The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-19
NO CIVIL PENSION LIST.

The member of congress who declar-
ed that the assistant secretary Of the
treasury, who proposes a new scheme
looking more or less directly toward a
civil pension list, is doing more to Gre
ate antagonism to the civil service re
form system than those who are at
lacking it so fiercely, Is entirely right.
There could be no proposition more Of
fensive to the American people, more
absolutely destrpctive5of good and eco
romical government and no more hos
tile to democratic ideas than the one
which looks toward the pensioning of
federal employees. The very word pen
sion has come to have horrid signif-
canoe to our people. We are paying
out now in the neighborhood of; $780,
100000 year for pensions. This vast
amount of money, absorbing more rev.
enue than the tariff brings in, is given
away to a few deserving and many uD-
worthy men. The just and noble idea
Of pensioning those who fought for the
ticians and turned into gigantic
scheme for the buying of votes.
The abuse of the pension system, the
disrepute that'i it has thrown upon local
and patriotic service and the ruin that
it has wrought with our finances have
had at least lone compromising effect,
in that they have made the very name
of pension" distasteful to the Ameri-
can people Had lit not been for this,
the insidious plea, that man who has
worked faithfully all the best years of
his life in a government office, should
be provided for In, his old age, might
have had some force or effect. AS
it is, we are 6ableBto see beyond this
and to understand that, if once the idea
should become incorporated in practice
or approved by legislation, two-billion-
dollar congresses, instead of one billion,
would be necessary to provide the rev.
enue required.
The idea of civil pension sys-
tenn in any shape is false and
fallacious through and through.
Even where it takes the form
of old age insurance, and GER
tain percentage Of each employees sal
airy is deducted each month in order to
accumulate a fund out of which pen
sions may be paid, it is gross abuse
and a mean form Of paternalism. The
take care of himself and wants his gov
eminent to do it for him, is not fit to
wear the title that he assumes. Nobody
compels him to enter the federal ser
vice. If he takes a clerkship, it is not
at the request of the nation but usual
Iy because he considers it so great a
boon that he will exhaust every effort
and bring every possible influence to
bear in order that he may get it. A
man who gets a $1,000 position in a.
business house is glad enough to hold
onto it, and does not feel that he has
any claim against the proprietors for
support afterdne has lost it or become
incapable of discharging it's duties!
There is not a particle Of reason why
the employe of the, postoffice or custom
house, or department or bureau at
washington should assert such a claim
upon the people The civil service re-
form system is absolutely disassociated
from any such idea. Suppose that it
works out in effectiin certain cases to
a life TENURE where the men employed
are competent and faithful. Does that
give them lien upon the peoples as
sets? Does If not make them debtors,
rather than creditors? II, after thirty
or forty years Of service, they have
nothing laid by against old age, whose
is the fault? The salaries paid by the
nation are VIGOROUSLY larger and the
hours of work shorter than is the case
in the average private business. The
federal employee, therefore, is in a bet
ter position to save: and to relieve him