Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-08-22
Raise Their Wages!

Raise Their Wages!
The Federal official is a much endur
ing and a much abused man. He i:
the victim of the meanest confidence
game ever played on an unsuspectine
human. When the Cleveland admin
istration entered upon its present zig.
gag career there was blare of trum
pets about civil service reform. When
party secured a position at the pie
counter he was supposed to retain the
right to command the good things
thereon so long as he should live and
behave himself. Whether man was
a Republican Or Democrat, or wheth.
err his politics were unbiased, was not
a matter to be considered if his bust
ness capacity was up to the mark.
Political assessments were to become
a thing of the past, and each individu.
al office-holder was left to determine
the size OF his own own campaign offer
ing
The Federal official was to cease to
be a factor in the state, district and
county convention. He was under nc
necessity to cultivate his country cous-
in, for his tenure of Office was in no
way dependent upon him. There W as
no necessity for him to shake hands
and set 'em up. At one fell blow the
Federal ofice-holders' millennium was
supposed to be at hand. Accordingly
appointments to positions in the civil
service that were protected by the
civil service laws were sought prayer
fully and with tears. A congressman
supposed to have pull upon the adj
ministration found no difficulty in
turning his pull into ready cash. He
could get his note for a good stiff
amount endorsed by men considered
gilt-edged. The applicant had right
to calculate that if he succeeded he
would be freed in the future from the
necessity of honoring such drafts upon
his name and pocket-book; that he had
made one final payment for the secur-
ity of his future, and was entitled to
the enjoyment of it. At least. he felt
assured that he would not be molested
during Mr.. Cleveland.s term of office.
for was he not the High Priest of Civil
Service Reform? Was he not pledged
to s'fire" the Federal official who be-
came too prominent at convention, or
who became over-zealous on behalf of
his party?
Alas! this feeling of comfort and Sc
curity had but short life. The silver
lunacy, long smoldering, at last broke
into a flame; the country had to be
saved, and no one seemed left to do it
but the Federal office-holder. The
people appeared to be rather against
the country's salvation, and disposed
to heap fuel upon the flames. MIR.
Cleveland proved to be more OF pa
triot than than civil service reform
err, and called to his aid the only force
at his command, outside of the army,
to save the people from themselves.
So it comes about that the Federal
official has to turn out this hot wealth
err and pull wires, attend conventions,
drink convention whiskey at the risk
Of losing the lining of his throat, shake
hands with Billie, see that Tom gets
On the proper committee, look after
Dutch and see that Big Mikes crowd
line up all right-and all this at a |
time when he had right to expect to |
be left in the calm enjoyment OF his Of
fetal plum. And the approaching |
year appears to be loaded with horrors |
Of the same nature. We think, in |
view of the facts, the salary of each
Federal office-holder should be in
creased at least one-third. It took one
hundred and twenty-five of them to
prevent the Democratic Convention
Of Iowa from being carried away by !
he silver lunacy, and doing untold in
ury to the country. With the most
lerculean efforts they just succeeded
n staying the silver flood, and it was
,nly .just. and they, too. in Re-
publican State. In Kentucky it took
thousand of. them, WITH barrels of
and unlimited Doodle, with
he most Jealous assistance of Henry
Vatterson's Money Devil. to stay the
Using tide, and in the light of Joe Black