Year: 1876

There is nothing more difficult than to re-
trench in personal expenditures. The man
who lives upon stated salary or wages
will. unless he have more than ordinary for
titude, allow his expenditures to absorb all
his income; he and his family live up to
their receipts. Hence, when reduction Of
expenditures becomes necessary because OF Il
reduction Of wages or income, it is felt Sc
verely, Habits Of living are difficult to
change, and the man whose salary has been
cut down 90 to 80 per cent feels the dep
riyation far more severely than he would
had his salary always been at the reduced
rate. The reduction OF salaries and Of the
number Of persons employed is Of rare oc-
currence in public affairs. Banks, mer-
chants, manufacturers, and all others en-
gaged in business, have to regulate their
wages-hst from time to time, according
to the amount or the profit Of the
business However reluctantly it is done,
nevertheless no prudent businessman will
hesitate to reduce the wages or the number
OF his employees when their services no long
er justify the expenditure. But this is not,
and never has been, the practice in the public
service. There is no just reason why any Of
fcer should be retained in the public service
at the cost of the public when there are no
duties for him to perform but the abolition
of an Office to which compensation is at
tached is asking too much Of the moral and
intellectual courage of the average American
politician. This is due to the general cor
ruption of the civil-serrice, national, State,
city, county, town, village, aud all other pub


lie emp1oyments. Politics have become n
trade, and the trade consists Of traffic in the
profits Of holding public Office. JoHH wants
a certain Office; he promises Ton, DICE, and
Bn1 that if they will help him and pack
q caucus, and have him nominated and
elected, he will have them appointed to Offices
with nominal duties and liberal pay. Elect
ed, he fills all the places at his command with
men who will work for him; if there be not
enough places, he will have some additional
ones created; and the whole public service
has been in this way converted into an
asylum for the support Of the personal ad-
herents of other public officers. In fact,
the public service is, except III name, in
no sense s'pubGc service, The public
pay the bills, but the s'seryice rendered rs
an equivalent is largely imaginary. The rnle
in all Governments is to add to the number
of employed, and never reduce; and in this
way the pay-rons always increase, and never
diminish. Of course, the same political
power that can create an Office to give place
to one person can be as successfully e1er-
cised to have the salary Of another person
increased. The City Government of Chicago
is an illustration of this prnctice. Many
years ago the local politicians used


to make pilgrimages to Springfield during
the sessions Of the Legislature. After the
adjournment Of that body, it would appear
that they had used the forms of legislation
to "amend the City Charter" by creating
number of new Offices, and by providing
that the Common Council, in fixing the
salaries OF certain places, should not fix
them at less than certain number Of thou
sands year each. Under this kind of gov
ernment, conducted on the principle that
Governments are created to make places with
salaries attached for men,-generally the
most incompetent and unfit for even the
nominal dudes,-it is no wonder that the
pay~rol1s of the city grew to most e1-
travagant length. Three years ago it be-
came obvious to every man of intelligence
that the city would hare to abandon its
special system Of tar collection and resort
to the machinery Of .he State Law. But
there were then in Office a Ta1 Commis-
sioner, an Assessor, and Tax Collector,
with assistants; these three Offices made