The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-12-17

encouragement and instruction from the
Z resident as he stood upon the steps of
4is nome Canton shall not be excluded
LIN lroln Places in the departm MT by trouble
0o asS civil service tests.
p, Does not Mr.. Groswenor think that
tho oSiuenu Mckinley, to whom those
80, vaS1s1hos came to listen. had much
I t,,oie correct conception of what is really
uuo W 0ne people, when in his letter of
rooPeance ne sternly rebuked those who
foo;turage return to the methods of
r ros which both parties have de-
SorS winch experience has con-
oenanen, and which the people have re-
poa1eely olsapproved?' Is he not much
Ihode JUST TO the confidence of the people
VINO made him President. and more con-
sc1entiousiy mindful of the peoples rights
When ne nrmly tells the clamorers for the
returh u ihetnods of favor1tism' that,
faithful to his recorded vow. he will to
the utmost of his power protect, tbe neonIe
in the enjoyment of the right freely to
compete on equal terms for public en-
ployment?
1.-The first practical attack against the
civil serviee reform system was made in
| New York where Governor Black sonndad
the keynote by proclajming his desire to
| take the starch out of civil service
| whereupon the Legislature followed with
| law making an artful distinction he-
tween merit and fitness The new law
| stands in such glaring antagonism to the
evident spirit and intent of the state con-
stitutional mandate that test case which
| Is soon to be carried before the courts is
| likely to bring forth a judicial decision
declaring the law unconstitutional. Mean
while there has been an election In the
State of New York, which has proved
quite intelligibly that the Republican
party has. to say the least, not been
| strengthened by the attempted relapse
sx>k1 ic fh0 old
ence.
ii There is a force working for civil SER
vice reform which is now farssmore effec-
| tive than ever before. 1t is the character
of the opposition to it. The very shame
lessness with which certain Republican
politicians now clamor for the reputation
of their platform pledge to enforce civil
service law-the very vehenence with
which they rush upon the President they
have just elected, to force him to break
his word and to proclaim himself a dis
honest mantle very audaoity with
which they seek to deceive the people with
the mostEbarefaced falsehoods about the
civn service system-aDd all this for the
palpable purposes of looting the govern
mentafor spoil-these very exhibitions of
unscrupulousness and further make
unpreJudiced men, who never cared
much about civil service reform, sStops and
ask: What does all this mean? Can
light carried on SO indecently be good
nght? Must not the right be on the other
sidep'
There was a ruInor in the newspapers
that the opponents of civil service reform
planned a national convention to be held
in this very city of Cincinnati for the
purpose of organizing a grand movement
for the overthrow of the civil service law.
Nothing could be more striking object
| lesson than grand muster of the enemies
Of civil service reform in bodily exnibi-
ton.
"Their leading statesman, Repres enta-
tive Grosvenor, has already sounded the
Keynote OF their movement. Mr.. Gros-
venor says: THE battle cry of Van Wyck
(the Tammany candidate for Mayor is q
liberal political education to the people of
the United States. He won victory I'M
precedented, and he gave out but one
great battleory, and that thrilled through
the hearts of great body of the Ameri-
| can people and an echo will be heard.
That battle cry was: will put none but
Democrats into Office in New York
Mr.. GrosveDor adnaOnishes the Repub-
lican party to follow Tammany's example.
The battle cry from which political par
ties are to receive their strongest inspira-
| ton, is to be: To the victors belong the
spoils, and every government employment
shall be spoil. The kindred battle CRY;
To hell with reform will soon follow
And the resultP A great Democratic
Tammany on one side and q great Repub-
| lican Tammany on the other fighting for
plumber and casting lots for the garments
of the cruoified republic. Whoever still
| fights for the spoils system sacrifices him
self for a lost cause The final victory
cannot fall to be with sound Democratic
principles reason, and civilization.