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THE NEED OF AN 
 
 Elevated and Permanent 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE, 
 
 AN ADDRESS BEFORE THE 
 
 AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 MARCH 15, 1880, 
 
 BY HON, A. LOUDON SNOWDEN. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 WM. F. MURPHY'S SONS, PRINTERS. 
 
Sss 
 
 Philadelphia, 22nd March, 1880. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Believing that the excellent address on " Civil 
 Service Reform," made by you on the occasion of the 
 Centennial Commemmoration of the Incorporation of the 
 American Philosophical Society, needs a wider circulation 
 than that which it will have in the proceedings of the 
 Society, we would respectfully ask for a copy, in order 
 that it may be printed for separate distribution. 
 
 WM. SELLERS, 
 JOHN L. LeCONTE, 
 S. H. NICHOLS, 
 J. P. LESLEY. 
 
 Hon. a. Loudon Snowden, 
 
 Superintendent, Mint of the U. S., at Philadelphia. 
 
 Philadelphia, 24TH March, 1880. 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 I am in receipt of your very kind letter of 
 the 22nd inst., and in reply beg to say that whilst the 
 remarks I had the honor to submit upon the occasion to 
 which you refer, were but surface gleanings hastily thrown 
 together, upon a very important subject, I nevertheless 
 comply with your request, in the hope that the " wider 
 circulation " you propose giving them may not be entirely 
 without good results. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 A. LOUDON SNOWDEN. 
 
 To William Sellers, Esq., 
 Dr. John L. LeConte, 
 Mr. S. H. Nichols, 
 Prof. J. P. Lesley. 
 
 264 
 
the need of an 
 Ilevated and' Permanent Civil Service. 
 
 I am honored, Mr. President, by your call, and doubly 
 so by the cordial manner in which it has been received by 
 the gentlemen of the Society, and heartily wish it were in 
 my power to repay your kind partiality by something 
 worthy of your consideration. 
 
 It must be a pleasure to all the members of the Society 
 to be present upon this interesting occasion, not alone to 
 discuss the good things provided by the thoughtfulness of 
 the Committee of Arrangements, but to partake of the 
 intellectual feast which has been so bountifully provided. 
 
 You have been pleased, sir. In presenting my name, to 
 associate with it, the names of three of my predecessors 
 in the management of the Mint of the United States in this 
 City, who were also presidents of this ancient Society, 
 which has embraced in its membership, and upon its rolls 
 of honor, some of the most illustrious names in letters 
 and science which the last century has produced. 
 
 The three distinguished gentlemen to whom you were 
 good enough to refer, David Rittenhouse, Robert Patterson 
 and Robert M. Patterson, were. In their day, citizens and 
 public officers who conferred lasting benefits upon the 
 public service, and who were, in all the relations of life, 
 examples worthy of imitation. 
 
David Rittenhouse, who succeeded Benjamin Franklin, 
 and preceded Thomas Jefferson, as President of this So- 
 ciety, was wisely selected by Washington, on the passage 
 of the Act of 1792, authorizing the establishment of the 
 Mint in this City, on account of his eminent scientific 
 knowledge and great mechanical skill. He superintended 
 the erection of the Mint building on Seventh street, saw 
 to its equipment in machinery, to the perfecting of its or- 
 ganization, and, in 1 793, issued the first coinage of the 
 Republic. Little did he dream in that day of small things, 
 that in less than fifty years, the one cumbersome screw 
 press then in use, and capable of executing all the coinage 
 required, at the rate of about ten or fifteen pieces a min- 
 ute, would give place to the steam toggle-joint press with 
 a capacity of from eighty to one hundred pieces to the 
 minute, and that in much less than one hundred years, 
 over thirty of those grand coining presses, with largely in- 
 creased capacity and power, would be kept thundering 
 night and day to execute the coinage demanded by law 
 and by the wants of the people. 
 
 Robert Patterson, the fifth President of this Society, 
 was called to the management of the Mint by President 
 Jefferson in 1805. He had been honorably connected with 
 our Revolutionary struggle, and subsequently, was a Pro- 
 fessor in the University of Pennsylvania, conspicuous for 
 his learning and thorough administrative ability. 
 
 Robert M. Patterson, elected the eiofhth President of 
 this Society, was a son ol Robert Patterson, to whom I 
 have just referred, and succeeded Dr. Samuel Moore in 
 the Mint. 
 
