Mexico weekly ledger., 1899-07-13

IS Medicine Company. ScheneclAeI. n " %
PEI boz. eboKss s2-5o.
subject he lie frankly brutal. II he had
his way about it. there would not be a
Democrat holding an Office between the
two oceans In this respect he is thor
ough disciple Of William l. Marcy, and
believes that to the victor belongs the
spoils Of the enemy, particularly il the
victor happens to be Charles Henry
Grosyeaor or his protege, William Nc
Kinley, fhave no doubt that Grosvsnor
compelled the president to make that
order and to make il at that particular
time to prevent the Hanna machine
from being utterly ~overthrown in Ohio
Even as it was Mark had a narrow es-
cape, and its a 9 TO shot that the tick
ct he set up viii be defeated in Novem-
Der.
Republican Hypocrisy.
As have said before in these letters,
Mr.. Mckinley is a gracious, agreeable
gentleman. / think he wants to do
what is right, which is a thing impossi-
BILE so long as be keeps Mark Hanna and
men Of that stripe about him. To I'M
derstand the utter hypocrisy of all the
Republican talk about civil service one
has but to remember the presidents re-
cent order decapitating 5000 defense
less Democrats and then recall his in
augural address, in which he declared
emphatically that no backward steps
sho1ld be taken in the civil service
business All the civil service reform
ers threw up their hats and yelled for
him Justify when he delivered that in
auguraL. Their thoughts, when they
read his recent order turning over 8, 600
offices to the tender mercies Of the
spoilsmen, would have been excluded
from the mails ON account Of profanity,
as | believe the civil service rules do
not prohibit swearing In this land Of
the free and home Of the brave
Now, ! have no desire to appear bet.
ter than ] am. 1 do not belong to the
holier than tkou crowd. I am not a
civil service reformer, but / do like to
see people reasonably consistent.
Mr.. Mckinley on the 4th Of March,
1897, declared that no backward step
would DO taken In civil service reform,
and yet at one fell swoop be curtails his
beautiful system Of morals Of one
twelfth Of its fair proportions. AT this
rate 1t would only take IL more steps
backward to return to the halcyon days
Of Andrew jackson, for the maximum
number ever under the civil service Is
so, 900. 1t will be delightful TO read
what the Hon. Carl Schurz, Governor
Roosevelt and other genuine civil serv-
ice reformers will have to say Of Freai-
dent McKinley's latest caper.
wise and commendabIe.1
The Globe Democrat says Of Cleve-
lands blanket order: sit was q grand
Democratic raid and round up. This Is
false civil service, and merely an ag,
gravated form of the spoils system"
Now, if it had been a grand Republican
raid and round up The Globe-D Democrat
would have been tickled half to death.
That great party organ then adds.
1.-THE presidents recent notifications
are in every way wise and commend
able" No Doubt In the rear part Of
Webster's old blue back spelling book
there is a very interesting parable. the
substance of which is, a great deal de-
ponds upon whose on Is gored. I com
mend this TO the serious consideration
Of The Globe Democrat. Nobody knows
better than the editor of that paper that
the present civil service system. as II is
administered, has from the very begin
ming redounded to the benefit of the Re
publican party, and that today there are
three Republicans holding Office where
there is one Democrat, and it has al
ways been that way ever since 'sGentle-
man George Il. Pendleton Of Ohio Sc
cured the passage Of his law. OF the
first gang upon whom that law confer
red Office by life tenure nearly every
% was Republican.
Democratic Creed.
On the scanty list Of Grover Cleve-
lands virtues as a public mar his fdel-
ity to the civil service system stands
first His mind was so peculiarly organ
lied that party service, instead OF being a
recommendation TO him for an appoint
ment. was rather In the nature Of a dis.
qualification. He had no sympathy with
the boys who carry the torches and fight
in the trenches for the all sufficient rea-
con that he had never INDUCED In that
hilarious business himself. In addition
to all that, the Mugwumps really made
him president anyhow. They were the
decisive factor in bis first race for presi-
dent, and they are entitled to all the
glory, if there be any. Il Is preposterous
to say that cut Of the 1000, coo of peo-
pie who voted for Mckinley there are
not a sufficient number Of capable peo-
pie to ell all the Offices. It would be
equally preposterous 10 say that out Of
the Q, 500. 600 who voted for Bryan there
could not be found enough capable men
TO fill all the Offices.
The Chicago Democratic convention
Of 1895 declared against life tenure in
Office. That is part Of the Democratic
creed. There is no more reason why a
man should hold a clerkship forever be-
cause be happens TO be once appointed
than that be should go to congress or
the senate forever because be is once
elected 1t lisa good thing for oficehold-
ers Of every degree, from the president
down, to return once In awhile 70 the
body of the people and 10 take part in
the ordinary duties Of citizenship IL
can rig up q civil service scheme that
would have some sense in 1t az well az
some justice. In the first place. pass q
law fixing q reasonable term. say, Eve
CT six years. for appointive places, and
provide that when any party carried
the presidential election il shall bold
competitive examinations among the
msmbeFs Of its household. At the end /
Of the term the old appointees ma BE-
examined along with the new appli-
csnte. The present plan leads inevitably
toapenzion system from the civil walks
Of life. to which I am unalterably op-
posed and to which all patriots should
BE- opposed
M / H.