Year: 1869

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ice-hOlders. They are liable to b.


supplanted to please some whim,-


are sure to be supplanted whenevei


there is a change of President. Sixty


thousand in Office implies one million


out Of Office, who are moving heaven


and earth to get in. The whole oi


these we may put down as prOfesseC


politicians-men who are anxious t


make politics their business. Add t
this the fact that our State, county


and municipal governments, in theil


various functions, employ twice as ma.


ny Office-holders as the central gov.
ernment, and that besides the regular


incumbents there is always a proper.


tiOnate number seeking the position


and it will be discovered that at least


One-ffth of our voting population are


actually working for government pat


rOnage, great or small. Two-ffths


more are men, who though they dc


not employ their time in endeavOring
to secure Office, would not refuse one


that should be rendered to them.


Now what is the secret of this
scramble for Ofice-what the motive


which prompts in so many instances
the sacrifice of principle and even OF
personal interest? 1t issaid to be appar.
ent from the figures of the Blue Book
that there are not five hundred offices
in the whole country which will pay
a man decent support. The pay OF
the Secretary of the Treasury is about
One-half that Ofa good bank President;
that of member of Congress is one
half that of a good country lawyer;
while the smaller departmental offices
are notoriously insufficient to support
family. 1t appears by recent devel-
Opments that men do want the
place of Internal Revenue Commits
sioner-salary $6,OOO-who are at
this time in receipt of salaries of $1O,-
600 to $13, ,O00,-and this, too, in face
of the fact that it cannot be held over
four years, and may be snatched away
at any moment If all this be true,
what can induce men to court position?
1t cannot be for the peace and content
it brings, for if one were to seek the
excitement of a pandemonium, one
could not choose better than a pOliti-
cal Office. It cannot be to satisfy any
worthy ambition, for there is not one
Office in hundred which cOnFers any
special distinction upon the holder of
it, while the enemies that he makes,
however faithful he may be, are count
ed by the hundreds.


This craving for Office is very gen.
orally attributed to the desire of spOiIs
which are supposed to accompany, in a
greater or less degree, every public
position. But this cannot be accepted
as au explanation for a sentiment
which is to be found almost universal
ly. We can scarcely conclude that
every other man among us is willing
to go at mild form of stealing, for
this is exactly what is involved in
such an explanation. There must be
something besides this, and it is to be
found in too general system of Office
holding, and even more in a too gen.
eral Misrepresentation of the honor
of official distinction.


In regard to the immediate effects
of the system itself, there is no one


who has had occasion to observe the
conduct of officials, as class, or the
result of their administration, who
must not admit that there is some
thing radically wrong where crimina-
tiOns and recriminations are so abun-
dant and fraud so palpable. The re-
cent speech of Senator Sprague, which
was as unexpected as it was unusual,
set forth a most lamentable state of
affairs, if he may be believed. Our
political affairs are in bad hands. The
legislation of the country is controlled
by incompetent men. The people are
of frivolous, thOughtless and sense
less disposition to make
light of serious things. Their clothes
are good, but they don't cover much
virtue. The political condition of the
country grows worse rather than bet
ter. Peace does not prevail at the
South; prosperity does not prevail
anywhere. Thereis is no content among
the people. Justice does not prevail
in the land. There is no protection
for life or freedom with us. Immigra-
tion is falling off, and will continue to
fall off because labor does not bring its
fair reward. The legislation of the
is so shaped as to make the
rich richer and the poor poorer. In
the struggle for wealth virtue is lost,
and Mr.. Sprague ventured to say that
Hthere was less virtue and morality in
American society to day than in any
other civilized society on the face of
the earth"


Much of the evil of this state of
things may be directly traced to the
system which prevails of training ev-
cry man up to political aspirations.
The schoOl-bOy is forced to imbibe
them from the lips of his parents, his
and the benignant gentlemen
who make speeches in the school
rooms. They are taught that the
privilege ofholding Office is one of the
nearest approaches to canonization,
and that there is but one step from the
American presidency to eternal beati-
tude.


A good story was told years ago and
lately revived, in which an American
is typified by man who
sought some appointment from one of
the cabinet officers. He first thought
of getting a foreign mission, but find
ing all the positions full even to the
Office page and errand boy, he looked
at the official and said: "WelI, Mr..
as you and / are about the
same size, may be you could give me
some o. your old Clothes" Such is
the spirit which usually animates pro-
fessional Office-seekers, and lowers, in
stead of elevating our political system.


Almost every man has a false idea
of the commercial value and the hon
or of Office-holding, and seeks, or is
willing to accept, almost any govern
ment appointment, because he has
grown up in the belief that this is the
great aim of the American citizen.
The principal is bad one. If Office
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