 He graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, and 
 subsequently prosecuted his studies in Europe. On his 
 
return to Philadelphia, he was elected Professor in our 
 University, was Vice-Provost, and filled successively, the 
 Chairs of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and Mathematics. 
 In 1828, he became a Professor in the University of Vir- 
 ginia, from which he was transferred to the Directorship 
 of the Mint in 1835 ; ^^ which position he remained, ren- 
 dering most acceptable service, until 1851, when failing 
 health induced him to retire from public life. 
 
 It were well, Mr. President, for the honor and profit 
 of our country, if high public station were always as well 
 filled, and sacred public trusts as faithfully administered as 
 in the instances to which, by your courtesy, I have been 
 permitted to refer. 
 
 This brief allusion to the services rendered by these 
 distinguished public officers brings me very naturally to 
 the consideration of the theme you have been pleased to 
 assign me this evening, to wit : 
 
 THE NEED OF AN 
 ELEVATED AND PERMANENT CIVIL SERVICE. 
 
 This is a practical and important question, touching 
 very closely the highest and best interests of our Country, 
 and entitled to the thoughtful attention of every American 
 citizen. 
 
 Neither the proprieties of this occasion nor your pa- 
 tience would justify an elaborate or exhaustive discussion 
 at my hands. What I shall, therefore, with your leave, 
 submit, will be but a brief reference to the most obvious 
 points that present themselves in a rapid glance at the 
 subject. 
 
In the minds of all thoughtful and patriotic men, there 
 can be no doubt as to the great advantage resulting from 
 the elevation of our civil service above the control and 
 influence of mere partisan interference. The battle to be 
 fought before the triumph of this important principle is 
 assured, will be sharp and well contested at every point, 
 although no one should despair of the result, in view of 
 the general and increasing intelligence of ihe people, now 
 being brought to bear upon the question. 
 
 Of late years, public attention has been much directed 
 to the subject, but, as was to be expected, it has met the 
 most determined opposition from the representatives of all 
 parties. Every weapon that sarcasm, ridicule, and false- 
 hood could forge in the workshop of selfishness, has been 
 hurled against its advocates. And yet it must be con- 
 fessed that the greatest injury inflicted, has come from pre- 
 tended friends, who, under that garb, have attempted to 
 accomplish selfish ends, and thus have brought ridicule 
 upon the cause. 
 
 Nevertheless, steady advance has been had within the 
 past few years, and some lodgment made in the minds of 
 the people. 
 
 That there is too much foolish, intemperate, and unjust 
 denunciation of our present service there can be no doubt. 
 If we were to believe one-half that is written and spoken 
 on this subject, we must conclude that but few, if any, honest 
 or honorable men are engaged in public affairs. 
 
 This tendency to carp and cavil at, and criticise all men 
 engaged in the public service, is said to be a natural out- 
 growth of our free institutions, which makes every citizen a 
 censor. But whether this be true or not, the fact is never- 
 
theless patent, that from the very organization of our Gov- 
 ernment, there has been more or less of this sort of thing 
 prevalent. Even Washington, the most illustrious of all 
 our citizens, if not the most illustrious man of all the world, 
 was not exempt; nay, on the contrary, in spite of his inval- 
 uable services to the country, his nobility of soul, and his 
 transcendent patriotism, he was subjected to the most vio- 
 lent, bitter, and unreasonable abuse, and under it retired 
 from public life. 
 
 It was fashionable then, as it is now, among certain 
 grumblers and inconsiderate persons, to denounce our 
 civil service on all occasions. They do not take the 
 trouble to obtain reliable facts upon which an intelligent 
 judgment may be formed, as touching the general service, 
 but are prone to take isolated instances of wrong doing, and 
 base their opinion of the whole service thereon. 
 
 That this is a most irrational and unjust process from 
 which to arrive at a sound conclusion, there can be no 
 doubt, and yet it is the usual mode. 
 
 These grumbling pessimists who find no good in their 
 own country or times, are very often least fitted, either 
 by cultivation of mind or purity of character, to form a sound 
 judgment of their fellow men. 
 
 Dismissing this class as worthy of no farther attention, 
 it must be admitted, that although our civil service fairly 
 represents the average moral and intellectual status of our 
 people, it can nevertheless be elevated and rendered more 
 efficient by means which are simple in themselves, and not 
 difficult of application. 
 
 When I say the means of accomplishing this desired 
 end are simple and easy of application, I should say, they 
 
10 
 
 are so, provided the people have courage and patriotism 
 enough, to demand of their political leaders, that our civil 
 service must be permanent, — promotions coming through effi- 
 ciency, and the te^iure of office dependent upon good behavior. 
 It will not do to simply incorporate these ideas or principles 
 into the political platforms of the parties, as catch votes, to 
 be forgotten after elections are lost or won ; but let our 
 civil service be organized under the sanction of law, as are 
 the military and naval services, and thus secure a permanent 
 application of this important principle, no matter how often 
 administrations change, or parties succeed to power. That 
 the law should bind all parties in this respect — if the principle 
 is good — must be quite apparent. An attempt on the part 
 of any administration to establish such a wholesome system 
 without the binding force of law to sustain it, can only 
 hope for partial and unsatisfactory results, no matter how 
 earnest and honest may be the effort. 
 
