made na

turned men out of office with a keen zest. During the forty years between Washington's first inauguration and Jackson's the total number of removals from office was 74, and out of this number 5 were defaulters. During the first year of Jackson's administration the number of changes made in the The "spoils civil service was about 2,000.1 Such was system the abrupt inauguration upon a national tional. scale of the so-called "spoils system." The phrase originated with W. L. Marcy, of New York, who in a speech in the senate in 1831 declared that "to the victors belong the spoils." The man who said this of course did not realize that he was making one of the most shameful remarks recorded in history. There was, however, much aptness in his phrase, inasmuch as it was a confession that the business of American politics was about to be conducted on principles fit only for the warfare of barbarians.

In the canvass of 1840 the Whigs promised to reform the civil service, and the promise brought them many Democratic votes; but after they had won the election, they followed Jackson's example. The Democrats followed in the same way in 1845, and from that time down to 1885 it was customary at each change of party to make a "clean sweep " of the offices. Soon after the Civil War the evils of the system began to attract serious attention on the part of thoughtful people. The "spoils system has helped to sustain all manner of abominations, from grasping monopolies and civic jobbery down to political rum-shops. The virus runs through everything, and the natural tendency of the evil is to grow with the growth of the country.

In 1883 Congress passed the Civil Service Act, 1 Sumner's Jackson, p. 147.

allowing the president to select a board of examiners on whose recommendation appointments are made. Candidates for office are subjected

The Civil

Service Act made.

of 1883.

to an easy competitive examination. The system has worked well in other countries, and under Presidents Arthur and Cleveland it was applied to a considerable part of the civil service. It has also been adopted in some states and cities. The opponents of reform object to the examination that it is not always intimately connected with the work of the office,1 but, even if this were so, the merit of the system lies in its removal of the offices from the category of things known as "patronage." It relieves the president of much needless work and wearisome importunity. The president and the heads of departments appoint (in many cases, through subordinates) about 115,000 officials. It is therefore impossible to know much about their character or competency. It becomes necessary to act by advice, and the advice of an examining board is sure to be much better than the advice of political schemers intent upon getting a salaried office for their needy friends. The examination system has made a fair beginning and will doubtless be gradually improved and made more stringent. Something too has been done toward stopping two old abuses attendant upon political canvasses, (1) forcing government clerks, under penalty of losing their places, to contribute part of their salaries for election purposes; (2) allowing government clerks to

1 The objection that the examination questions are irrelevant to the work of the office is often made the occasion of gross exaggeration. I have given, in Appendix I, an average sample of the examination papers used in the customs service. It is taken from Comstock's Civil Service in the United States, New York, Holt & Co., 1885, an excellent manual with very full particulars.

neglect their work in order to take an active part in the canvass. Before the reform of the civil service can be completed, however, it will be necessary to repeal Crawford's act of 1820 and make the tenure of postmasters and revenue collectors as secure as that of the chief justice of the United States.

system.

Another political reform which promises excellent results is the adoption by many states of some form of the Australian ballot-system, for the pur- The Austra pose of checking intimidation and bribery lian ballotat elections. The ballots are printed by the state, and contain the names of all the candidates of all the parties. Against the name of each candidate the party to which he belongs is designated, and against each name there is small vacant space to be filled with a cross. At the polling-place the ballots are kept in an inclosure behind a railing, and no ballot can be brought outside under penalty of fine or imprisonment.1 One ballot is nailed against the wall outside the railing, so that it may be read at leisure. The space behind the railing is divided into separate booths quite screened from each other. Each booth is provided with a pencil and a convenient shelf on which to write. The voter goes behind the railing, takes the ballot which is handed him, carries it into one of the booths, and marks a cross against the names of the candidates for whom he votes. He then puts his ballot into the box, and his name is checked off on the register of voters of the precinct. This system is very simple, it enables a vote to be given in absolute secrecy, and it keeps "heelers" away from

1 This is a brief description of the system lately adopted in Massachusetts. The penalty here mentioned is a fine not exeeeding a thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both such fine and such imprisonment.

the polls. It is favourable to independence in voting,1 and it is unfavourable to bribery, because unless the briber can follow his man to the polls and see how he votes, he cannot be sure that his bribe is effective. To make the precautions against bribery complete it will doubtless be necessary to add to the secret ballot the English system of accounting for election expenses. All the funds used in an election must pass through the hands of a small local committee, vouchers must be received for every penny that is expended, and after the election an itemized account must be made out and its accuracy attested under oath before a notary public. This system of accounting has put an end to bribery in England.2

Complaints of bribery and corruption have attracted especial attention in the United States during the past few years, and it is highly creditable to the good sense of the people that measures of prevention have been

1 It is especially favourable to independence in voting, if the lists of the candidates are placed in a single column, without reference to party (each name of course, having the proper party designation, "Rep.," "Dem.," "Prohib.," etc., attached to it). In such case it must necessarily take the voter some little time to find and mark each name for which he wishes to vote. If, however, the names of the candidates are arranged according to, their party, all the Republicans in one list, all the Democrats in another, etc., this arrangement is much less favourable to independence in voting and much less efficient as a check upon bribery; because the man who votes a straight party ticket will make all his marks in a very short time, while the "scratcher," or independent voter, will consume much more time in selecting his names. Thus people interested in seeing whether a man is voting the straight party ticket or not can form an opinion from the length of time he spends in the booth. It is, therefore, important that the names of all candidates should be printed in a single column.

2 An important step in this direction has been taken in the New York Corrupt Practices Act of April, 1890. See Appendix J.

so promptly adopted by so many states. With an independent and uncorrupted ballot, and the civil service taken "out of politics," all other reforms will become far more easily accomplished. These ends will presently be attained. Popular government makes many mistakes, and sometimes it is slow in finding them out; but when once it has discovered them it has a way of correcting them. It is the best kind of government in the world, the most wisely conservative, the most steadily progressive, and the most likely to endure.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.

1. What was a chief source of opposition to the new federal government?

2. What necessity for caution existed in devising methods to raise money

3.

?

a. The class of things on which duties were placed.

b. Popular acquiescence in the plan.

c. Effect of diverting the stream of custom-house revenue from its old destination in the several state treasuries to its new destination in the federal treasury.

d. Direct taxation during the Civil War.

e. Methods pursued since the Civil War. 5. The origin of American political parties :a. Jefferson's objection to Hamilton's policy. b. Hamilton's defence of his policy.

c. Jefferson's view of the Elastic Clause. d. Hamilton's view of the Elastic Clause.

e. Two names suggestive of an abiding antagonism in American politics.

f. A view of the Elastic Clause that commends itself to all. g. The party of Hamilton and its successors.

h. The party of Jefferson and its successor.

6. Great practical questions that have divided parties :—