Show f J Senator George of ti1siisaippi proposes amendments te the Consti tution and laws providing for the I election of United States edges I attorneys postmasters eto by the people of the respective districts to which they belong There are many i reasons why this should be done and few if any can be brought against it The theory is that such offices should not be filled by partisans parti-sans but this has never been carried out Even as to supreme curt justices jus-tices the politics of the appointee has latterly been considered more importance to the appointing power than judicial qualifications A district dis-trict judge is appointed because he is a tried republican rather than because he is an able jurist The i postmasters of important offices are all rank partisans whether or not they are efficient postmasters post-masters or whether they are satisfactory or objectionable to the communities where they officiate It must be apparent to everybody that more faithful and efficient service ser-vice would be performed were all these officers elective instead of appointive ap-pointive for the candidates would then have to satisfy the requirements require-ments of the people rather than do the party bidding of the appointing power They would have to show J special fitness for their duties in order to secure their nomination and their election would necessarily give them the confidence of a majority ma-jority of the community A principal prin-cipal reason also why all officers save those immediately surrounding surround-ing the President in the executive department should be elective is that thd President would Be relieved both from undue power and Influence and unnecessary abor in making selections ef men for places It has eome to be that the much larger share of the executive time and labor is devoted to appoint ments and removals whereas he should do little or none of the business busi-ness The annoyance to him also is groat and there are personal dangers attending the exercise of so much power as the ountry has mournfully I fully seen in the past year But if there were no other reason for the abolishment of the present system than the fact that it places in the hands of the executive so much political power the change should be made There are about one hundred thousand officers to be appointed directly or indirectly I directly by the President and these can all be made active workers for the political continuance continu-ance of the executive and his party Not only are these hundred thousand thou-sand men laborers in the cause of the power that sustains them in place but their sisters cousins aunts and their relations of every degree and friends are mutually interested in their behalf The abuse of his almost unlimited power on the part of every executive for the past quarter of a century is steadily educating the people to believe be-lieve a change is necessary While that change will be difficult to bring about where party has so much more to do with governing the country than principle it must come The sooner it is brought the better will it be for the people if not for the politicians and the nearer to a true republic will the nation be |