be made solely with reference to
fitness. and not on account of adherence
to any political party,yet so as to distrib-
ute appointments with reasonable fair
ness among the several states; and
officers so appointed after the passage
of this act shall not be removed except
for cause, which in each case shall be
duly reOOrted to congress-
The GLOBE has been taken some
what severely to task by country pa
per for the criticisms it has felt obliged
to pass on the political action of Sena-
tor Dave Hill. We confess to having
neither sympathy nor admiration for
him. his character or his methods, and
we have never bad occasion to applaud
his Democracy That we ara not