The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1905-06-15
CIVIL SERVICE.
Concluded

all we nave SAID ABOUT lhe NUM-
buggery and deceit of the whole
Civil Service as the appointment of
Charles Jerome Bonaparte as Secre-
tary of the Navy, and his acceptance
of the same. We do not mean to
assert that the appointment may
not prove a good one. Bonaparte
is a good man, an honest man, a
well meaning man. He is so
blamed. good that he can't be a
republican and he is so awfully
moral that he won't class himself
as democrat. He belongs to that
class of political hermaphrodites
that class themselves as indepen-
dents. That think they are too
superatively good to affiliate with
any political party. 1t is stated
that Mr.. Bonaparte never held any
Office before his appointment.
That is true and he, never could
hold an office, not in a thousand
years, if he had to depend on the
vote of his fellow citizens. He was
and for all we know is now, Presi-
dent of what is known as the Civil
Service Reform League of the
United States. Many and many a
time have we heard him advocate
the claim that any man accepting
any position within the gift of the
government should be eminently
qualified and be perfectly familiar
with the duties of the Office to
which he seeks appointment, and
that every applicant should be
rigidly examined by competent
Board to see what he knows about
the office he seeks to fill. Yet Mr..
Bonaparte accepts an office, one of
the most, if not most important, in
the gift of the president, about
which he knows no more than a
pig knows of paradise.
The Navy Department is divided
into two great divisions, the
business and the technical. More
business is done in the naval de-
partment and more money expended
under its direction than in any
other in the government with the
possible exception of the Post
Office department. Mr.. Bonaparte
knows absolutely nothing about
business. 1t is true he is a very
wealthy man but his wealth was
inherited 1t consists of blocks in
Baltimore and plantations in Mary
land. All he had to do was to
collect the rent. That requires no
more business acumen than TO un-
lock the back of a slot machine and
take out the nickels; and he don't
even collect his rents himself but
has an agent do it for him. Little
as he knows about the business end
of the department he knows still
less about the technical. He would
get sea sick if he tried to cross
Sank Lake in a flat bottomed scow.
He couldn't tell the difference
between "wannigan' that is used
to carry grub for loggers on the
Mississippi, river from torpedo
boat destroyer. Put him on a
battle ship and he couldn't tell the
starboard from the port side to save
his life and yet this is the man who
has for years argued that before a
government employee should be
chosen he should be rigidly ex
amined and if found competen,
should be appointed for life.
We don't suppose either the
president or the new secretary
care continental what we think
about the appointment. He didn'r
ask our advice but there has beer
so much cheap gush wasted abou
the excellency of this appointment
that it occurred to us that it wal
about time some one who knew tn,
facts should make them public ant
as no one else seemed inclined to d.
it we assumed the task.
1t is easy to point out the defect
in system; it is not SO easy t.
suggest remedies, in our. opinion
however, it would be compare
lively easy matter to arrange thu