carriers，stenographers，womentypewriters，clerks，becauseofthepoliticsofthemselvesortheirfriends，withoutregardtotheirownservice，is，fromthestandpointofthepeopleatlarge，asfoolishanddegradingasitiswicked。
Suchbeingthecase，itwouldseematfirstsightextraordinarythatitshouldbesodifficulttouprootthesystem。Unfortunately，itwaspermittedtobecomehabitualandtraditionalinAmericanlife，sothattheconceptionofpublicofficeassomethingtobeusedprimarilyforthegoodofthedominantpoliticalpartybecameingrainedinthemindoftheaverageAmerican，andhegrewsoaccustomedtothewholeprocessthatitseemedpartoftheorderofnature。Notmerelythepoliticiansbutthebulkofthepeopleacceptedthisinamatter-of-
coursewayastheonlyproperattitude。Therewereplentyofcommunitieswherethecitizensthemselvesdidnotthinkitnatural，orindeedproper，thatthePost-Officeshouldbeheldbyamanbelongingtothedefeatedparty。Moreover，unlessbothsideswereforbiddentousetheofficesforpurposesofpoliticalreward，thesidethatdidusethempossessedsuchanadvantageovertheotherthatinthelongrunitwasoutofthequestionfortheothernottofollowthebadexamplethathadbeenset。Eachpartyprofitedbytheofficeswheninpower，andwheninoppositioneachpartyinsincerelydenounceditsopponentsfordoingexactlywhatititselfhaddoneandintendedagaintodo。
Itwasnecessary，inordertoremedytheevil，bothgraduallytochangetheaveragecitizen’smentalattitudetowardthequestion，andalsotosecureproperlawsandproperadministrationofthelaws。Theworkisfarfromfinishedevenyet。Therearestillmassesofoffice-
holderswhocanbeusedbyanunscrupulousAdministrationtodebauchpoliticalconventionsandfraudulentlyovercomepublicsentiment，especiallyinthe“rottenborough“districts——thosewherethepartyisnotstrong，andwheretheoffice-holdersinconsequencehaveadisproportionateinfluence。ThiswasdonebytheRepublicanAdministrationin1912，totheruinoftheRepublicanparty。Moreover，therearenumbersofStatesandmunicipalitieswhereverylittlehasasyetbeendonetodoawaywiththespoilssystem。ButintheNationalGovernmentscoresofthousandsofofficeshavebeenputunderthemeritsystem，chieflythroughtheactionoftheNationalCivilServiceCommission。
TheuseofGovernmentofficesaspatronageisahandicapdifficulttooverestimatefromthestandpointofthosewhostrivetogetgoodgovernment。Anyeffortforreformofanysort，National，State，ormunicipal，resultsinthereformersimmediatelyfindingthemselvesfacetofacewithanorganizedbandofdrilledmercenarieswhoarepaidoutofthepublicchesttotrainthemselveswithsuchskillthatordinarygoodcitizenswhentheymeetthematthepollsareinmuchthepositionofmilitiamatchedagainstregulartroops。Yetthesecitizensthemselvessupportandpaytheiropponentsinsuchawaythattheyaredrilledtooverthrowtheverymenwhosupportthem。CivilServiceReformisdesignedprimarilytogivetheaverageAmericancitizenafairchanceinpolitics，togivetothiscitizenthesameweightinpoliticsthatthe“wardheeler“has。
Patronagedoesnotreallyhelpaparty。Ithelpsthebossestogetcontrolofthemachineryoftheparty——asin1912wastrueoftheRepublicanparty——butitdoesnothelptheparty。Ontheaverage，themostsweepingpartyvictoriesinourhistoryhavebeenwonwhenthepatronagewasagainstthevictors。Allthatthepatronagedoesistohelptheworstelementinthepartyretaincontrolofthepartyorganization。TwooftheevilelementsinourGovernmentagainstwhichgoodcitizenshavetocontendare，1，thelackofcontinuousactivityonthepartofthesegoodcitizensthemselves，and，2，theever-
presentactivityofthosewhohaveonlyanevilself-interestinpoliticallife。Itisdifficulttointeresttheaveragecitizeninanyparticularmovementtothedegreeofgettinghimtotakeanefficientpartinit。Hewishesthemovementwell，buthewillnot，oroftencannot，takethetimeandthetroubletoserveitefficiently；andthiswhetherhehappenstobeamechanicorabanker，atelegraphoperatororastorekeeper。Hehashisowninterests，hisownbusiness，anditisdifficultforhimtosparethetimetogoaroundtotheprimaries，toseetotheorganization，toseetogettingoutthevote——inshort，toattendtoallthethousanddetailsofpoliticalmanagement。
Ontheotherhand，thespoilssystembreedsaclassofmenwhosefinancialinterestitistotakethisnecessarytimeandtrouble。Theyarepaidforsodoing，andtheyarepaidoutofthepublicchest。
