The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-28
The Difficulty of Reform.

Each session Of congress illustrates
anew the difficulty of accomplishing a
reform, even after the necessity for 1t
has been so demonstrated as to be be-
yond argument We referred few
days ago to an instance of this in the
committee not to take up any
Of the bills prohibiting the pen
sioning of soldiers widows where
marriage had occurred after the
passage Of the act. Although the pen
sion lists themselves contained conclu-
sive evidence of the extent Of the
abuse of existing laws in this particu-
lar; although 1t not only involves, but
encourages a peculiarly shameful moral
turpitude, and although no soldier and
no friend of a soldier could discover
a single objection to it, it was decided,
without debate or further considera-
ton, that nothing must be done.
Similarly we see that no reform In
the taking of the next census is proba-
BILE, although the census work has come
to be one Of the most outrageous and
scandalOus performances in the whole
field Of the governments action. We
have the testimony Of a thoroughly
competent authority, Carroll D. Wright,
to the effect that millions upon mil
lions of dollars were absolutely wasted
on the census of 1890 to carry out the
spoils system. The census bureau be-
came a refuge for all the hangers-on
whom the civil service act kept out Of
other public Offices They were showed
in there by the hundreds to enable
them to get living out of the people,
and perhaps the sQuandering Of the
the result.
1t Is admitted by every author
ity that the last census is absolutely
worthless. The vast amount of money
expended upon it might just as well
have been cast into the Potomac.
There has been received at this office
within the last week the third part Of
the Compendium" of the census of
1890. That is to say that, eight years
after the census work was done, the
third octave volume of what Is sup
posed to be a summary of It's results
is ready for general circulation. The
reliability of nearly all the statistical
work is questioned, with good cause.
No investigator wishing to draw fixed
conclusions from statistical data
dreams of using the census Of 1890 as
basis. Virtually, we have had no CEN
sus in the United States since 1880. We
merely expended many millions of dol
lars eight years ago to create an asy-
lum for political incapables and de-
pendents, and to place at the head of
it a man who would use it's patronage
for political purposes and it's publica-
tons for the benefit of his party and
the special interests that depend upon
1t.
Unquestionably, the whole country is
sick of this thing. Every decent man
In it desires and demands that we shall
nave real census in the year 1900. All
that is necessary to be sure Of this is to
place the census work under a CONNIE
tent person. to cut off the excrescences
to limit both the inquiry and the appro
prlation to narrow field and to enforce
the civil service act vigorously in the
selection of all employees. Not one of
these propositions receives the least
support In congress. An amendment TO
the bill proposing to transfer the GEN.
sus work to the department of Ia bor
was negatived; and we may expect
the same old scandal two years hence
at the same cost to the country in mon
ey and in the denial of important in
formation. Whatever else NAV be the
advantages of a republican form Of
government, it does not APPEAR that II
Is easy to accomplish, under it. the
most necessary reforms.