The grave evils
and perils of a partisan spoils system of appointment to office and of
office tenure are now generally recognized. In the resolutions of
the great parties, in the reports of Departments, in the debates and
proceedings of Congress, in the messages of Executives, the gravity of
these evils has been pointed out and the need of their reform has been
admitted.
To command the necessary support, every measure of reform must be
based on common right and justice, and must be compatible with the
healthy existence of great parties, which are inevitable and essential
in a free state.
When the people have approved a policy at a national election,
confidence on the part of the officers they have selected and of the
advisers who, in accordance with our political institutions, should be
consulted in the policy which it is their duty to carry into effect
is indispensable. It is eminently proper that they should explain it
before the people, as well as illustrate its spirit in the performance
of their official duties.
Very different considerations apply to the greater number of those who
fill the subordinate places in the civil service. Their responsibility
is to their superiors in official position. It is their duty to obey
the legal instructions of those upon whom that authority is devolved,
and their best public service consists in the discharge of their
functions irrespective of partisan politics.
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