Civil Service Reform 195 



danger that any President will suffer it to be so 

 laxly administered as to deprive it of all value; 

 though there is always need to keep a vigilant look- 

 out for fear of such lax administration. The dan- 

 ger-point is in the appropriations. The first Civil 

 Service Commission, established in the days of Pres- 

 ident Grant, was starved out by Congress refusing 

 to appropriate for it. A hostile Congress could re- 

 peat the same course now; and, as a matter of fact, 

 in every Congress resolute efforts are made by the 

 champions of foul government and dishonest poli- 

 tics to cut off the Commission's supplies. The bolder 

 men, who come from districts where little is known 

 of the law, and where there is no adequate expres- 

 sion of intelligent and honest opinion on the subject, 

 attack it openly. They are always joined by a num- 

 ber who make the attack covertly under some point 

 of order, or because of a nominal desire for econ- 

 omy. These are quite as dangerous as the others, 

 and deserve exposure. Every man interested in de- 

 cent government should keep an eye on his Con- 

 gressman and see how he votes on the question of 

 appropriations for the Commission. 



The opposition to the reform is generally well led 

 by skilled parliamentarians, and they fight with the 

 vindictiveness natural to men who see a chance of 

 striking at the institution which has baffled their 

 ferocious greed. As a rule, the rank and file are 

 composed of politicians who could not rise in public 

 life because of their attitude on any public question, 

 and who derive most of their power from the skill 



