182 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. (CiviL- SERVICE REFORM.) 



elusion, that the bill was unjust, unequal, and 

 ought not to pass. 



" But there is another provision in connec- 

 tion with this bill which may require some at- 

 tention. The country has been greatly shocked 

 by the practices of the Republican party, by 

 their levying assessments upon subordinates in 

 the various offices of the Government to be 

 used for political purposes, and both sides seem 

 now to agree on the propriety of enacting strin- 

 gent laws against such a practice in future. 

 In other words, we propose in future to make 

 it highly penal, if not a penitentiary crime, for 

 any officer or committee to do what the Re- 

 publican committee did in the last campaign. 

 And while I deny that the great majority of 

 the people of the United States have either 

 clamored or called for a civil-service measure 

 of the character contemplated by this act, I 

 admit that there is a general demand for the 

 enactment of a Jaw to punish, and punish se- 

 verely, the practice of soliciting and virtually 

 compelling donations of part of their salaries 

 from subordinates in the different departments. 

 But why pass a civil-service bill of the charac- 

 ter of this to get that provision into it? Why 

 not meet the question fairly and squarely, like 

 bold, sensible men, and amend the penal code 

 of the United States by the enactment of a 

 law providing ample punishment for those who 

 practice this system in future ? No civil-service 

 bill is necessary. It wants a penal statute to 

 make the infamous practice a high misde- 

 meanor, if not a felony. Those who claim that 

 the people at the last election not only con- 

 demned the corrupt methods and practices of 

 the Republican party, but that they demand 

 the so-called civil-service reform contemplated 

 by this bill as a remedy, make a great mistake. 

 The corrupt practices have been condemned. 

 The people have spoken in thunder-tones of 

 condemnation and denunciation, which can 

 neither be ignored nor misunderstood. They 

 denounce the admitted malpractice of Repub- 

 lican officials, and demand a remedy. But 

 what remedy ? Not that we pass a law to con- 

 tinue the perpetrators of these great wrongs in 

 office for life or a term of years. The party to 

 which they belong has held power twenty-two 

 years. It is time there was a change. And the 

 people demand, as a remedy for existing abuses, 

 a change of officials. They demand that the 

 unfaithful public servants, whose maladminis- 

 tration can not be denied, be hurled from pow- 

 er, and that their places be filled by honest, 

 capable men, who will reform the public service 

 by a return to the purer and better methods 

 practiced by the fathers of the republic; who 

 will cut off all surplus and unnecessary officials, 

 clerks and employes ; and all extravagant waste 

 of the public treasure, which is wrung by taxa- 

 tion from the labor of the people." 



Many Senators participated in the debate on 

 the passage of the bill; but the discussion, 

 though long, was not interesting, and frequent- 

 ly degenerated into partisan recriminations. 



Senators Voorhees, Vest, and Oockrell, espe-' 

 cially took occasion to bring out the record 

 of the party in power, in contrast with the 

 principles of the measure. The bill finally 

 passed the Senate, Dec. 27, 1882, by the fol- 

 lowing vote: 



YEAS Aldrich, Allison, Anthony, Bayard, Came- 

 ron of Pennsylvania, Cameron of Wisconsin, Cock- 

 rell, Coke, Conger, Davis of Illinois, Davis of West 

 Virginia, Edmunds, Frye, Garland, George, Gorman, 

 Groome, Harrison, Hawley, Hill, Hoar, Jackson, 

 Jones of Florida, Jones of Nevada, Lamar, Lapham, 

 Logan, Miller of California, Miller of New York, 

 Merrill, Pendleton. Platt, Plumb, Eollius, Sewcll, 

 Vest, Walker, Windom 38. 



NAYS Brown, CalhJonas, McPherson, Morgan 5. 



ABSENT Barrow, Beck, Blair, Butler, Camden, 

 Chilcott, Dawes, Fair, Farley, Ferry, Grover, Hale, 

 Hampton, Harris, Ingalls, Johnston, Kellosrg, Mc- 

 Dill, McMillan, Mahone, Maxey, Mitchell, Pugh, 

 Eansom, Saulsbury, Saunders, Sawyer, Sherman, 

 Slater, Vance, Van Wyck, Voorhees, Williams 33. 



