Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1897-12-24

!"
way Of the turning Of Republicans out
OF office without cause connected with
the service, and the filling of theil
places with Democrats, but that they
were deadly opposed to the law when
the Republicans were in and it stood in
the wa, of the thorough filing Of the
places of Democrats With Republicans,
although by attacking the law they
showed all this, as they show it today,
many did not hesitate to attack by
striving to kill the appropriation fol
the support of the civil service com.
mission
And then it was that CO" gresham
McKinl-y stingingly r. marked: when
this party of ours has control of all
branches of the government it is pro.
posed to annul this law (civil service
law bv Withholding appropriations fo1
it's execution, when for four years
under q Democratic administration
nobody on this side of the House had
the temerity to rise in his place and
make motion similar to the one now
pending for. the notification of this
law. We thought it was 70 d then,
good enough for Democratic admin
stration; and I say to my Republican
associ tes it is good enough for a Re
publican administration; it is good and
wholesome for the whole country
What Congressman Mckinley thus
said in 1890 we trust PRESIDENT McKin
ley will repeat in 1898. Such words
should be drummed into General Gros
venor and his followers. If they are sc
bent on filling the occupation of office
brokers as to be unable to see the bene
fits of the civil service system they
should at least be able to see that an
anti civil service movement backed up
by those of whom it can be said that
when their party is out of power they
are civil service reformers and when it
is in they are not, is not calculated to
commend itself to the public And
Just such hackers have General Gros-
venor and his followers shown them
selves to be- When the Republican
party is out of power and when the
civil service regulations serve to check
the displacement of Republican Office
holders by Democratic appointees they
have not a word to say against the
civil service system; when the Republi-
can party is in power and the civil
service regulations serve to protect the
Democratic office holders, these Repuh-
lican congressman, who seemingly re-
gard themselves as Office brokers, can
not say too much against the system.
Assuredly such unp1incipled attacks
should fail, they must fail
The civil service question has so far
served to enliven the sessions of the
House 1t was dragged into the dis
cussion of the pension appropriation
bill though hardly german to such
question and then into the discussion
Of the second OF the great appropri
alton bills to be reported to the House,
that making appropriations to cover
the needs of the legislative, executive
and judicial branches of the govern.
ment But it was quite natural that
the discussion of this appropriation bill
should have been made the occasion for
opening up the question Of civil service,
for this bill carries the appropriation
for the support of the civil service COM
mission. So we have had plenty of
talk for and against the civil service
system. The Democrats, however, have
taken little part in the debate although
they are, as body, opposed to the
whole system and evidently quite ready
to vote for Its utter abolishment. They
have left the discussion to the Republi
cans, left the Republicans to fight it
out among themselves They have
watched it as interested spectators.
What has further lent acrimony to
this discussion is the fact that the Re-
publican party stands pledged by the
act of its last national convention to
civil service reform. So it happens
that those who have antagonized the
civil service system have laid Them
selves open to the charge of being want
ing in party fidelity. And this gave
and opportunity to Congressman John
son, OF Indiana, one of the three men
in the house who voted against the
resolution authorizing the appointment
Of the Wolcott commission, to retaliate
upon Mr.. Grosvenor When this bime
tallic resolution was before the house
ten months ago, and Mr.. johnson
stood almost alone in opposing it, MIR
r.sveuor taunted him with being false
to the Republican party which stood
pledged to promote the restoration Of
by international agree
ment. By this pledge of the platform
Mr. johnson refused to consider him
self bound and thereupon Mr.. Grosven
or declared him false to his party. And
now Mr.. Grosvenor refuses to consider
himself bound by the civil service
plank of the last Republican national
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