Evening star., 1895-05-27

john L.. KcDnedy's Prediction That
the One Will Overthrow the Other.

john l.. KcDnedy's Prediction That
the One Will Overthrow the Other.
To the Editor of The Evening Star:
Public Printer Benedict seems to regard
it as his bounden duty to say unpleasant
things of his predecessor and of those
whom his predecessor employed. In his
speech before the civil service commission.
he said: II am not here to ask the inter-
venton of the civil service law to protect
me or TO assist in the duties of my office.
1t is rot true that the speilsmen Of the
land are now embarrassing my desk. Near
ly Il year ago I removed from the govern
ment printing office the wreckage of that
character which had left 1,Opo unnecessary
employees, who were there VILE no etner
object except to share halt loaf with
men ard women who needed the. measure
of a full loaf in regular employment, with
full pay, i'll meeting the necessities of hu-
man life
Mir. Benedict is himself product of the
so-called spoiIman's system He aever held
an office that it not because the DEM
ocratic party was in power5 and "a repub-
lican put out to make room for him. 1t is
therefore very uEgraciouS in him TO berate
the spoilsman's system, and suggests that
the devil once quoted Scripture 40 carry
his point.
The 1,9oo people who We're displaced by
Mr.. Benedict in a very brief space OF time
were. as rule competent, and Will GER
tainly bear the test of comparison with the
present force in that Office So far as the
printers who were put out are concerned
he is not qualified to speak of their com
potency, not being practical printer, as
the law requires that he should be. 1t is
true that most of them were appointed
through political influence, but that fact
does not make against their competency
any more than the fact that he has always
landed in comfortable places by the eXer-
else of political pull is against his COM
Hhn anf hat he
people in a few months time is evidence
enough that he is all the sportsman any
one is looking for. And as further evil
dence of the fact that he is spokesman
of the spoilsmen it is safe to say that 30
out of every 100 persons in the office today
are there by virtue of political influence.
Why cannot Mr. Benedict be honest and
manly about the matter, and admit that he
discharged the former employees because
they were republicans to make room for
democrats and mugWumpS? That would
sound better than his frequent attempts,
by innuendo, to put a stigma upon them.
Mr.. Palmer did give employment to sew
eral hundred more people than were neces-
sary to do the work if all had worked full
time But those were terrible times. Such
thing as getting private employment was
out of the question. With that large force
no man lost more than two days week,
and generally, but one. There was liv-
ing in it for all, and who shall say that it
was not a wise and humane policy for a
public printer to pursue in such time?
Now, word in regard to the printers
advocacy of putting the office under the
civil-service law. If ever there was a dis
tinctiVe spoilsmen's move it is this one.
They are in there as Spoilsmen and they
want to remain there such. They have
seen premonitionS of coming storm. They
know that it will be a cyclone. They have
heard of western farmers building cyclone
cellars and caves. 1t has occurred to them
that the civil service law can be turned
into a cyclone cellar in which they can hide
from the wrath of the coming storm and
that no one will be able to find them Hun
dredS of republican clerks who have been
worked out of office by democratic officials
can tell them the civil service law does not
protect an official in office l would sug-
gest to upward of 800 Typographical spoils-
men who are preparing to run to cover
that the civil service commission can never
cover up the fact that they were members
of the Interstate Democratic Association
That was, and believe is, ''perniciously
active and 'offensively partisan" organi-
zation, and, under President Cleveland's
standards, should not be tolerated. 1t was
organized for the purpose of moving Pub
lie Printer Palmer out of office and that
| gentleman has said that it was the nf1u-
ence that did move him. 1t is known that
it has aided Public Printer Benedict in his
work of dscharging republicans by max
ing out lists of men of that party by states
and handing them to him. The gentlemen
who were members of that .orga anization
but who are trying to make public escape
from Marcy's principle of TO the. victors
belong the spoilS,'' ought not to delude
themselves. Going back on that organiza-
ton, refusing to pay dues and being eX-
PEELED therefor will not saye them. This
one count in the Indictment against them
will cut pretty wide swath in the ranks
of these newborn zealots Of civil service
reform. Tr
1t is the very worst possible move that
could be made as far as Columbia tno1
is concerned. In short while, after the
change is made, the spectacle will be wit
messed for the first time of prin goin z
| into the office who are not members of the
union, and who will not become such. When
| this comes to pass men will see that the
power of the union has departed ard many
| will refuse to pay dues. The union will be-
| come demoraized, and the trust company
| will own our handsome temple on G street.
l want to go on record with a prophecy
| that in putting the government printing
| office under civil service laws the demo-
| cratic prin ters who invited it and the denl-
| ocratic President who consummated it will
have sounded the death knell of Columbia
| Union.
| To secure legsla ton, or to prevent leeis-
| lation, Columbia Union, affiliated with the
| InternNtiona Typographical Union, and or
| ganiZed labor generally was more inttuen-
| tial than all the clerks in Washington. AS
| a factor in organized labor the politicians
| and high government officials have had a
| wholesome regard for it. BY putting the
| government printing office in the classified
| service President Cleveland will repeat the
| Delilah act and shear this labor Samson of
| its strength, and the union printers of
| Washington will be of no more Importance
| than many government clerks.
| j. L. KENNEDY.