The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-02
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
ITS VALUE DISCUSSED BY HERBERT
 WELSH OF FPHIL4DELPHIA.

His Valuable Talk at United Church Last
 Evening-The Dangers of Political Cor
 ruption-Bearing of Municipal Pc tiles on
 National Politics-52 900 0 fices Under
 Civil Service Rules-Boss Rule Must be Cvercome-The Kind of Men Needed
 Business Corruption and Political Cor
 ruption Joined.
 At United church last evening Her bert Welsh of Philadelphia, secretary of the National Indian association, spoke under the auspices of the Mems club, on Christian Ethics and National Pol itics." He began that on Thanksgiving we are apt to pay too much attention to material benefits and not to realize that there is something beyond. He then spoke of our political situation, and said: If we look over our political situation we find In the comparison of it with that of other civilized nations nothing in our favor. We find an idea of politics as a personal pursuit. Those who look beneath the surface know that a republican form of government is not the cause of this. In the estab- lishment of the spells system states men saw a violation of principle which would finally bring the republic to ruin l if persisted in. Lincoln said that the country was in less danger from for l eign invasion than from this violation of principle. More and more the rank and file of the party has lost power in the party, ,anditha come into the power of machines, from which the principles of rewards and perquisites which come from office is drawn. The machine has a tendency to represent the worst lnen in the community, and often vice and crime. So accustomed have we become to political bosses that young men think that a boss is the real political leader. l What contrast to the true American | idea! Can we wonder under this re- gime at the steady downward trend of American politics?
 Twenty-Five years ago George Will 1 liam Curtis and others vowed to devote I the spells system, to appeal to the American people, to point out the re-. suits of the system, and by applying civil service examinations to all ap- l plicants for office to take from the boss his power of bribery and to bring it about that offices could not be obtain ed by influence but by producing ref | erences of character and fitness. The originators of this idea knew that they were putting forward the princi- pies on which Washington, Jefferson, l Adams and Madison acted and pressed steadily forward. To-day out of 200,- GOO offices under the civil service rules 52, 900 are covered. The great question now is to extend this system. The gov- ernment of our great cities is now a most important matter. Municipal politics is the cradle of national politics and make their influence felt in na- tional halls
 The indifference of the people permit much corruption. We think our insti- | tutions are so good that they can be no better Each man must realize his in- dividual responsibility, and bear his own burden. Then the right sense of conscience of the American people will prevail It gives the bosses great de- light If they can divide their adversa- ries into two parties hostile to each l other By the spells system the very l life of the nation is effected through the ! individual life and character of its peo- pie Just before he died i'm prison Boss Tweed said that no reform would be I lasting until the offices are taken from the control of politicians The corrup- tion of politics, if allowed to continue, become the corruption of society. In Philadelphia the corruption of business joins with the corruption of politics. In the state house near the old Lib- erty Bell the city council can be seen voting, not for their constituents, but under the domination of great monop- o1ies whose agents watch and put down in their note books the names of those who are ohedient and those who are not. Many good measures are voted down because the eye of that agent is on the city fathers. If we look over the cities of the land we see every where the same corruption and unhoiy ailiancs of business and politics, which is menacing American ideas and insti- tutions When this corruption touches our judiciary, legislative bodies and even executives, is this not anarchy?
 The claim for municipal reform rests on the plea that they are the means by which the character and intelligence of the people may be vindicated. Civil service rules is the simple, humble means by which the political fabric of the country can be made strong. We need at the present time men who ap- preciate the seriousness of the situa- tion and who bring to the nation character and ability"
 Rev. Dr. Charles A. Briggs of Union Theological seminary will speak at United church next Sunday evening under the auspices of the Mems club on "The Imaginative Books of the Bible"
 Independent Ticket