1893.] THE MICROSCOPE. 43 



THE MICROSCOPE. 



New Series, 1893. 



For Naturalists. Physicians, and Druggists, and Designed to Popularize 



Microscopy. 



Published monthly. Price $1.00 per annum. Subscriptions should e?id 

 with the year. The old scries, consisting of 12 volumes (i88i-r8g2), ended 

 zvith December, 1892. Sets of the old series cannot be furnished. All 

 correspondence, exchanges, and boohs for notice should be addressed to the 

 Microscopical Publishing Co., Washington, D. C, U. S. A. 



CHARLES W. SMILEY, A. M., EDITOR. 



EDITORIAL. 



Public Office. — On the day of Grover Cleveland's inauguration 

 we received the following request from a subscriber : 



" It is my intention to make application for appointment to 

 the office of microscopist in the service of the bureau of Animal 

 Industry. May I call for the assistance which you can render me 

 in the way of a letter of opinion as to my qualifications ? " 



The reply made may be of interest to others similarly minded : 



t; Before taking any step of the sort desired, I should like to 

 know by whom the place is already occupied. Is the occupant 

 capable or incapable ? Is he a man thoroughly devoted to his 

 work, or did he neglect his work in the late campaign to talk 

 politics ? Is he one of the Harrison victors to whom belonged the 

 spoils four years ago ? If so, we ought, as good Cleveland men, 

 to see to it that the rascal is turned out ; but what is to be gained 

 if we turn out one rascal to make place for another ? It is our 

 recollection that the fellow wanting the place never considers him- 

 self the rascal ; it is always the incumbent who is the rascal. 

 Being disciples of Grover Cleveland, we think the rascals should 

 be kept out so as to save a President the trouble four years hence 

 of " turning the rascal out." In short, if the present incumbent 

 is holding his place by hard work, and remembering in a practical 

 manner that public office is a public trust, we shall not help 

 to put him out. If he is a spoilsman, we want to see him re- 

 placed, not by another spoils hunter, but by a man who will show 

 by his conduct that he holds public office to be a public trust, and 

 incidentally we hope he will be an advocate of tariff reform and of 

 one-hundred-cent dollars." 



