Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1905-1906, 1906-01-18
D. FOULkE
tContinued from Page H.

the applause which followed them
reminded him of an incident on a
Mississippi plantation where an I'M
satisfied dog had howled his discon-
tent to the moon for whole, livelong
night and had kept everybody awake.
/ The planter and one of his field
hands were in consultation as to
what ought to be done.
/ "sWell Massa' said Sambo, you
/ know what makes him howl But the
master protested that he did not.
...What,' exclaimed Sambo you
all lived mo AN foty years on dis
plantation and don't know what
makes dog howl, why dog bowls
Massa when he smells somethin' and
can It locate it. ...---
;. Now continued Mr.. Allen,
these gentlemen in the gallery smell
pie but they are unable as yet to To-
cate thence the uproar.'
Il am afraid that that is the trou-
bic with Uncle Jack and the men
who vociferously applaud his senti-
ments. Uncle Jack himself has had a
pretty good allotment at the pie
counter but the supply did not last
long enough, while many of his en-
thusiastic supporters have had moth
ing but the fragrance-not even the
first taste of the delicious vians. We
may be sure that every note of di-
vine discomfort uttered by Uncle
Jack will be applauded to the echo
by every office seeker whosls con-
scious of his own eminent claims
and qualifications but would not dare
to submit these to any competitive
test. Every man who believes pub
lie Office is a private snap is down
on the civil service law. Every man
who believes that the public taxes
collected from both parties ought to
be used to pay for the political ser
vices rendered to one party will be
enthusiastic in his support of Uncle
Jack s. denunciation. Every political
hack, every man who believes in 'the
old flag and an appropriation will
realize the force of his reasoning
"The most delicious part of his
speech, if the report of it be correct,
is that the competitive system is
used by lot of incompetent men to
obtain lucrative public jobs In
other words if number Of men come
up to be examined in regard to the
duties of the place they want to fill
the incompetent ones are those who
can tell what these duties are and the
competent ones are those who can't
tell anything about it.
You can draw a pretty good line
in public work between a statesman
and a ward healer right upon this
question Of civil service reform. The
man whose ideals are low, who be-
lieves that the government exists for
the party and not the party for the
government is a friend of the spoils
system. The man who believes his
country and his government more i'm
portant than political spoils believes
in the competitive system. Of course
[ don't mean to say that every oppo-
nent of the merit system is unpatri-
otic or insincere. There are occasion
ally good men who believe in the
spoil system just as many good men
in past times believed in witchcraft.
''No doubt Uncle jack is one of
these, like Cotton Mather and Mat
they Hale, but the spoils system, like
witchcraft, is back number and the
American people are going ahead
with their president, who was the
most efficient civil service commits
sioner the country ever had. and
with Mr.. Cortelyou, who is one of
our most efficient executive officers,
and they are not going back with
Jack Gowdy and Tammany Hall.
81 venture the prediction that If
Mr.. Gowdy's principles should be-
come incorporated into the platform
and conduct of the Republican
party that Indiana would cease to
give a Republican majority of the
size or kind which distinguished the
election in which Theodore Roosevelt
the civil service reform candidate,
was elected president of the United
States"