Middletown transcript., 1895-07-20
SICKENING SENTIMENT.

uo culGOI VI tu0 1RANSCRlHI Is
not in physical condition to write a
line for his paper this week, but he
thinks if any thing would make him
"turn over in his grave" it would be
the remotest advocacy of the Civil Ser
vice Fraud in paper which bore his
name. In the Washington letter this
week an attack is made on Hoke Smith
for dismissing from the service the
granddaughter of the author of Star
Spangled Banner, isee the letter.. The
attack is made on the line that the
Departments at Washington should be
eleemosynary institutions, home for
the department poor of the administra-
tion, the Senators, Representatives in
Congress, etc., and consequently Miss
Key should be made pensioner there
the rest of her natural life. If her
fathers patriotic song, written under
the conditions it was, merits pension,
and who will deny it? let Congress pass
such an act and not try to force her
work on the departments. Hoke Smith
is seldom right but we think him right
in this matter.
If the nation at large could only 60
through the departments and see the
lame and the halt and the blind, from
all nations and every cline, stored
away in the departments under guise
of clerks, not old soldiers but old
grandmothers and grannies whose days
Of usefulness were passed quarter Of
century ago, we think civil service
would get different rating before the
country. And many of these same
lame and halt and blind own fine
houses on the Avenues and live in
style, saving and investing their money
has done it, but they never know when
to let 60. They may be ignorant of |
all else but they know how to hold on |
to the government pay roll. The
writer knew clerk who claimed to
have spent a winter with Gen. Jackson
in the White House and was eighty if |
she was day who did not do stroke
Of work in year. She was shifted
around from one branch to another
and was carried on the rolls, She I
wanted to 60 to see the Commissioner
every day ''about a promotion and
yet If she met him in the hall and
talked with him she did not know him.
She did not even know the pay roll
when it came ar0und-and clerk is
ignorant who doe sn't know
his. But there was one thing she
knew; there is one thing they all learn
who stay there long-and prosper.
TLey fawn and fatter. This ancient
worthy was at one time in the Division
IT the writer-put there to get her out
II the way of some one else until an
'xcuse could de made to shift her onto
ome one else. The writer laughed
me day rather heartily at the plight a
lerk found himself in. The writer
vas chief Of the Division and occupied
he chiefs chair. He soon had occasion
0 leave the room when the s'ancient
worthy" went to the clerks desk and
sked who that big, loud fellow was
Who just went out. The clerk not ,
moving to whom she referred said he
i'd not know. II mean the fellow q
Vith black eyes and curly hair, and
Who just sit there and laughed SO loud
nd boisterously." ''Thatl Why don't !
ou know? That is the chief Of the !
)ivision." "That the chief Of the !
What fine gentleman he
J, and what a jolly, musical laugh he Z
as.''
The expiring act Of the depedent !
Jerk is to repeat the sickening lessons \
! fawning. He thinks it part Of !
is daily toll and that his bread and
utter depends upon it. Civil Service
fraud. There should be rotation \
! office, term Of years Of service 4
nd the Departmental Stables should L
3 cleaned out, to begin with.