 It is doubtful, indeed, if any administration is strong 
 enough to enforce the reform against long established pre- 
 cedent, and the selfishness of partisan managers, unless 
 fortified and strengthened by law. 
 
 The reasons are manifold why the policy, as a mere 
 administrative measure, is likely to be a failure; First, if for 
 no other reason, because it would be looked upon as an 
 ephemeral effort or experiment, likely to disappear with 
 the administration, if not break down before it terminated. 
 Second, because as such, It would be constantly assaulted 
 with a view to its abandonment; whereas, if under the 
 sanction of the law, it would be accepted as a fixed fact and 
 remain practically unassailed ; and Third, because it would 
 have no binding force upon succeeding Presidents, who 
 
11 
 
 could and probably would overthrow in a day the work of 
 years. 
 
 President Hayes will ever be remembered for a noble 
 effort in this direction, and although much good has been 
 accomplished, yet, from the causes I have enumerated, and 
 others, results expected and hoped for have not been fully 
 realized. 
 
 General Jackson is credited with the declaration that, 
 "to the victors belong the spoils," and whether he or 
 William L. Marcy, is responsible for the utterance, there 
 can be no doubt that Jackson was the first President who 
 broke down the old tenure of office, handed down to us 
 from our English ancestors, and recognized by Washington 
 and his compatriots, as of the highest value in the adminis- 
 tration of public affairs. 
 
 It is well to remember, however, that whilst General 
 Jackson struck a fatal blow at the civil service, and pros- 
 tituted it to selfish partisan ends, the service itself was 
 largely responsible for the blow that was given. 
 
 Although existing by English and American precedents, 
 it was not restrained by law within its legitimate sphere. 
 
 The service at that time was largely composed of those 
 who differed politically with Jackson, and as it was a period 
 of bitter partisan strife, they did all in their power to hamper 
 and embarrass his administration. This was neither wise 
 nor prudent, and exhibits to us the fact that, with the ex- 
 ception of the tenure of office, the service was badly organ- 
 ized and conducted. Instead of performing quiedy and 
 efficiently its legitimate functions, without regard to the 
 change in the political head of the government, it was 
 violently partisan, and used its entrenched position to defeat 
 the measures advanced by the President. 
 
12 
 
 There was, therefore, some excuse for Jackson's course. 
 He was a positive, brave, — although sometimes an indiscreet 
 man, and accustomed, from his habits of thought and training, 
 to strike an enemy whenever and wherever he could find him. 
 He struck his Whig adversaries, fortified in the civil service, 
 and paralysed them, as a power against himself. But in 
 doing so he inflicted an evil upon his country which has 
 widened and deepened as the years have followed. Had 
 Gen. Jackson succeeded in applying a remedy for the evil 
 justly complained of, by such legislation as would prevent a 
 civil officer — as the unwritten law prevents officers in the 
 army and navy, — from participating in partisan strife, he 
 would have accomplished the immediate purpose in view, 
 and left to the future, this, as the brightest page in his re- 
 markable career. 
 
 The primary and paramount object of all service is, to 
 promote that which is best for the people at large, without 
 distinction of party; whereas, under a corrupted system, it 
 is customary to consider all the offices of the country as 
 the common property of the party in power, to be distri- 
 buted to their partisans as rewards for services rendered, 
 or as implements to be used for future party purposes. 
 No one will deny that this is the fact, and yet it is an utter 
 perversion of the true and legitimate objects for which the 
 offices were created. 
 
 The number of officers or places under the govern- 
 ment is quite insignificant in comparison with the popu- 
 lation of the country, and it is of very little moment to 
 the great bulk of the people, whether John Smith, Jones, 
 or Robinson hold office or place ; hut it is of the highest 
 importance that whosoever does hold the same, be skilled, 
 intelligent, polite, and trustworthy. 
 
