Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 5.djvu/180

156 with the power of appointing officers are, consequently, in duty bound to regard office solely as a public trust, and to appoint only persons found fittest to give the people the best possible service.

Democratic government rests upon the principle of equal rights. It abhors privilege and favoritism. But it is privilege and favoritism upon which the spoils system rests—the privilege of those in authority or of influential politicians to dispose of the public offices as their patronage, distributing that patronage by way of personal or political favor. It is justly said that the offices belong to the people and must be open to the people. Most certainly. But what does this mean? Does it mean that they must be open only to those who have influence themselves, or who have the influence of powerful politicians behind them? No; according to true democratic principle it means that the offices must be open to all citizens according to their fitness to fill them; that they must be most open to those who are most fit to fill them; that free and equal opportunity must be furnished to all for showing who are the most fit, whether they be rich or poor, politicians or no politicians, backed by influence or not backed. Under the spoils system the offices are open only to the privileged few—those favored by the influence of the powerful. Civil service reform has undertaken to open the offices to all according to their ability to serve the people. The spoils system asks the candidate for office: “Does your Member of Congress recommend you, or does the party boss in your State or your county ask for your appointment? Or are you backed by a man that gives much money to our campaign fund? What men of influence have you behind you? If you have none you can have no place.” Civil service reform asks the candidate: “Are you a man of good character, and what can you show to prove it? What do you know? What