The Forrest City herald., 1896-03-28
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
Grover Cleveland's Partisan Defs
milton of the Law.
His Sole Object In Enlarging Its Provs
si0ns 10 to Keep Democrats In
once and to Keep Re-
publicans Out.

Washington, March 24.-(Special.)-
President Cleveland is civil service re
former OF the most extreme partisan
sect. During his former administra
ton he distributed the spoils OF offic'
until the railway mail service was al
most disabled by the appointment OF in
experienced and inefficient men. Jus
before the close of his administration
he issued an executive order placing th'
railway mail service under the protec
tion Of the civil service law, in ordei
that republicans might not be ap
pointed under the Harrison ndministra
ton.
An executive order Of this nature IL
not Il law. President Harrison did no
revoke the order, but suspended 1t long
enough to enable him to cause the re
appointment of fully 5000 experienced
men in the railway mail service who
had been displaced by the partisan self
ishness Of the Cleveland administra
tion.
Now that Grover Cleveland Is en-
tering upon the last years OF his secone
administration he proposes to issue an
other executive order Of civil service
nature. All of the chief clerks and as
sistant chief clerks Of the various
executive departments to-day are
democrats. President Cleveland pro
poses to issue an order extending tht
operations of the civil service law to in
clude all of these officials in order thai
the next republican president may moi
be able to appoint republicans to these
places. lie expects to make his eXecu
tive order include all offices in the
executive branch of the government
which do not require confirmation b,
the senate.
This is civil service reform with
vengeance. 1t would take from the
next administration the power to make
appointments Of tens Of thousands OF
officers in the customs service, the in
ternal revenue service, the post offices
the United States mints, the Indian serv
ice, and employees in the navy yards
and public buildings.
1t will be the high privilege OF Mr.
Cleveland to issue his hypocritica
executive order; and to reiterate it Il
he chooses to do SO. The people OF this
country are going to elect n republican
president next November; and when
they SO express their opinion at the
polls It will be respected. The people
are going to vote not only for re
publican president, but for republican
administration. They want the entire
crew swept out of office and out OF mem
ory and their places filled with represen
tativcs of the party Of honor and pa
triotism.
The executive offices are to-day filled
with rebels and sons Of rebels, who
are leeching the treasury while disre'
specting the government which they
failed to destroy. The people want
them removed md their places taken
by republicans. In all of the southern
states the postmasters are ex-rebels
with but few exceptions. There are
fully $4,000 post Offices in the charge OF
rebel postmasters. The internal rev.
enue collectors, the deputies, the col
lectors Of customs and their deputies,
and all Of the federal officials in the
southern states have received their pre-
ferments on account of their rebel serv'
ices, or on the recommendation of men
who stand high In democratic coun'
sells because Of their treason.
In the northern states the majority
Of the Offices are in the hands of that
class of towards and copperheads who
declared the wnr a failure in 1864; OF
in the hands OF persons recommended
by democrats Of that class. For ex'
ample, Senator Voorhees,, of Indiana,
called the union soldiers Lincoln's dogs
lie has controlled all Of the patronage
for Indiana; and his class OF democrats
received the offices.
These southern rebels and northern
copperheads, and their ilk, have beer
placed in charge Of nll the Offices by
Cleveland, and now that philanthropio
philosopher intends to fool the people
by placing the Offices under the alleged
protection OF the civil service law. lie
wants the people TO place halo on hit
blessed civil service reform memory.
Let him enter the ring and perform
his net. He may get the Temporary ap.
plause OF the mugwumps and incense
burners; but the plain people will not
be fooled. On the contrary, they will
elect republican president who will
have nerve enough TO revoke the hypo.
critical order, or suspend II, and fill
the federal positions with men who are
trustworthy and patriotic. Civil scrv.
ice reform is good thing in its way;
but VIC may have too much OF u good
things AS matter of fact, the civil
service law, MS IL now stands, is like
sieve. Whoever is disposed to do so
can go right through that law, aa
though IL were not on the statute
books. II is no protection 10 govern