New-York tribune., 1922-04-02
Decrease OfPLdcesOu.
ing to Economy Pro.
grams sIsAccompanied
by Increase OF ApDl;
cdtts, and the End Is
Nowhere in Sight

IunctOry approval.
BE it said in behalf Of politics and ,os
ticians that monetary consideration seldom ~
ters into the making Of Endorsements. Tb,,;.
not for the minor positions There is grnr.
sition, more or less common, that the men WIN
get the nominations for high Office have TO n..
for them IN cold, hard cash, and pay generou.Ir
100. 1t came to light in Brooklyn several ve.r'
ago that a man had paid $4,000 for a non,in.
tion to the Supreme Court In that case bo.,
the seller and buyer went to prison.
1t may be that every big nomination ha. -
be bought. Leaders have to live, it is true .,a
some wholly without visible means of GIN
port. But thc impression also prevails tb.,
were the buying and selling Of nomination.,
common practice, prediction scandals vonIi
result more frequently. When practic. h..
become customary, even though it be lera
the participants lose enough Of their sense q,
fear to talk about it, for familiarity is int
as likely to breed contempt Of the consequence.
Of law breaking Of anything else. And II
any one talked about nomination buying. n.
opposition would hear about it and so would
the newspapers and scandals such as tha. N
Brooklyn would be Of yearly Occurrences. n.
stead Of happening so infrequently that ths
Brooklyn episode was the only one Of its kind
the writer can recall in the last fifteen vearh
this city.
The majority Of political leaders would sesn
therefore, to be strictly honest, so far as nor
nation-selling is concerned. There are vsry
few politicians, and no real leaders, who woul;
stoop so low as to hold up man for $1,000
appointment. What is expected Of an Office
seeker, however, is hard work and party loy
atty. IT, in addition, he can show few favo,s
done for some one high in authority his
chances are increased wonderfully.
That, however, leads to another thought s,
many persons think they have done favo,s
when they haven't. A few believe that ther
are conferring a very great favor upon Their
party by their willingness 10 accept a lucrs
tive Office in it.
1T isn't often they can get man Of nj
brains to take political job" is the idea wit
which candidates sometimes toss their hat
into the ring.
Needless to say, that argument never in
presses the leaders much. What does impress
them is the ease with which they can get me-
who, from their general appearance and mcds
of living create the impression that they ar
successful business executives with genercr,
incomes. Not only can the leaders get thes.
men, but they cannot keep away from then
Many a man who looks, acts and lives sJI
though he were earning between $1,000 ansl
$4,000 a year jumps at the chance to annex
$4,000 political position. Some Of them az
actually earning less than that amount, but
few are earning more. Still, they are eagera
gain an appointment because of the certailT
of their pay, at least during their terms, G
because OF the authority the Office gives ther
Every man likes TO think he is a little aMs
the common herd, and the possession Of ever
picayune public office apparently provides th /
desirable sensation. The man who moves hesT
Ell and EARTH almost. to land 5000 job, gcI
for SIX years, never seems to consider what
going to happen when the seventh year arrSg
If he remained with good business house id
six years he would before the end of that p
riod surely be entitled to a aise in pay. E
even if he is lucky enough to be reappointetr
clerkship for second term of six years b
salary remains the same.
Some men also seek political appointmsG
leaders say, because they hope to have sine
cure. But the day of political snecures
fast passing. 1t is no longer fulfilling alF
quirements to appear only on pay day. SfH
large city Offices have even installed @s
clocks, and insist that they be punched, TO-
Holders of the smaller jobs at any rate, I"
compelled to work hard and in some instaa@
keep long hours. Still, nothing deters n@
"lf half the men III political office wsu'
work as hard to land a position in civil ns
and after they got it work half as hard
keep it as they do to remain in Office, N
would earn far more money and would "
have to be thinking of a pension IN their
age" political leader said This is N8
even when times are hard. There is alHsF
room for a good man in the business wes !
The trouble is too many grow discoursgeo
they do rot get the raise they expect eN'
year in business life, and are asked someaI' F.
TO work at the office of an evening. II +"
get a small political Office there are no rss
az the end of year, they often compS~ +
to work just as hard and at the end OF
term, unless they manage TO get under
cover Of civil service. out they go snd o" B
TO make new start"
Even under civil service there is httis
crease in salary. Notwithstanding all tha
said, however, the number of applications
positions increases much faster than the ss
ers can hope to fill them And if an appoD
ment is sought in vain there are more h''