Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 October 1882 — Fifteen Hundred and Ninety New Offices. [ARTICLE]

Fifteen Hundred and Ninety New Offices.

The profligate Congress at the late session created 1,590 now offices, among which several were revived, like the Assistant Secretaries of War and of the Navy, that had been abolished as superfluous at the close of the Rebellion. This enormous increase of patronage was made principally to satisfy tho constant and pressing demands of politicians. Pretexts of various kinds were manufactured as an excuse for such soindalous prodigality. Among others it was alleged that pension claims would be rapidly advanced and decided by an additional force. Twelve hundred and ten clerks were given to the Pension Bureau, to the Adjutant General and to the Surgeon General for this purpose. These raw recruits have all to be educated in the duties to which they are assigned, and instructors have been appointed to teach them the rudiments of official routine. Many of them are hopelessly incompetent, as were others in the increase made last year for the same professed purpose. In this latter case the teachers were, incumbents who were displaced by ignorant successors that are not more fit for service to-day than they originally were. These appointments and all others arc controlled by politics. Even in the scientific divisions, where technical knowledge is essential to successful administration, partisan influence claims recognition, asserts authority, and in nine cases out of ten prevails over merit, however conspicuous. And now, after creating this army of officeholders, it is found no provision was made for housing them properly. They actually stand in the way of each, other in the different bureaus, and cannot be seated for warn, of desk room. In order to keep up appearances, some of them are detailed for night service, to take the places of others who occupy the seats during the day. But this is a mere sham, invented to cover the pay of clerks who have nothing to do, and who were appointed as a reward for political service alone. Sometimes this sort of patronage is sold by the “influence” which stands behind it. Office brokerage is said to be a regular business at Washington, and the organs contain daily advertisements offering liberal premiums for situations in the different departments, the bounty being graduated by the value of tho 2>lace. This traffic could not be carried on, and certainly would not be prosperous, if thero was not collusion between the insiders and the outsiders. The actual and the prospective vacancies, tlio causes for removal and the opportunities for admission, straight and crooked, are known better to the appointment clerks than to the Secretaries themselves, This information has a merchantable value, and it is not infrequently sold to brokers, to applicants and to others interested in getting it quickly. The condition of a public service subject to this corrupting contamination must be deplorably bad.— New York Sun.