The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-03-23

AVN Will, al tho efslx
time. ably formally for a clsrt ~!
worth about four thousand 4 -!
and In due course will Be suno;.s..
to . responsible position r. ~
folding room at two thousand
Personal and political loyaltv =.
the great considerations. Effici...s.'
cannot be too closely con s;ds.N
One absolute essential for anv m. !.
who would rise in American nol; a'
tics Is that he show sreat lor. AM
to his friends and a fine ser,s .' !.
personal obligation. This NAV =, :.
make for efficiency In the goy.,r NJ
ment service, but it gives The ~.
game Of politics friendly atrcs
phere, and it produces some Mar.
ling changes in personal DESTINY
Making . Diplsnat
For example there was a c.rt.,,
secretary Of state who had an o,5
friend in a little town in thu vs nv
He was under some deep pe,.or ~.,
obligation to his old friend M"
was b typical small town lsvv.s ~
hen the secretary of state tool NJ. Il.
nigh position. it was fully under.
stood by both of them that the ala
friend should lave almost anythirs
he wanted. As it happened hs
wanted nothing for himself. nnt
,he had a son. This son had hesn
through high school and had sold
soap in Mexico and Central Amer.
ca. The old friend wanted his som
appointed to a diplomatic post IN
Latin America. 1t was immediately
promised. The old friend got a lot
OF literature on Latin America and
after devoting a whole SUNDAY an.
efnoon to the matter, he chose a
Central American post which maid
$4,000 a year and seemed to have a
pretty good climate. His son. IN
due course, went there as minister
And the funny part OF it is that he
made a pretty good diplomat as
American diplomats go, and has
risen in the service. or course a
good many such stories could bs
told that do not have such happv
endings.
In general. the patronage bust.
ness is certainly an unhappy one.
Ask any newly elected congressman.
There are posts for which he has a
hundred applicants. To appoint
the wrong man may mean his defeat
To AppOint any man means to make
SO men angry. Indeed, many a
promising career in congress is
wrecked simply by the accumulated
animosities Of disappointed seekers
after favors.
For the congressman TO push
aside personal and, party claims and
choose whom he considers the best
man, is impossfble-that is, if he
hopes for reelection. There are
staunch, lifelong party men who
must be cared for. Worst Of all,
there are the widows of such men,
who always seem to inherit the de-
servingness Of their spOuses undi-
minished, and who have the addi-
tional claim Of their feminine help
lessness and their numerous pro-
geny.
And yet the congressman love
their patronage. They always op-
pose any reduction in it. They do
not seem to grasp the simple fact
that il they had no patronage cares
at all, they would be infinitely bet
ter off. When President Taft put
all Of the fourth class postmasters
into the classified service, thereby
simplifying the patronage problem
enormously, the congressman pro.
tested. They have protested a,
every reduction of the patronage
roll. And yet it has been reduced
little by little. Office seeking is no,
what it was in the days Of President
Garfield. who was literally killed
by it. The trouble is that an almos,
undiminished army of patriots seek
the greatly reduced list Of jobs
Perhaps all the jobs will be put I'm
der the merit system some day. >