The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-05-24

sPoILS SYSTEM CONDEMNED.
In her addrs - on the subject OF The
Merit system in Municipalities" Mrs.
Imossn Il. Oakley. chairman OF the civil
Service Reform Committee OF the Civil
Service Club OF Philadelphia said: The
economy OF the merit system is based
upon efficiency and common honesty. We
very seldom hear that an ofiicehoder ap-
pointed under the ciyii-sersiCe rules has
Joined the ranks Of the bcOdlers not
withStanding the fact that there is more
JOY III the ranks of the yellow journals
over one civil-service raforrner who has
gone sStray than over the ninety ard nine
just men who need no invest cation.
1t is surely worthy of remark that not
one Of the thirteen pust-oific. officials
recently indicted for fraud entered the
service by the competitive door. All owed
positions TO political influence
The Sppils system has created n dou-
hle standard of morals II is wrong IL
says. TO steal from an individual. but TO
steal from a municipal corTrratjon is,
simply taking advantage OF opportunities.
As IL nation we had almost forgotten that
the hribe-Eirer was as bad as the bribe-
taber.
a striking instance OF this perverted
public Conscience was brought to light by
Mr.. Folk in his investigation of St Louis
hoodlers \ certain Councilman. having
been paid s25."9 TO fight a traction con-
tract r fused Indignantly TO accept 5000
from the other sid =. but finally f.cc6ytsd
$4,000. and the next day returned the S.
80 L. his original briber because he mad
lot earned il. II is said
Is he corrupt WAS asked OF the lcEis-
iator concerning a fellow member. oh.
a.. s1ll nim tll;. \ man IL
corrupt who soils out to two opposite sides
IN The same deaf. Anybody ought TO know
Mrs Oakley said that women could do
much to aid reform hy spreading civil
service literature hy bringing IN their
children with good morals that would ap-
ply To politics as well as personal affairs.
ART AND LIBRARIES DISCUSSED.
Tennessee to inspire the evening session of
the Federation of Womsn's Clubs. which
was devoted TO the Library Extension
Committee over which Mrs CHARLES
Perkins Of Knoxville presided. TO awaken
great interest in the work of travelling
llhrarits and TO AFFORD cue 20 Charles
Zneheiiil. professor OF social science in the
University of Chicago. for an address on
Art as an Educator"
Mrs. cawood brought with her the at
mosphere of the Great Smokes and the
Tennessee River at its food. She told. as
Charles Egbert Craddock might have told
the story of the travelling library OF the
Tennessee Federation among the noun
tain ranges and swollen rivers of her ma
tive State. She told Of the joys that Mar
tin ChIIzzlewit and Robinson Crrsoe had
given to the wild mountaineers. hungry
Tor the books OF which they had never
before heard or seen.
Mr.. Zuebelin took his theme from this.
ana told how art also might have it's
women. and often in these lives it was
more sincere than in the lives of men and
women who knew the names of all the
old masters. which they had checked on
from their Baedecker guide books in their
European travels. and knew no more
he argued for the teaching in art that
would teach the men and women of Amer
lea to know why a Colonial home was
beautiful or not without admiring II sim
ply because 1t was STYLED Colonial. He
and design which the humbIest might
know, and often knew better than the cd
st Louis" he said. had. perhaps.
more beautiful parks than any city in the
country. and the mosr hideous water
front You cannot resolve to live in a
Sums
No one will admire more the beautiful
things that have been said about books
than I. but there are more durable ex-
pressions than books for the elevation OF
human minds. Many OF us have talked
about the beauties Of the Parthenon
ter cast OF the friezes. but the Parthenon
friezes were so great that books upon
books had TO be written about them.
libraries and yet cannot look a house in
the face ard tell whether It is good or bad
or why. We cannot live In Beautiful
houses around Us. This beautiful white
city is already stained by smoke OF sur
rounding factories"
The speaker urged the universal teach
ing Of the simple elements OF arr among
all conditions Of men. as that alone couI3
produce the general realization OF beauty
which Is SO much desired.
Mrs Perkins in opening the session de-
livered an address on the work that the
Library Committee had accomplished and
F. NJ. Crunden. librarian OF the ST. Louis
Public Library. spoke on The Inspira-
ton of Libraries
At the business session Mrs Belle Cas-
tleman Carroll introduced resolution on
universal peace by means of arbitration
This was unanimously adopted