The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-21

is a united and effective government.
 Since personal selflshness and desire for personal 2ggrandizement are by no means eradicated from human nature, there is a constant tendency in political parties to revert to a lower type. Par ty leaders frequently use for their own personal advantage the power con- fered upon them for advocacy of those ideas which the members of the party believe to be for the best interests of the country. This tendency is promot- ed by every man who takes part in po- litical activity with the primary pur- pose of getting an office for himself, and it is discouraged and reduced by every man who takes part in political affairs with the primary purpose of do- ing effective service to advocate the principles that he believes in.
 The tendency to revert to the lower type of organization which concerns it. self solely in the obtaining of office has been very prevalent in American pol itics, and 1t is still prevalent, although to less extent than formerly. With us it takes the form of grafting upon the
 
 the advocacy of certain declared prin- ciples an organization of active party workers for the distribution of offices.
 It is not at all unnatural that among the men who do this voluntary work resulting in the selection of candidates and their election to public office there should be many who desire to be ap pointed to the offices and employments at the disposition of the officers so elected. Unfortunately, there has grown up in the United States a prac- tice of considering the service of par ty workers leading to the selection and election of candidates as a controlling reason for the appointment of those party workers to the places at the dis posal of the candidates after their elec- ton; and that practice has resulted in the prevalent understanding that there is an implied agreement by every sue eessful candidate for an elective office to reward support by exercising his governmental powers for the appoint ment and employment of his sup porters. The practice originated in the | complicated political activities of the | great States of New York and Penn sylyania early in the last century, It was extended to the Federal Govern ment under the presidency of Andrew Jackson, and the most familiar state ment of it was made by William l.. Marcy in the Senate of the United States in the debate on Jackson's nom- l nation of Martin Van Buren to be minister to England
 1 The application of this principle is not confined to the demand of the in- | dividual party worker upon the sue cessful candidate for recognition of his personal service; it goes step fur | ther back and affects the action of the 1 party worker in the selection of party leaders who will support and press the party workers claim to recognition ! from the public officer when elected. It determines the selection of the party committees and their chairmen, from the lowest local committee in the as- sembly district or town or village, who are expected to press the claims of the men who elect them for appointment and employment, up through the coun- ty and State committees to the nation- al committee and the chairman of the national comittee, who directs the vast machinery of the presidential election. It converts the whole party organlza- ton commissioned by the voters of a 1 party to conduct the systematic pro- l ceedings which shall enable them to
 maintain and advance their political principles by their votes, into an or
 ganization primarily for the promotion
 of party principles so far as may be necessary to keep the voters of the par ty from repudiating the party organi-
 zation.
 The application of this principle de-
 moralizes the public service, by esta5- fishing tenure of office which depends
 not upon faithful and efficient service
 to the country, but upon service in party primaries and caucuses and con
 ventions; and 1t tends to make the
 elected officers feel responsible not SC much to the public opinion, which
 judges of their fidelity and efficiency
 as to the party managers who are to determine whether they shall be re-
 nominated or not. This cannot fail to result in poor service. It Is impossible to have good service in any business
 public or private, unless the character
 of the service itself is to determine
 whether 1t shall continue. This has
 been very we'll illustrated in a way which anyone, who has been in the habit of frequenting the city of New
 York during the past twenty years can l appreciate. That city formerly had a street-cleaning department managed by l bipartisan police board composed of two Democrats and two Republicans The members of the street cleaning force were appointed for the political committees of the two parties. The party committees and the party leaders | in the different assembly districts in the city were furnished with tickets, which they distributed to their sup l porters. On the presentation of these tickets the holders were treated as en- titled to employment on the force. Their retention on the force depended entirely on the favor of the party man. agers from whom they got their tickets
 mot at all upon the way in which they did their work They were lazy, inef- ficient, undisciplined, and without ef- fective supervision, because under that system no supervision could have any l effect; and the streets of New York were continuously disgracefully filthy. The evil became so great that. the leg islature at Albany changed the law and provided for a superintendent of street cleaning; and about that time one of the occasional revolts of the city of New York occurring, good business l man was made mayor and he appoint | ed Colonel George E. Waring, of New