Underthespoilssystemamanisappointedtoanordinaryclericalorministerialpositioninthemunicipal，Federal，orStategovernment，notprimarilybecauseheisexpectedtobeagoodservant，butbecausehehasrenderedhelptosomebigbossortothehenchmanofsomebigboss。Hisstayinofficedependsnotuponhowheperformsservice，butuponhowheretainshisinfluenceintheparty。Thisnecessarilymeansthathisattentiontotheinterestsofthepublicatlarge，eventhoughreal，issecondarytohisdevotiontohisorganization，ortotheinterestofthewardleaderwhoputhiminhisplace。Soheandhisfellowsattendtopolitics，notonceayear，nottwoorthreetimesayear，liketheaveragecitizen，buteverydayintheyear。Itistheonethingthattheytalkof，foritistheirbreadandbutter。
Theyplanaboutitandtheyschemeaboutit。Theydoitbecauseitistheirbusiness。Idonotblamethemintheleast。Iblameus，thepeople，forweoughttomakeitclearasabellthatthebusinessofservingthepeopleinoneoftheordinaryministerialGovernmentpositions，whichhavenothingtodowithdecidingthepolicyoftheGovernment，shouldhavenonecessaryconnectionwiththemanagementofprimaries，ofcaucuses，andofnominatingconventions。Asaresultofourwrongthinkingandsupineness，weAmericancitizenstendtobreedamassofmenwhoseinterestsingovernmentalmattersareoftenadversetoours，whoarethoroughlydrilled，thoroughlyorganized，whomaketheirlivelihoodoutofpolitics，andwhofrequentlymaketheirlivelihoodoutofbadpolitics。Theyknoweverylittletwistandturn，nomatterhowintricate，inthepoliticsoftheirseveralwards，andwhenelectiondaycomestheordinarycitizenwhohasmerelytheinterestthatallgoodmen，alldecentcitizens，shouldhaveinpoliticallife，findshimselfashelplessbeforethesemenasifhewereasolitaryvolunteerinthepresenceofabandofdrilledmercenariesonafieldofbattle。ThereareacoupleofhundredthousandFederaloffices，nottospeakofStateandmunicipaloffices。
Themenwhofilltheseoffices，andthemenwhowishtofillthem，withinandwithoutthedominantpartyforthetimebeing，makearegulararmy，whoseinterestitisthatthesystemofbread-and-butterpoliticsshallcontinue。Againsttheirconcreteinterestwehavemerelythegenerallyunorganizedsentimentofthecommunityinfavorofputtingthingsonadecentbasis。Thelargenumberofmenwhobelievevaguelyingoodarepittedagainstthesmallerbutstilllargernumberofmenwhoseinterestitoftenbecomestoactveryconcretelyandactivelyforevil；anditissmallwonderthatthestruggleisdoubtful。
Duringmysixyears’serviceasCommissionerthefieldofthemeritsystemwasextendedattheexpenseofthespoilssystemsoastoincludeseveraltimesthenumberofofficesthathadoriginallybeenincluded。Generallythiswasdonebytheintroductionofcompetitiveentranceexaminations；sometimes，asintheNavy-Yards，byasystemofregistration。Thisofitselfwasgoodwork。
Evenbetterworkwasmakingthelawefficientandgenuinewhereitapplied。Aswasinevitableintheintroductionofsuchasystem，therewasatfirstonlypartialsuccessinitsapplication。Forinstance，itappliedtotheordinaryemployeesinthebigcustom-housesandpost-
offices，butnottotheheadsoftheseoffices。Anumberoftheheadsoftheofficeswereslipperypoliticiansofalowmoralgrade，themselvesappointedunderthespoilssystem，andanxious，directlyorindirectly，tobreakdownthemeritsystemandtopaytheirownpoliticaldebtsbyappointingtheirhenchmenandsupporterstothepositionsunderthem。Occasionallythesemenactedwithopenandnakedbrutality。Ordinarilytheysoughtbycunningtoevadethelaw。TheCivilServiceReformers，ontheotherhand，wereinmostcasesnotmuchusedtopracticalpolitics，andwereoftenwell-nighhelplesswhenpittedagainstveteranprofessionalpoliticians。InconsequenceI
foundatthebeginningofmyexperiencesthatthereweremanyofficesinwhichtheexecutionofthelawwasasham。Thiswasverydamaging，becauseitencouragedthepoliticianstoassaultthelaweverywhere，and，ontheotherhand，madegoodpeoplefeelthatthelawwasnotworthwhiledefending。
Thefirsteffortofmyselfandmycolleagueswastosecurethegenuineenforcementofthelaw。Inthiswesucceededafteranumberoflivelyfights。Butofcourseinthesefightswewereobligedtostrikealargenumberofinfluentialpoliticians，someoftheminCongress，someofthemthesupportersandbackersofmenwhowereinCongress。
AccordinglywesoonfoundourselvesengagedinaseriesofcontestswithprominentSenatorsandCongressmen。TherewereanumberofSenatorsandCongressmen——menlikeCongressman(afterwardsSenator)H。
