Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1907-11-14
An Appeal By Proxy.

The recent discussion in the
public prints of the character of
the guards and other employees of
the State Penitentiary, and the
manner in which their appoint
ments are brought about, even
should it lead to civil service
methods for securing employees in
the Peniteutiary, would fail in its
purpose, should it not lead to a
much wider inquiry and much
more drastic reform in the modes
of providing officers and their
assistants for most of our state in
stitutions. To say that the guards
and other employees of the Peni-
tentiary were given their places,
not because of any especial fitness
for those places, but because some
friend of the appointee had a
"pull" with the appointing power,
is to state nothing new. To say
that the evil would be cured by
appointing half the employees from
one political party, and half from
a different party, would be to say
what no one who is familiar with
political place-hunters believe.
1t may be laid down as an axiom
that will readily be admitted by
the American public, except that
portion of it included in the class
referred to, that the worst possible
appointment to any Office of trust
or emolument whatsoever, is, as
rule, the place-seeker, the pie
hunter, the would-be feeder at the
public crib, whose eye and appe-
tite, and ardent longing of the
soul are fixed, primarily and
chiefly, on the salary and emolu-
ments of some public Office, great
or small, and only incidentally
upon the duties that it may de-
volve on him to discharge. And
yet in the downward move of our
politics, national, state, and mum
icipal, this is the very class from
| which the far largest part of the
appointments are made by elective
officers to the subordinate posi-
tions over which they have con-
troll. The postulate of the Fathers
of the Republic, that only those
should be placed in Office who
possessed some special fitness for
it, has been brushed aside, and its
place has been substituted by the
endorsement of some ''party-lead-
er" to the effect that Smith is a
good party worker, and lin par
enthesis) as he has never been
fit for anything else it would be a
Igood thing to try him in an office
and see if he could not at least
draw the salary attached to the
same.
This criterion of measuring the
fitness ofpossible public servants,
is not confined to any one section
of our country, nor to any particu-
lar political party. It might fifty
be termed a national disease,
poisoning the blood of the body
polite, and attesting it's presence
by hideous eruptions in Pennsyl-
vania as we'll as Missouri, in
Texas as consistently as in Ohio.
Nor is the remedy to be wrought
by or through the action Of any
particular party: Party workers,
as a rule, are of the same general
characteristics, whatever their
party affiliations. Any species OF
reform, receives from a party
worker, only that measure of ap-
proval and support that consists
with fealty to his party, and him
self, and whenever reform appears
: likely to collide with party and
self, the party worker deserts Re-
form and drops into the process
sion that follows the lead of party.
The Inauguration and successful
completion of any measure intend
ed to remedy public abuses neces-
. sarily calls for a high order OF
conscientiousness, a thorough
} knowledge of the end to be COM
passed, indomitable courage in
,, meeting and overcoming opposi-
, ton, and an inexhaustible fund OF
patience in waiting until the pub
lie attention be gained and the
public conscience aroused. Party
organization on the other hand,
, demands only a leader with a loud
} voice who leads his followers in
shouting, "Great is Diana Of the
Ephesians!'' Which can muster
the most followers and make the
loudest noise is declared Victor,
and entitled to the Offices and their
emoluments-the main thing after
all.
The nnhlic school system was