*

the chief executive himself. The fierce popular hatred of the Federal party, which resulted in the elevation of Jefferson to the presidency, led that officer to set the first example of removing men from office on account of political opinions. For political causes alone, he removed a considerable number of officers who had recently been appointed by President Adams, and thus set the pernicious example. His immediate successors made only a few removals for political reasons. But Jackson made his political opponents, who were in office, feel the full weight of his executive hand. From that time forward, the civil officers of the Government became the prizes for which political parties strove; and twenty-five years ago, the corrupting doctrine that to the victors belong the spoils' was shamelessly announced as an article of political faith and practice. It is hardly possible to state with adequate force the noxious influence of this doctrine. The present system invades the independence of the executive, and make him less responsible for the character of his appointments; it impairs the efficiency of the legislator, by diverting him from his proper sphere of duty, and involving him in the intrigues of aspirants for office; it degrades the civil service itself, by destroying the personal independence of those who are appointed; it repels from the service those high and manly qualities which are so necessary to a pure and efficient administration; and, finally, it debauches the public mind by holding up public office as the reward of mere party zeal. To reform this service is one of the highest and most imperative duties of statesmanship. This reform cannot be accomplished without a complete divorce between Congress and the Executive in the matter of appointments. It will be a proud day when an administrator, senator or representative, who is in good standing in his party, can say as Thomas Hughes said, during his recent visit to this country, that though he was on the "most intimate terms with the members of his administration, yet it was not in his power to secure the removal of the humblest clerk in the civil service of his government."

"I have long believed that the official relations between the Executive and Congress should be more open and direct. They are now conducted by correspondence with the presiding officers of the two Houses, by consultation with committees, or by private interviews with individual members. This frequently leads to misunderstandings, and may lead to corrupt combinations. It would be far better for both departments if the members of the cabinet were permitted to sit in Congress and participate in the debates on measures relating to their several departments-but, of course, without a vote. This would tend to secure the ablest men for the chief executive offices, it would bring the policy of the administration into the fullest publicity by giving both parties ample opportunity for criticism and defense.

"The most alarming feature of our situation is the fact that so many citizens of high character and solid judgment pay but little attention to the sources of political power, to the selection of those who shall make their laws. The clergy, the faculties of colleges, and many of the leading business men of the community never attend the township caucus, the city primaries or the county conventions; but they allow the less intelligent and the more selfish and corrupt members of the community to make the slates and run the machine' of politics. They wait until the machine has done its work, and then, in surprise and horror at the ignorance and corruption in public, sigh for the return of that mythical period called the better and purer days of the Republic.' It is precisely this neglect of the first steps in our political processes that has made possible the worst evils of our system. Corrupt and incompetent presidents, judges and legislators can be removed, but when the fountains of political power are corrupted, when voters themselves become venal and elections fraudulent, there is no remedy except by awakening the public conscience and bringing to bear upon the subject the power of public opinion and the penalties of the law. The practice of buying and selling votes at our popular elections has already gained a foot

hold, though it has not gone as far as in England. In a word, our national safety demands that the fountains of political power shall be made pure by intelligence, and kept pure by vigilance: that the best citizen shall take heed to the selection and election of the worthiest and most intelligent among them to hold seats in the national legislature; and that when the choice has been made, the continuance of their representatives shall depend upon his faithfulness, his ability and his willingness to work."

W

CHAPTER XX.

THE ORATOR's power,

E must now invite the reader's attention to Garfield as he appears in his speeches, and if we cannot follow him. as fully as we would like—to show his rare oratorical power and splendid statesmanship, to develop in his own words what he is-it is because space forbids. His speeches alone make volumes and we can only cull here and there a flower from the thickly blossoming fields.

It was impossible for a man so large hearted, so patriotic as Garfield is not to have felt deeply the death of Abraham Lincoln. He saw that it was not the hand of one man but the spirit of secession aiming a last despairing blow at the great principles that had conquered it. Naturally then his was the tongue to give some expression to the nation's grief. And in the exciting hours that followed Booth's cowardly pistol shot, when the whole North was roused with a whirlwind of mad passion, Garfield's hand was apparent in staying the impending storm, in counseling that course that led to the wiser way, the better plan.

In the incident we are about to relate the extraordinary moral power always exerted over men by

the nominee for the Presidency, was perhaps never shown to a better advantage. The incident is contributed to this volume by a distinguished public man, who was an eye-witness of the exciting scene:

"I shall never forget the first time I saw General Garfield. It was the morning after President Lincoln's assassination. The country was excited to its utmost tension, and New York city seemed ready for the scenes of the French revolution. The intelligence of Lincoln's murder had been flashed by the wires over the whole land. The newspaper head-lines of the transaction were set up in the largest type, and the high crime was on every one's tongue. Fear took possession of men's minds as to the fate of the Government, for in a few hours the news came on that Seward's throat was cut, and that attempts had been made upon the lives of others of the Government officers. Posters were stuck up everywhere, in great black letters, calling upon the loyal citizens of New York, Brooklyn, Jersey City and neighboring places to meet around the Wall-Street Exchange and give expression to their sentiments. It was a dark and terrible hour. What might come next no one could tell, and men spoke with bated breath. The wrath of the workingmen was simply uncontrollable, and revolvers and knives were in the hands of thousands of Lincoln's friends, ready, at the first opportunity, to take the law into their own hands, and avenge the death of their martyred President upon any and all who dared to utter a word against him. Eleven o'clock A. M was the hour set for the rendezvous. Fifty thousand people crowded around the Exchange Building, cramming and jamming the streets, and wedged in tight as men could stand together. With a few to whom a special favor was extended, I went over from Brooklyn at nine A. M., and, even then, with the utmost difficulty, found my way to the reception room for the speakers in the