C。Lodge，ofMassachusetts；SenatorCushmanK。Davis，ofMinnesota；
SenatorOrvilleH。Platt，ofConnecticut；SenatorCockrell，ofMissouri；Congressman(afterwardsPresident)McKinley，ofOhio，andCongressmanDargan，ofSouthCarolina——whoabhorredthebusinessofthespoilsman，whoefficientlyandresolutelychampionedthereformateveryturn，andwithoutwhomthewholereformwouldcertainlyhavefailed。ButtherewereplentyofotherSenatorsandCongressmenwhohatedthewholereformandeverythingconcernedwithitandeverybodywhochampionedit；andsometimes，tousealegalphrase，theirhatredwasforcause，andsometimesitwasperemptory——thatis，sometimestheCommissioninterferedwiththeirmostefficient，andincidentallymostcorruptandunscrupulous，supporters，andatothertimes，wheretherewasnosuchinterference，amanneverthelesshadaninnatedislikeofanythingthattendedtodecencyingovernment。Thesemenwerealwayswagingwaragainstus，andtheyusuallyhadthemoreorlessopensupportofacertainnumberofGovernmentofficials，fromCabinetofficersdown。TheSenatorsandCongressmeninquestionopposedusinmanydifferentways。Sometimes，forinstance，theyhadcommitteesappointedtoinvestigateus——duringmypubliccareerwithoutandwithinofficeIgrewaccustomedtoacceptappearancesbeforeinvestigatingcommitteesaspartofthenaturalorderofthings。
SometimestheytriedtocutofftheappropriationfortheCommission。
OccasionallywewouldbringtotermstheseSenatorsorCongressmenwhofoughttheCommissionbythesimpleexpedientofnotholdingexaminationsintheirdistricts。Thisalwaysbroughtfranticappealsfromtheirconstituents，andwewouldexplainthatunfortunatelytheappropriationshadbeencut，sothatwecouldnotholdexaminationsineverydistrict，andthatobviouslywecouldnotneglectthedistrictsofthoseCongressmenwhobelievedinthereformandthereforeintheexaminations。TheconstituentsthenturnedtheirattentiontotheCongressman，andtheresultwasthatinthelongrunweobtainedsufficientmoneytoenableustodoourwork。Onthewhole，themostprominentleadersfavoredus。Anymanwhoistheheadofabigdepartment，ifhehasanyfitnessatall，wishestoseethatdepartmentrunwell；andaverylittlepracticalexperienceshowshimthatitcannotberunwellifhemustmakehisappointmentstopleasespoilsmongeringpoliticians。AswithalmosteveryreformthatIhaveeverundertaken，mostoftheoppositiontooktheguiseofshrewdslander。Ouropponentsreliedchieflyondownrightmisrepresentationofwhatitwasthatweweretryingtoaccomplish，andofourmethods，acts，andpersonalities。Ihadmorethanonelivelyencounterwiththeauthorsandsponsorsofthesemisrepresentations，whichatthetimewerefullofinteresttome。Butitwouldbeadrearythingnowtogoovertherecordofexplodedmendacity，ortoexposethemeannessandmaliceshownbysomemenofhighofficialposition。AfavoriteargumentwastocallthereformChinese，becausetheChinesehadconstructedaninefficientgovernmentalsystembasedinpartonthetheoryofwrittencompetitiveexaminations。Theargumentwassimple。
TherehadbeenwrittenexaminationsinChina；itwasproposedtoestablishwrittenexaminationsintheUnitedStates；thereforetheproposedsystemwasChinese。Theargumentmighthavebeenappliedstillfurther。Forinstance，theChinesehadusedgunpowderforcenturies；gunpowderisusedinSpringfieldrifles；thereforeSpringfieldrifleswereChinese。Oneargumentisquiteaslogicalastheother。Itwasimpossibletoanswereveryfalsehoodaboutthesystem。Butitwaspossibletoanswercertainfalsehoods，especiallywhenutteredbysomeSenatororCongressmanofnote。Usuallythesefalsestatementstooktheformofassertionsthatwehadaskedpreposterousquestionsofapplicants。Attimestheyalsoincludedtheassertionthatwecreditedpeopletodistrictswheretheydidnotlive；thissimplymeaningthatthesepersonswerenotknowntotheactivewardpoliticiansofthosedistricts。
OneopponentwithwhomwehadaratherlivelytiltwasaRepublicanCongressmanfromOhio，Mr。Grosvenor，oneofthefloorleaders。Mr。
GrosvenormadehisattackintheHouse，andenumeratedoursinsinpicturesqueratherthanaccuratefashion。TherewasaCongressionalcommitteeinvestigatingusatthetime，andonmynextappearancebeforethemIaskedthatMr。Grosvenorberequestedtomeetmebeforethecommittee。Mr。Grosvenordidnottakeupthechallengeforseveralweeks，untilitwasannouncedthatIwasleavingformyranchinDakota；whereupon，deemingitsafe，hewrotemealetterexpressinghisardentwishthatIshouldappearbeforethecommitteetomeethim。