13 
 
 How are these essential qualities to be obtained ? Is it 
 by rotating a man in or out of office for a political purpose, 
 or in having his continuance in place depend upon his ability 
 to carry a precinct or a ward convention in partisan contests, 
 or, on the contrary, are not the offices more likely to be well 
 and acceptably filled by having those holding them under- 
 stand that so long as they are honest, attentive, and faithful 
 in the discharge of their duties, they will be retained and 
 promoted for meritorious conduct when an opportunity 
 presents? The continuance of a faithful and intelligent 
 officer increases his opportunities for usefulness to the public. 
 One of the evils, and not a small one, attending our present 
 defective system, is, that we are, by our short tenure, con- 
 stantly put to the inconvenience and expense of educating 
 new men. 
 
 A change in the national administration of the Gov- 
 ernment, especially where one political party is succeeded 
 by another, must of necessity be followed by a change in 
 such leading and important public positions as reflect the 
 purposes and policy of the party in power, but in the name 
 of all that is reasonable and proper why should a change 
 in the administration necessitate a perfect upheaval in all 
 our civil service, from the humblest laborer to the most 
 skilled expert, mechanic or accountant? Because a new 
 President is elected, is no reason why a skilled workman 
 in the Mint, an intelligent, well trained letter carrier, or 
 any other faithful employe of the government should be 
 removed. They have been educated for the service at the 
 public expense, their education and equipment is the 
 common property of the people, and should not be thrown 
 away to gratify partisan selfishness. 
 
14 
 
 What man of business, banker, manufacturer or 
 merchant would think of adopting such a short-sighted or 
 pernicious system in his own business ? I know of no such 
 man. 
 
 And why should we not apply in public affairs the same 
 common sense principles and rules that govern in the 
 ordinary pursuits of life? It seems to be so reasonable and 
 proper a course that I can not conceive of a good argument 
 against its adoption. Because the people, as is their right, 
 see fit to change the administration of national affairs on 
 account of important public questions, such as the tariff, 
 finance, state right incroachments, or centralization, or any 
 other issue that may arise, is no reason why all the faithful 
 and skilled employes of the government, from the lowest 
 up. should be turned out to give place to inexperienced 
 successors, whose education and equipment for the service 
 is attended with discomfort, errors, and loss to the people. 
 
 Without going deeper into the subject, in all its bearings, 
 or trespassing farther upon your kind indulgence, I think it 
 must be admitted that a civil service based upon so illogical 
 and uncertain a tenure is defective in the extreme, and should 
 be replaced by one resting upon common sense, as mani- 
 fested in the usual business affairs of lile. The opposition 
 to a change from the present to a better system, comes 
 principally from those leaders of both parties who claim 
 that patronage is an important partisan weapon. But I 
 am clearly of the opinion that an honest and fair test of 
 the new system woulc^ satisfy even these persons, that they 
 had over estimated patronage as a factor in partisan con- 
 tests. I think our political leaders would discern, like 
 many an intelligent man of the South has, by the great 
 
15 
 
 lesson of the war, that, whereas he formerly leaned upon 
 slave labor, — felt he could not exist without it, — yet, when 
 schooled in adversity to self-trust and self-support, would 
 not now return to the same order of things, or repossess 
 his slaves if freely proffered him. Patronage is not always 
 a power — and is oft-times a weakness — and 1 am convinced 
 with some knowledge and experience, that its influence is 
 much over-rated. 
 
 Some of the grandest and most memorable contests 
 ever fought upon the political battle fields of our country 
 have been fought and won without patronage, and indeed 
 against the whole patronage of an administration improperly 
 used. 
 
 The proposed change in our civil service would not 
 only elevate and increase its efficiency, but would eliminate 
 much that is venal, selfish, and dangerous to the politics of 
 the country. This branch of the subject is too wide and 
 far-reaching in its results, for more than a passing allusion to 
 this evening. 
 
 Knowing the defects in our present service, and the 
 evils flowing therefrom, what is the remedy, and how shall 
 it be applied? The remedy I would suggest is, to remove 
 by law the civil service of the country from under the control 
 of partisan interfere7ice, and p^'event its suboi'dinates froTn an 
 active participation therein. By this course you will elevate 
 the service, increase its efficiency, and largely decrease its 
 expense to the people. 
 
 Is the remedy an impossible or even a difficult one to 
 apply? To a nation which has laid forests, built splendid 
 cities, peopled a continent, overcome a mighty rebellion, and 
 emancipated four millions of human beings within the stride 
 
16 
 
 of a single century — it would seem as if this might be accom- 
 plished. 
 
 I know full well that it can be done, and that quickly 
 if good men of all parties will only unite and determme that 
 it shall be. 
 
 If the pernicious influences exerted by our present de- 
 fective system are eliminated from our politics, we will have 
 removed one of the greatest hindrances to our advance, and 
 danger to our future peace, tranquility, and prosperity as a 
 nation. 
 
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