The record-union., 1895-12-13
Important Gathering Of Prominent Men
From Various Parts Of the Country.
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
NATIONAL LEAGUE.
Ex-Secretary of the Interior Carl
Schurz Delivers an Address ON the
Question at Issue, Complimenting
Cleveland and the Heads of De-
concentrations for the Extension of
the Service
he Service

the Service.
WASHINGTON, Dec 12.-There was
an important gathering in this city of
prominent men from various parts of
the country to-day, the occasion being
the annual meeting of the National
Civil Service Reform League, which
will last through until tomorrow even
ing. Many pleasant social features will
be combined with the business meeting
of the organization.
The meeting to-day was called to
order by John Joy Edison, President of
the District League. Many distin-
guished delegates are present.
The special business session will be
held tomorrow, when the President
and Vice-President will be elected, and
other routine business transacted.
AT the executive meeting of the
league George McEnaney was elected
Secretary, and ]. F. Schieffien was
elected Treasurer
Two new organizations were admit
ted to membership in the league, the
Civil Service Reform Association of ST.
Paul and Princeton College The dele
gate from the former is c. p. Noyes,
and from the latter Professor William
| Nj. Sloane.
All the members of the Executive
Committee were reelected.
At the evening session the principal
event of the proceedings was an able
speech by Hon. Carl Schurz, President
OF the league, who upon being intro
duced by John JOY Edison, made an ad-
dress OF an hour and a half duration.
Mr.. SchurZ, who was listened to with
great attention, and who received a
most courteous welcome from many old
| friends prominent in Washington cir
cles, said in part:
1T is with a feeling of peculiar salts
faction that | greet the fifteenth an
nual meeting of the National Service
Reform League at the seat of National
Government-the place where the ne
cessity of the reform we advocate has
! been most cOnspicuously demonstrated,
and where also it's most conspicuous
and fruitful successes have been
achieved"
He traced the history of the country,
which in a century, from a thin string
of agricultural settlements on the At
lantic Coast, had expanded into a vast
/ empire, spanning continent, and ex-
ceiling in wealth and material power
every other nation on the globe. I'VE
| cannot close our eyes to the fact that
| in some important respects we are ap-
/ preaching the social conditions of the
old world, and in the near future the
/ greater part OF our population will be
/ gathered in the large towns
LAS functions of government grow in
/ extent, Importance and compleXity, the
necessity grows of their being adminis-
tered not only with honesty, but also
( with trained ability and knowledge.
While every sane man accepts this
proposition as self-evident in theory, it
may be said that every opponent of
civil service reform desires it in prac-
tice. The danger is not in a sudden.
grand and startling collapse, but the
gradual decay of those elements essen
tial to vitality"
He extolled democratic government
as defined by Lincoln-"Of the people,
by the people and for the people'-but
as the offices are used to serve ends
other than the public benefit or are en-
trusted to persons not apt to give to the
people the best attainable serYice-in
that measure democratic government
fails.
He said he had no particular objec-
tion to the doctrine that democratic
government is a government through
political parties. But" he added,
whenever they seek to divert the pub
lie offices instituted solely for the serv-
7
true purpose, in order to use them for
their own Service and benefit, to THIS
extent turning the Government
through political parties into a gov
ernment for political parties, they
strike at one of the vital principles of
democratic government"
Mr.. Schurz alluded to the fact that
well-known men and women have
lately fallen in love with the splendor
of monarchial courts but he was con-
WINGED that our chief danger did not
spring from this source so much as the
possibility of the ultimate appearance
of a strong man, the chief of an organ
ization, looking for plunder He de-
clared that there had actually been
such a monarchy on a small scale
among us, and detailed the career of
Tweed, who was not called a king, but
its equivalent boss" From this he
argued that there We're other bosses, -
State bosses" who protected and fos-
tered one another and he compared
them with the electors of Germany and
the rulers of Europe generally, who
stood side by side with one another.
This was all due to the existence of the
spoils system, which allows that which
belongs to the public. especially the
public offices, to be diverted from pub
lie to private use Without that sys-
TEN political bossism would not be pos
sible.
Civil service. twenty years ago strug-
Cling apparently in vain, has marvel
ously risen in popular interest because
listing abuses, and apprehensive OF
worse things to come, saw in civil serv-
ice reform the only effective method to
destroy the spoils system. And every
day the popular demand grows more
general and more energetic for its ex-
system has stood the test OF practical
lex Xperience so triumphantly that the vo-
eiferous objections and revilings of it in
which the spoils politicians used to de-
light, have sunk to a mournful mutter
The problem remains how to secure
what we have won by further con-
quest: for the results will not be entirely
safe until the spoils system is totally
abolished.
He appealed for legislative reform in
this matter. Executives were gener-
ally safe. but the opponents of civil
service invariably went to Congresses
and Legislatures to thwart the will OF
the people.
The speaker detailed at great length
the perpleXities, embarrassments and
debasements of the newly elected Con-
gresham, which the spoils system i'm
poses upon him; and as a legislator
/ himself told how he had been almost
forced to recommend for office men he
knew to be unfit, and others of whom he
knew nothing whatever. The use OF
patronage by members of Congress is
essentially corrupt and corrupting
II is not this gross form of corruption
which consists in passing hribe money
from hand TO hand. But 1t is that more
| dangerous and demoralizing, because
more insinuating, corruption, which
wraps itself in the garb of party zeal