, 1922-04-18
The Hypocrisy of Democracy

BECAUSE OF THE prostitution of the Civil Service
II system under the Wilson regime it became neces-
safy for the good of the service to dismiss a number
Of employees of the Bureau Of Engraving and Print
ing at Washington. AS was to be expected Democra-
tic senators raised their voices in holy agony and
the more Incorporate ones went so far as to attack
the President for exercising the rights and preroga-
tives Of his office.
The opposition forgot for the time being their
own action in rapine the merit system which was
the direct and compelling cause Of the present action
to restore the bureau in question to a better working
business unit of the government.
Republican senators added agony to the Demo-
cratic wailing by reminding their unfortunate brothers
of their hypocrisy and the sins they had committed
in their day of power. Senator New told them: 81
undertake to say and to attempt to Justify by the
facts that there never was so partisan an administra-
ton as the one which closed on the 4th day of March,
1921. That administration filed up the Departments
here with incompetents to the point where if a caller
on business wanted to reach the head of one of the
departments he had to elbow his way through a
crowd, like getting up to the ticket wagon of a circus.
That was the condition in regard to the departmental
offices; the appointees fairly crowded each other out
on the sidewalk. Ten thousand of them have, very
present administration came in; a great many more
thousands can be separated to the very great benefit
of the service; and. speaking for myself, I very earn
estly hope thew NAV be; but whether or not they shall
be, I do not undertake to say"
Senator Moses cheered the disconsolate Demo-
Gratis with these solemn remarks:
"T want to say. apropos of the performance that
has gone on here on the floor of the Senate because
of what is described as an outrage, the removal of 27
Office holders, il Republican senators eight and nine
years ago had devoted their time and taken the time
of the Senate in the discussion of questions of that
character, there would have been no legislation what
ever because we saw Democratic administration come
in and absolutely ravage every department of the
public service. And then when they had filled all the
postoffices with their selections they put over them
a blanket of civil service law. I wish to say that the
whole pretence in the matter about the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing is absolutely childish and
ridiculous
While it remained for Senator Norris of Nebraska.
to skin his colleague Senator Hitchcock alive and
hang the hide on the fence. He was inspired to this
effort by a long lanentation by Senator Hitchcock,
deploring the alleged prostitution of civil service by
the present administration. He read into the record
the letters written from Hitchcock's office by his
private secretary during 1919, which proved as he
said, that Hitchcock ''believes in civil service when
the Republican party is in power, and he believes to
the victors belong the spoils when the Democrats are
IN control The tears he is shedding now for the
ci-il service were tears of stone when Woodrow Will