The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-06-29

out progress. We are not justly the
subject of criticism when we fail to live
up to our standards, provided the real
| effort is there. The world will take
into account the element of human
fallibility and error.
| But Wher the variance between
professed standards and actual prac-
| tice is a matter easily within the con-
troll of the man concerned, we may
reasonably criticise. In the case of
Theodore Roosevelt the variance
transcends the mere margin of error
in human judgment. Mr.. Roosevelt's
political conduct has SO widely varied
from his oral and written teachings as
to present a striking contrast This
contrast has appeared especially sharp
along the lines of his saying and do
ings concerning political appointments.
Mr.. Roosevelt has been an apostle of
| civil service In preaching he has
constantly and invariably extoled the
!
and makes all necessary sacrifices to
secure harmony with the spoils ma
chicc. His appointments have either
been political" made with regard to
! their effect upon voters or classes, or
routine machine" appointments, pur-
] suant to arrangement, deals, or par
l
| the bosses, good or bad, irrespective
| of the fitness of the applicant has
/ dent has not seemed to shrink. His
! latest action in removing the civil ser
VERGE halters from the Illinois job
holders and turning them into the
pasture to work for the machine can
didate and the promise of a job to the
opponent are typical
Several years ago, before he entered
upon presidential perpleXities, While
| he was engaged in making his reputa-
| ton as young man of the most ex-
allied and forceful reform ideas. he
gave utterance to doctrines, which he
| has ever since eXpOunded, upon this
very matter of spoils and machine ap-
pointments. Said he, in his discus
sion of the merit and spoils systems:
The spoils system of making ap-
| fee is SO wholly and unmxedy evil
SO emphatically un-American and I'M
democratic and is SO potent a force for
| degradation in our public life, that it
] is difficult to believe that any intelli-
gent man of ordinary decency who has
| looked into the subject can be it's advo-
Gates
In a nutshell, the spoils of patron
age theory is that public office is pri-
| marily designed for partisan plumber,
and that the victorious party is enttl
| ed to loot the departments at Wash
ington, the navy yards, the post Offices
the custom houses and the like, on
precisely the same grounds that entitl-
ed Tillys veterans to the loot of Mag
deburg.
1t puts premium upon the arts of
the party trickster and factional ma
nipulator; and it is doubly dangerous
because it lends itself especially to
the work of caucuses, primaries and
nominating conventions, and thus ac-
complishes it's most rapid work of de-
graduation within the party itself. The
offices, or, rather, the expectation and
hope of receiving them, have GER
! tain weight in the election itself; but
their chief importance comes in con-
nection with pulling the wires for the
nominations and for party control.
AS the result of ten years active par
ticipation in partisan politics, l I'M
hesitatingly state my belief that the
main use to which the offices are put
is the gaining of factional or personal
supremacy within the party. A
typical spols politician is fond of loud
ly asserting that he is a genuine par
ty man of the strictest sect; whereas,
as matter of fact, he is not, properly
speaking, a party man at all, and is of
little or no use in a fight for the whole
party as such, though a real and very
noxious power in the fractional battles
which determine it's leadership and
control"
A little observation of the activity of
| federal officeholders in politics will
convince any fairminded man that
Theodore Roosevelt's high ideals have
taken a wonderful tumble. Boss Plat
| Gas" Adkins, Steve Elkins and other
bosses of their ilk now have absolute
control of federal patronage.
THE FORCE OF HABIT.