In the House, the bill was referred to the se- 

 lect committee on civil- service reform, and re- 

 ported back without amendment by Mr. Kas- 

 son, of Iowa, Jan. 4, 1883. He at once moved 

 the previous question, which was carried, and 

 after a brief discussion the measure passed the 

 House by the following vote : 



YEAS Aldrich, Anderson, Barr, Bayne, Beach, Bel- 

 ford, Belmont, Beltzhoover, Berry, Bingham, Bis bee, 

 Blanchard, Bowman, Bragg, Briggs, Buck, Buckner, 

 Julius C. Burrows, Jos. H. Burrows, Butterworth, 

 Calkins, Campbell, Candler, Cannon, Carlisle, Car- 



rter, Cassidy, Caswell, Chace, Clark, Cobb, Sam'l 

 Cox, Wm. E. Cox, Crapo, Cravens, Cullen, 

 Curtin, Lowndes H. Davis, Deering, De Motte, 

 Deuster, Dezendorf, Dingley, Ermentrout, Erret, 

 Sewell S. Farwell, Fisher. Flower, Ford, Frost, 

 George, Godshalk, Grout, Guenther, Gunter, Hall, 

 Jno. Hammond, Hardy, Harmer, Benj. W. Harris, 

 Haseltine, Haskell, Hatch, Hepburn, Herbert, Abram 

 S. Hewitt, G. W. Hewitt, Hill, Hiscock, Hitt, Hob- 

 litzell, Holman, Houk, Humphrey, Jacobs, Jadwin, 

 Geo. W. Jones, Phineas Jones, Jorgensen, Kasson, 

 Kelley, Ketcham, Klotz, Lacey, Lewis, Lindsey, Lord, 

 Matson, McClure, McCook, McKinley, Eobt. M. Mc- 

 Lane, Jas.H. McLean, Miles, Miller, Morey, Morrison, 

 Morse, Moulton, Mutchlcr, Neal, Nolan, Norcross, 

 O'Neill, Payson, Peelle, Peirce, Pettibone, Phelps, 

 Pound, Eanney, Beed Wm. W. Bice, Eich, D. P. 

 Eichardson, Bitchie, Bobeson, Geo. D. Eobinson, 

 Wm. E. Eobinson, Eosecrans, Byan, Scoville, Scran- 

 ton, Sherwin, Otho E. Singleton, Skinner, A. Herr 

 Smith, J. Hyatt Smith, Speer, Spooner, Springer, 

 Stockslager, Talbott, Taylor, P. B. Thompson, 

 Wm. G. Thompson, Amos Townsend, Tyler, Upde- 

 graff, Urner, Vance, Van Aernam, Van Horn, Wads- 

 worth, Wait, Walker, Ward, Washburn, Watson, 

 Webber, Chas. G. Williams, Willis, Willits, Wilson, 

 Walter A. Wood. 155. 



NAYS Aiken, Athcrton, Atkins. Blackburn, Bland, 

 Bliss, Blount, Brumm, Buchanan, Caldwell, Clements, 

 Culberson, Dunn, Forney, Garrison, Geddes, N. 

 J. Hammond, Hardenbergh, Hoge, Hubbs, Keima, 

 King, Knott, Leedom, Le'Fevre, Manning, Marsh, 

 McKenzie, McMillin, Mills, Moore, Gates, Eeagan, 

 Jas. S. Eobinson, Eoss, Smalls, Sparks, Steele, 

 Thomas, Henry G. Turner, Oscar Turner, Upson, 

 Warner, Wellborn, Whitthorne, Thos. Williams, 

 Geo. D. Wise. 47. 



NOT VOTING Armfield, Barbour, Black, Brewer, 

 Browne, Cabell, Camp, Chapman, Clardy, Colerick, 

 Converse, Cook, Cornell, Covington, Crowley, Cutts, 

 Darrall, Davidson, Geo. E. Da'vis, Dawes, Dibrell, 

 Dowd, Dugro, Dunnell, Dwight, Ellis, Evins, Chas. 



